There wasn't an exact moment that Quinn regained consciousness. He idly relished in the comfort of the morning; the fluff of the pillow under him, the quiet ambience of the cabin, and really just how good the rest had felt. He'd fallen asleep so fast last night he hadn't budged an inch in his sleep, or even put a blanket on for that matter. He had just been so tired...

Quinn shot upright, eyes open wide as he stared around the room. This wasn't the domes, he was supposed to be underground preparing for another zapfish mission! Why was he up here and not.... right. The other Agents had found him down there. Right. He surfaced early, and they followed him as he returned the eight zapfish he had already gotten. Right.

Right. Today was not going to be an easy day.

He forced himself out of bed. Ignoring the lingering disorientation from waking up so abruptly. How long did he sleep exactly? It was impossible to tell from this end of the cabin. There weren't any clocks at this end of the cabin,, and Quinn didn't dare step into The Captain's room to look for one.

A quick pit stop in the bathroom helped him wake up at least. He was lucky The Captain had so many of those overnight kits tucked away. It was strange that he had so many, but the old man was an odd one. If there was anything he'd be a prepper for, it was his grandsquids.

His grandsquids. The Agents. Quinn nearly choked on his toothpaste as the memory returned. They were coming here to have a meeting later today. Right. Great. Fantastic, even. Just what he needed. After yesterday's shitshow, it's not like things could get much worse.

For starters, he kicked their meeting off by jamming the Hero Shot into Agent One's back. Quinn shook his head, still utterly mortified by his decision. His adrenaline had been running high since he nearly botched the zapfish rescue, so he had been really on edge, and then he saw the window and he just. The moment she spoke inkling he should have known; she was wearing a Hero Vest for clam's sake!

Like that wasn't bad enough, not 10 seconds later he nearly took out Agent Two with the burst bomb trap. At least the design was solid, but like. WOW. Could things be worse than starting their meeting by threatening the lives of his superiors?

The answer was yes. Yes they could. The memories made Quinn blush, which he tried his hardest to ignore by running a wet washcloth over his face. He lost his shit at them. He yelled at them both! TWICE! He had a fucking breakdown in front of the other Agents twice in twelve minutes. And then like he hadn't already ruined everything, he rounded things out by bossing them around and yelling at them again. His hand rose to scratch under his eye as he avoid making eye contact with his reflection.

Despite all of that... it didn't seem like they hated him. A small part of him really, really hoped that they weren't lying. That they actually didn't hate him. He knew better than to believe in that, though. He saw the way Agent Two couldn't meet his eyes. He heard the pauses in Agent One's speeches. He heard the exasperation and anger in their voices when he started making demands. He shouldn't have said a damn word the moment he saw them, each one only dug his grave deeper.

He'd already gotten unbelievably lucky with The Captain. The old man ignored every reason he should have hated Quinn for some reason. Hell, he's probably changed his mind over the past month anyway. Assuming he was... No. There was no chance he'd ever be able to get lucky like that again, much less with two people who had every right in the world to hate him.

But they couldn't exactly get rid of him either. He knew more than they did. He should be able to match them in field prowess too. Even if they hated him... he'd still be here to help. Maybe helping them save The Captain would be enough to make up for his mistakes. Regardless of what they thought, Quinn was determined to save him anyway, the old man didn't deserve anything less.

A few minutes later, with a heavy sigh and a glance in the mirror, Quinn walked from the bathroom with a cup of water in his hand. He'd raid his secondary stash of granola in the kitchen for now, until he could remember where he dumped everything last night. No, today wasn't going to be easy. Some time later the other Agents would be here and they'd have to figure everything out, including sorting the nightmare that was yesterday. Cod, if Quinn could just— TWO THIRTY SEVEN??

The shock from seeing the time made him jump so suddenly he actually dropped the cup of water. It was nearly three in the afternoon!!! Oh cod, they could show up at any moment!! How the hell did he sleep so late??? It was over, everything was over. There wasn't a chance.

Quinn tumbled into the kitchen, grabbing a handful of paper towels to clean up the spill. No, this wasn't the time to give up, he could still save face and pretend like he hadn't spent the last thirteen hours unconscious. He just needed to clean up the spill - which he was already doing, clean up the spare room, find and put on the Hero Suit, and maybe sprint some laps around the cabin so it looked like he'd done his work for the morning. As long as it at least looked like he was putting the effort, he might be able to keep things from falling apart for long enough that he could actually put it in. This was salvageable. He could do this.

And then the cabin's front door swung open, and Agents One and Two walked inside.

"Yo, Three! We're here! Just wanted to let you kno—" Agent one shouted into the house, but froze when she saw him.

Quinn also froze, though he was in a much less dignified position. He felt ridiculous, caught in a half-crouch, still wearing his sleep clothes with a wad of wet paper towels in his hand.

"Ah, ahem." Agent Two cleared her throat. "Good morning Agent Three."

"Uhhh..." Quinn broke his trance and stood up straight. "Hi."

"Did you rest well?" Agent One asked.

They were already berating him, fantastic. "I may have overslept a bit."

Agent One visibly relaxed, seeming relieved. "Oh, good. We only woke up an hour ago ourselves. I was scared you spent forever sitting here waiting for us."

Quinn regarded the pair with suspicion. They didn't seem mad, which was surprising, but he wasn't about to be lulled into a false sense of security. Outwardly, he kept his face neutral. "I've not been waiting, so there's no need to worry."

An awkward silence settled over the cabin. He honestly didn't know if this was worse than outright hostility or not.

Agent One shifted in place before breaking the silence. "We bought breakfast, if you want some" She held up a large bag of McFlippers® food. Quinn could smell it from across the room. "We didn't know what you'd like, sooooo we grabbed a bunch of things off the menu."

The awkward air didn't dissipate. After ten more seconds, Agent Two sighed and took the bag of food from Agent One. "I'm going to set up the table, if you'll both give me a moment."

Quinn could feel the hostility radiating off of Agent Two as she walked past him. Agent One still stood in the front of the living room. "I'm going to... uh..." He lamely held up the wad of paper towels towards her, before promptly turning and marching back towards the bathroom.

He's cooked. It's over. He didn't even know what to think anymore, and that was the worst possible outcome. At least if they were openly hostile towards him, he'd know what to expect, but this faux nice act was something he'd never seen before. Even The Captain didn't just give him things. Quinn only ate leftovers as often as he did because The Captain was as obsessed with sales as he was talking about his grandsquids. He earned his keep for every night he slept over by cleaning the cabin the next day. And he was just supposed to accept that the Agents One and Two brought him McFlippers?

No. No shot. It'd be best to generally prepare then. Anticipate general hostility, and probably some tense questioning. Maybe a hit to the shoulder if things were really going bad. That's manageable.

He splashed some water on his face, and used his wet hands to try and wrangle his stray tentacles into place. Luckily he left a hair tie on the countertop from his shower last night, so he tied them up into a ponytail. That way he pretended he looked at least a little bit presentable. Without taking another moment to think, he threw the bathroom door open, ready to face the grilling to come.

"Hey, Three!" Agent One smiled at him from the end of the hallway. She stood awkwardly, wringing her hands as she seemingly struggled to find her words. "I can't think of a graceful way to say this... I know we're not, ah, close yet, I guess? Yeah, close is close enough to what I mean, yeah. Heh, bad pun there, sorry."

Was that even a pun? "We're not, no..."

Agent One gave up with a sigh, slouching and putting a hand on her forehead. "Cod, this is so... mmh. The news of Gramps's kidnapping was hard on both of us, uh, me and Marie I mean. We couldn't do anything to end our tour early, so we've been stewing in the news for a month, unable to do anything about it."

She stepped down the hall and grabbed his hand, meeting his eyes with a genuine, sincere look. "I want you to know that I'm not mad at you. What happened isn't your fault, and I don't want you to think I think it is. I am firmly on your side in this matter; I want us to work together to save him."

Huh.

"Do you really... mean that?"

"I do. I really, honestly do, Three." She answered without hesitation. "You've done so much on your own... but I don't want you to have to work alone anymore. I meant what I said yesterday."

Quinn nodded slowly. They were nice words. They made him feel good to hear. But he knew his way around this kind of conversation, this wasn't everything. "But..."

Agent One sighed again. Shaking her head slightly. "Marie... Marie is on our side too. I want to be clear about that upfront, ok? She's with us." She hesitated. "But... She's got... I— there are things that..." She trailed off and brought a hand to her her eyes, rubbing them as she mumbled, "Cod, why is it so hard to just say things sometimes?"

That made sense. That made too much sense actually. It was a good side/bad side setup, then. He could prepare for that. "She doesn't like me, right?"

"No!" Agent One replied instantly. "Er, no, she does like you. Marie has some... issues with family. Gramps was one of the few people actually fighting for her back during all of that. She also has a tendency to look on the darker side of things at first, which doesn't pair well with her more blunt nature."

Quinn decided to push against her act a bit. "Not really the best introduction for her, is it?"

Panic flashed across Agent One's face. "Nono! That's not what I was trying to do! I just— gahh." She cupped her hands over her face like she was trying to hide. "Cod, I knew I'd mess this up. Why did I—" She bemoaned, voice muffled by her hands, until she suddenly cut herself off with a shake of her head. "That's not what I wanted to say. I— screw it. Marie is really struggling with this. This whole situation has spiraled out much further than either of us has ever dealt with before, and that change is really stressing her out. And, Marie is very... direct about fixing the things that stress her out. Good trait to have when you deal with the stuff we do every day, but bad when it comes to the more intricate stuff."

"Ok..."

"Three, I promise from the bottom of my hearts Marie doesn't mean anything bad with her words. She's just trying to get some semblance of control over the situation so it feels like she can fix it. Please don't take anything she does as hostile towards you, she is trying to work around her issues here, she might slip up a few times." Agent One finally stopped long enough to catch her breath, and gave him a hopeful expression.

"I'll... try."

"Thank you." Agent One smiled like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Now come eat! The food's been out for long enough it won't be warm for much longer." She turned from the hallway with a cry of "Dibs on the waffles!"

"Yeah, yeah. We got two orders of them just for you." Agent Two shouted back from the kitchen. Agent One gave him one last smile before walking towards the kitchen.

Quinn didn't know what to think. Her response had been much more genuine than he'd expected. Was she actually telling the truth? It was really hard to tell. Again, that part of his hearts desperately wanted it to be true. More than anything, having someone else on his side made him feel... better? It wasn't a feeling he felt often, so he didn't really know how to explain it.

It could also be part of a long con though, and the likelihood of that was still giving him pause. Though, it's not like he had any better options at the moment. If Agent One was going to turn on him, he'd have to burn that bridge when it happened. For the moment, it seemed like Agent Two was going to be the bigger problem of the pair.

With a resigned sigh, Quinn crossed the living room and into the kitchen, where both of the other Agents were sat at the dining room table. Like promised, they had spread half a menu's worth of food, with a few duplicate orders clearly picked out for themselves.

He tentatively sat down at the table, eying the collection of drinks sitting beside the pile of food. Both Agents One and Two eyed him expectantly, so he slowly reached forward and took the bottle of water out of the center. One reached in for the giant cup of soda, while Two took the cup of coffee. Awkward silence filled the air as the trio sat at the table, no one really sure what move to make.

"Well, um, dig in!" Agent Two lazily swept her hand past the food, before taking a hash brown for herself. Agent One dove for something in the middle of the pile, and Quinn hesitantly took a Flippin Egg'nCheese® biscuit off the pile. He could feel the gazes of the other Agents drilling into him as he unwrapped it. They didn't let up until he finally took a bite.

"So, Agent Three." Two said after a drink of coffee. "We've gotten off on the wrong foot. Twice. I'd like to apologize for that."

"That's alright, nothing to worry about." Quinn replied automatically. There was a lot to worry about, but you don't deny the apology from someone antagonizing you, that just left you more open.

Agent One flashed both Two and him a smile. "We've come up with some questions to ask you to try and help smooth everything over, if that's alright?"

"Sure, I'll do my best to answer them." They want him to spill what he knows. They want him to tell everything he knows so they can kick him to the curb and fix things themselves. Finding the balance between giving them what they want and keeping enough to himself that they can't boot him was going to be hard.

Agent Two leaned forward, a shadow crossing her eyes. "Are you more of a bread or rice guy?"

Huh. "Huh?"

"Oh! I'm definitely more of a rice person. It's the perfect basis for any dish, and plenty good on its own!" Agent One excitedly chimed in from behind her oversized cup of Coral Cola.

"Eh," Agent One gave her a lazy look. "Seeing you demolish a loaf of bread at two in the morning betrays your true intentions. Bread's the better option."

Quinn stared back at them, utterly lost. "I... make stir fry with rice sometimes?"

"Boom!" Agent One threw her hands in the air. "Knew it!"

"Mmm, sure. Whatever." Agent Two gave One a lazy wave before looking back at Quinn. "Do you prefer sleeping or eating?"

Was this a distraction or something? "Uhh..." You could sleep anywhere, that wasn't a problem. Making sure you had food was a much bigger reassurance. "Eating...?"

"YES! HA! Two-Zero" Agent One cheered.

"Love or Money?"

"Money." Quinn answered without thinking. That one was a lot easier; money was security.

"Bingo!" One shouted back, sending a smirk towards Agent Two. "There's sense in him yet. Pirates or Ninjas?"

What the hell even is this? There wasn't even a clarifying question. Was he just supposed to pick his favorite? "We use stealth around the domes..."

"Ninja's got it." Agent Two's smirk was much bigger than it was last time. "Well, it looks like we've reached an impasse."

Agent One leaned back and pushed a finger against her nose, like she was pushing up glasses that weren't there. "So we have." She smirked. "That leaves just one question—

"Burgers or Pizza?" Agent One abruptly cut in.

"You can't just steal my thunder!!" Agent One shouted back, flailing her arms in protest. She only got a shrug in response. "Whatever, I guess it doesn't matter. Surely you'll be on the side of reason right? Burgers?"

If they were trying to knock him off balance, they'd done quite a good job at it. "I don't think I've even had pizza before."

"YESSS!!" Agent One cheered. "Wait. What? You've never had pizza?"

They seemed just as confused as Quinn felt. "No? That's not like a problem, is it?"

"Not even like, a few years ago? Never?" Agent Two asked, squinting at him.

"No! I've never had any!"

Agent Two didn't let up her look. "Are you like, allergic to cheese or something?"

"Why does it matter? I've never had pizza! Ok?? That's not a crime, right??? That's not a problem??"

"No, no. Sorry." Agent Two broke her gaze and held her hands up in apology. "Not a problem, I was just... surprised is all. Everyone I know has it at least every few months."

"Ok? Good for them?" Quinn looked over at Agent One. She seemed nervous, but if the gentle exhale was anything to go by, she seemed to be calming down. Maybe that's what she was talking about regarding Agent Two a bit ago.

Silence finally fell over the table, giving him enough time to finish his biscuit. He didn't know what to think anymore, and it was starting to stress him out. They weren't tearing into him like he thought they were going to, which meant he didn't know what they were about to do.

"...not even during a school event?"

"I've not had a FUCKING pizza, Ok?" Quinn instantly kicked himself mentally. Of course they goaded him into reacting, that only made sense. Now he was the aggressor in the conversation, which meant they were right to attack him.

"Jeez, alright. Calm down, it was just a question." Agent Two rolled her eyes and took another sip of her coffee.

Agent One looked like she was trying to blow Agent Two up with her glare.

Two opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it and closed it. "Shouldn't have pushed like that. My bad." One didn't let up, much to Two's visible frustration. "Ok, fine I'm sorry, alright?"

That was enough to satisfy Agent One, who turned back to her food. The silence returned, much heavier this time, and just as awkward. Quinn dared reaching for another biscuit, which got an encouraging nod and a smile from One in response.

He was halfway through unwrapping it when Agent Two muttered to herself. "Sorry you had such a shitty childhood."

Quinn froze mid action, staring at Agent Two.

"OK!" Agent One shouted, making the other two jump. "Pizza talk is done! We're moving on!" She sent another death glare at Agent Two. "Three, can you tell us a bit about yourself?"

Quinn gave up trying to figure out the trick they were playing. He'd just play along and deal with the consequences. "Uh.. I--"

"Callie, I'm just—"

"Marie. Drop it."

"Why?" Agent Two leaned towards Agent One. "This is the most he's engaged with anything we've tried so far. Am I so bad for latching onto that?"

Agent One leaned in similarly, dropping her voice to a lower register. "Because, when someone gives you a look like that, you back down."

Look? Did he give her a look?

"What am I supposed to do then Cal? Sit here in silence while he stares at us?"

"That's better than making things worse!" Agent One hissed back.

Agent Two laughed at that. It was a dry laugh, utterly devoid of humor. "Worse? This situation is a NIGHTMARE! How could things possibly get worse from here?"

Agent One stood and marched up to Agent Two, pointing a finger at her chest. "We're trying to mend our relationship with the kid because we've screwed it up already."

"He hasn't said a damn word unprompted!!" Agent Two stood, pushing One's hand away. "How are we supposed to do anything when he's as responsive as algae?"

"Marie do you not remember a single thing from the classes you were forced through? He thinks we hate him. He thinks we fucking despise him to the cartilage because of what's happened! No wonder he'd be unresponsive! We're extending the olive branch ourselves to try and prove that we don't."

"Lotta good that's doing us huh??? We could be out there saving Gramps right fucking now, but instead we're wasting our time tryin--"

"You won't." Quinn cut in without thinking.

"Oh, now you want to butt in?" Agent Two turned to him with murder in her eyes.

Quinn had seen worse. "I'm trying to keep you from killing yourself on a suicide mission."

"You have some nerve speaking up now of all times. Why the hell would I listen to you after this?"

Honestly? He was over this now. "Because I know where he is."

That was enough to shut her up. Both One and Two looked at him with on-edge expressions.

"You think I wouldn't? I spent a month underground stalking these assholes. Tracking their training routines, translating their fucking impossible dialect to get scraps of information. How the hell else would it even be possible to do what I did to rescue those zapfish?"

"Why the hell—"

"You think I didn't try to go straight for his cell the moment I learned where it was?" Quinn could feel the tears on the edges of his eyes. "You think I wouldn't? That I'd just choose to sit on the sidelines while the only man who's ever given a damn about me rots in a fucking cell?"

Choking silence filled the room, broken only by Quinn's labored breathing. It took every shred of will he had to not break down on the spot. They just stared at him, shock and confusion coloring their eyes. They didn't believe him.

"He's in the central dome." Quinn admitted with a shaking voice. He didn't know if it was anger or fear. They just stared. "He's being kept in the High Base in the center. You can't even get close."

Neither Agent said a word.

"Nothing?" Quinn eyed them both. "Fuck this." He stood out of his chair and rushed out of the kitchen.

"Three, wait--" Agent One shouted after him.

He didn't listen, marching out of the front door and stopping on the porch. Not knowing what else to do, he resorted to pacing the same loop he had the night this nightmare started. It was a bitter irony, suddenly finding himself right back in the same place he'd been in when things first went wrong. Everything was going wrong again. He blew it. The Agents read him like a book, disoriented him, bypassed every defense he put up, goaded him into lashing out and telling them everything anyway.

His only chance to prove himself to the other agents, and he blew it.

But what else was he supposed to do there? Agent Two got very clearly mad when he didn't talk, so it's not like silence was an option. She probably would have been even more upset if he had tried to leave any earlier though. There really was no winning for him in this situation. They'd trapped him. He'd been doomed from the start. His finger dug at the spot under his eye, like he could scratch the memory of his failure away.

"Three."

The sound of Agent One's voice froze Quinn in his tracks. He whipped his head around to look at the door. She was standing in it, looking at him with concern in her eyes.

Quinn felt his temper rise. "What the hell do you—"

"Please," She said, her voice low. "I know what just happened was bad, but you need to hear this." She waited a moment, watching him. When he didn't immediately move, she nodded and turned away. "We're in the study, please. You deserve to hear this too."

Quinn stood still as she walked away. If this was another trap, this was bordering on cruelty. What could they possibly have that he 'deserved' to hear?

Really, what choice did he have? He wasn't running from his mission, he couldn't run from his responsibility to The Captain. He steadied his resolve as best he could, and walked back inside.

He was immediately met by the sound of radio static pouring out of the study. There, he found Agent One nervously fidgeting her hands in front of her. She looked relieved to see him, but still incredibly nervous otherwise. Just what was going on?

Agent Two was on the floor near The Captain's desk. "Come on... come on... please..." she begged as she adjusted knobs on the radio transceiver beside her. The radio static bounced and warbled with her changes as she adjusted the frequency.

"What's happening in here?"

Agent One opened her mouth, but before she could talk, a new voice spoke out for a fraction of a second. "—NSS, this i—"

Quinn's world lurched.

"The broadcast started just after you stepped outside. We didn't know what it was until we got a blip like that." Agent One explained.

The Captain. The Captain was contacting them. That alone filled him with a sense of relief and determination. His mind hung on something else, though. Agent One had said he deserved to hear this with them. Did she mean—

"-e Captain speaking. End repeat." The old man's voice cleaved through the air like static, instantly capturing the full attention of all three Agents. "Phew! Haven't done that voice in a while! Just like old times. I've got some messages fer those that need to hear em, ya know who ya are. I'm alright, I've not been harmed, and they're makin sure I eat, ya don't have to worry about me, kay?"

"Agent Three, I hear ya've been causing quite the racket out there! They've got quite the headache up here, that's fer sure! Yer doing good work lad, ya've clearly taken my lessons to heart and built on em in yer own way. Yer givin them a run around I couldn't even dream of, even back in my prime!... Just, be careful, alright? Yer doing some dangerous things. I ain't exactly in a position to tell ya to stop, and ya probly wouldn't anyway, so just, do that fer me alright? I'm so proud of what ya've done so far, Agent Three, we can't have ya getting locked up too!"

The world fell away from Quinn as the reassuring words of his mentor flooded him. Emotions he couldn't describe welled within him. He didn't dare move, afraid that even the slightest provocation would reveal the entire thing was fake.

"Now, a bit of info's gotten to my ears, tellin me yer not alone up there anymore!" The Captain laughed, bright, loud, and happy. Agents One and Two gasped in sync. "Welcome back my other Agents! Yer gonna have to forgive me for not bein there ta say that in person. A couple a things have happened since ya left, but I'm sure Agent Three'll tell ya all about it. Fer now, I've got a message for each of ya."

"Agent One!" Beside him, she frantically nodded towards the receiver. "I'm sorry ya had to come back ta this. You were always so careful not to get caught, it's a bit funny I'm the one they ended up nabbin. But that's ok! Yer strong, smart, and I don't think a damn thing in this world could stop ya once ya've got yer sights set on something. Ya've got years of good work under yer belt, and I don't see any reason why ya'd do anything else. I know ya've got what it takes to hold yer own without me ta guide ya."

"Agent Two!" On the ground, she sucked in a hitched breath, resting her head in her hands. I know yer frettin about me and how I'm being treated up here. I appreciate the thought, it's important ta keep yer elders in mind, so good on ya for that, but that's not where yer mind needs to be lookin right now. That thing's sharper than an arrow, but we need to point it at the enemy, not me. Take the time ya need to center yerself, and align yer focus where it needs to be. Yer more than capable of runnin this entire operation by yerself at this point, I know ya can."

There was a pause, just long enough for the trio to look around the room and see each other.

"But ya shouldn't do it alone. There's three of ya now, and ya need to take care of each other. Each of ya are strong in yer own rights, ya can all do amazin things. But together, the three of ya will be unstoppable. Unlike anything these ol' domes have ever seen before." There was another pause as The Captain thought over his words. "I hope my situation hasn't caused the three of ya too much tension. It's an unfortunate thing, and I wish it'd never happened. Yall have each other now, so be there for each other."

Loud banging from somewhere behind The Captain broke the spell the agents were under. Things were not all ok. The Captain was still very much still in the heart of enemy territory.

"Ah, looks like my time's almost up, I gotta cut to the chase. Three, you remember the stomper? It's engineer has been working around the clock to make something worse. MUCH worse. I'm droppin the dramatics, It's got missiles, sonic lasers, fists, and enough floaty tech that it could break in a puddle and not make a splash. This thing is bad news kids. But it's more than that, too. There's a stage built into it, complete with all the lightin' and tech Octavio'd need ta put on onna his shows." He sighed deeply. "He's always been a showman, but turnin a weapon like that into a stage is too far if ya ask me. Yer not supposed to glorify war like that. I thought he knew better"

There was another bang, this one much louder, and accompanied by voices shouting in octarian. "I hate to drop such a mission on ya without bein there to help, but Agents, ya cannot let that thing get ta the surface."

"CUTTLEFISH. STEP AWAY FROM THE CONSOLE." The beep of a charger accompanied the stern voice of the soldier.

"Be good ta each other, and be careful.

He switched to speaking octarian and turned his head away from the mic. Heya kids! Sorry, I think I took the wrong turn back in that hallway. Ah, ahahah, no no! Remember what Octavio told ya! No roughin me up if I'm cooperatin'. Now, I'm gonna walk right outta here wit ya, back to my c—"

The radio cut out, leaving three Agents drowning in static.

An untold number of words lived and died in his throat. There wasn't anything he could say that expressed the sheer cacophony of emotions he was feeling.

Agents One and Two looked just as shook as he felt. They were each still, their gaze locked on something in the distance. No one knew what to say.

The deafening hiss of radio static clicked off as Agent Two turned a knob. She wobbled to her feet, using the wall to catch herself as she found her balance. The room was silent as she made her way around the table, and out of the study.

It didn't take long for Agent One to follow her. She nodded to herself a few times, before walking out as well.

Quinn remained silent as he watched her go. Now alone in the study, his eyes roamed over everything, taking it all in like it was his first time seeing it. There was nothing else for him to focus on - his mind turned to the unbridled well of emotions inside of him. Through everything he felt; the pain, the fear, the pride, through all of it, one thought stood above everything else.

The Captain was alive.

He wasn't dead. He wasn't dead. Quinn had been so scared he was dead. Scared that he screwed up so badly that The Captain had been killed. That he killed The Captain. That he killed his mentor. That he killed his grandpa.

But he hadn't. The Captain was alive.

The thought had never manifested in his mind. He never stopped to give it time, or weight, or even a passing consideration. He couldn't, but the fear drove his every action all the same. He had been so scared The Captain was dead because of him.

But The Captain was alive.

Relief flooded his system. His legs shook so bad he dropped to his knees. Tears streamed down his face for what felt like the thousandth time in two days. He wanted to laugh. He wanted to cry. At his sides, he slowly curled his hands into fists, and then relaxed them, only to repeat the cycle again and again.

The Captain was alive.

Someone else stepped into the room. Agent Two gently set herself down in front of him. Without a word, she opened her arms and pulled him into a hug. The contact made Quinn jolt, but he didn't try to pull away.

Quinn opened his mouth, but no words came out. He closed his eyes, took a deep, shaky breath, and tried again. "He's not dead... I— I didn't..."

Agent Two stiffened at his words, locking up momentarily. She suddenly pulled him even deeper into the hug, wrapping her arms around him tightly, like she was trying to make sure he knew she was there. Her breath began to hitch as she cried too. Quinn brought his own arms around her as his tears started again in turn.

They stayed like that for an unsure amount of time, holding onto one another as all the emotions they'd suppressed for the past five weeks were finally given an outlet. Even after they had cried themselves hoarse, neither of them broke the hug. Not for a long time.

Quinn was the first to move this time. He slowly unclasped his hands and leaned back.

Agent Two did the same, retreating back to her own space, but not before catching his eye. "Can we talk?" She asked, her voice scratchy.

Not trusting himself to speak yet, Quinn nodded. She nodded back, distractedly swapping from resting on her knees to sitting flat on the floor. He stood up and walked from the study. Everything felt disconnected, like he was floating as he walked into the living room.

Agent One was sitting in the chair with the pink blanket. She gave him a smile, but it was different this time. It wasn't the bright, overly-inviting smile she had been using earlier. This one was... realer? He didn't know how to describe it, but he knew something was different.

He gave her a nod, still not trusting his words to do what he wanted. For the moment, he turned down the hallway, and back into the bathroom. Again, he splashed water onto his face, which helped bring him back down to earth. The overnight bag he had been taking from that morning still sat open on the counter.

Things were different. The entire situation was so far beyond his realm of understanding he might as well have been blind. He didn't know what, or how, to prepare for the coming conversation. He wasn't even sure he should prepare anything. He didn't know what to expect anymore. Was it worth it to try and brace himself for an attack he couldn't be sure was coming?

He stared into the mirror, and his reflection looked back, tired, disheveled, and sad. Yet, despite everything, a glimmer of hope shone in his eyes. Hope that maybe, just maybe, this could go well. That they could accept him. Quinn didn't brace himself.

In the living room, Agent One was still waiting in her chair. Agent Two had settled into the chair with the green blanket. They both smiled at him as he sat down on the couch adjacent to the chairs. He looked between them, meeting their eyes as he gathered his courage.

Things would be different this time. "My name is Quinn Tidesplay, Agent Three of the New Squidbeak Splatoon."