The room was spinning. The white walls assaulted the eyes, and were nearly unbearable. The only thing that broke up the monotonous white was a black window that took up half of one wall. It was so bright. Far too bright...
The four corners of the room seemed too close together, and it was almost as though there was barely enough room to move around. Every movement only made these walls feel like they were getting closer and closer. The tiled floor below felt uneven, leaving one arm to blindly reach for nothing but an abyss to the right.
The room felt wrong, but was the room itself really the problem here...?
As the sedatives wore off, 3′s senses returned to him slowly but surely. Before he could fully open his eyes he had tried to push himself upright, but quickly found himself crashing back onto his right side. He tried to blink his eyes open again, finding great difficulty as the bright lights were like a hammer to his head. Were his eyes always this sensitive to light...? Could it have been because of the sedatives, or a lack of engagement? He couldn’t tell. The room continued to spin.
He stared long and hard at the wall across from him, his eyes wandering up to the black window. Mind still sluggish, he attempted to push himself up once again, with more success this time as he solely leaned against his left arm. It appeared that the arm allowed him to sit taller than normal, but the agent barely had any time to think about that, for as soon as he was level with the window, he could see something in it.
With a loud yelp that ripped his mouth open, 3 fell backwards in shock. What did he just see?! It almost... Looked like him. It had his bangs and his scar. But whatever he saw couldn’t have been him! It was a monster!
... Right?
His hearts were pounding in his ears, and his eyes were as wide as saucers. The tips of his tentacles started to tingle. His entire body felt strange, even stranger now that the sedatives had all but faded out completely. In staring at the opposite wall, he could see his own body in the edge of his vision.
His feet... His... Feet... Looked like the legs mammals had in ancient biology books. Large paws, tipped with wicked-looking claws, and the left foot was slightly bigger than the right. He could see spines jutting out of his thighs, looking just as dangerous as the claws at the end of his toes. This couldn’t be right... He tried to flex his toes, and the deformed paws followed suit. His blood turned cold. His head felt light. His breath was short.
3 dared himself to observe the rest of his body. He lifted his hands to his face and quickly regretted it. No wonder the entire room felt lop-sided--it wasn’t the floor, but his own arms. Breath caught in his throat, his eyes darted wildly between the trembling appendages that were attached to his body.
While his right hand looked normal--a five-fingered hand that was colored yellow like his tentacles--his left hand, if one could call it such, was another story entirely. It was now a massive paw, much like his feet, but even bigger. It was heavy, and yet he somehow had little trouble lifting it into the air. It felt wrong. It looked wrong. There was no way that this... Thing was attached to his body...! He could move it with surprising ease, and yet he couldn’t, no, he wouldn’t, believe that it was “his.”
With a mighty thump, the large arm fell to the ground. Using his right hand 3 gingerly ran his fingers up to his left shoulder, over muscles and spines that jutted out at the peak. Chills ran through his entire body each time his fingertips touched this new arm...
He tensed, curling up his toes and clenching his beak. There was no doubt about it. This arm was a part of him. He felt sick to his stomach, and his mind raced a mile a minute. What did Scylla do to him? What did she make him?! And why did she leave his other arm so scrawny in comparison! He wrapped his hand around the enlarged bicep and dug his fingers feebly into the flesh. He wanted to increase his muscle mass, but... Not like this, never like this!
Jolting suddenly, his entire body began to tingle as if tiny crackles of electricity were trying to stimulate his muscles. His form bristled, making the spines that covered his limbs stand on end. He attempted to rise to his feet, but a stab of pain ran up his back when his left foot squashed something rather soft.
Falling back over and rolling about in confusion, that’s when 3 saw it: a long sleek gray tail that was tipped with a wide fan. It was a Great Zapfish tail. He was rigid as his wide eyes ran along the length of this tail. Was this some kind of cruel joke? Bitter irony? Punishment for all he had done two years prior?
The tip had a significant kink in it, which made the fan bend at a near 90 degree angle. Near the base, he could see where his own yellow ink started to fade in. The tail twitched occasionally.
Tears welled up in 3′s eyes. If he had anything in his stomach, he likely would have brought it up. He thought that what Scylla had done after she had trapped him was bad. Thinking on it, he could have certainly lived with looking like an under-developed pre-teen. But this... This was much, much worse. Far worse than any nightmare he could have ever dreamed up. This body wasn’t his anymore, it was her’s. The moment he stepped through the doors, Scylla claimed it for herself.
And now he was a monster.
Muscles still crackling with electricity, 3 rolled onto his knees and balled his hands into fists. He clenched his beak and hiccuped as he tried to draw in air as he lowered his forehead to the ground. Tears were pouring out of his eyes, and his tail thrashed about violently. He sobbed loudly, then threw his head back and loosed a wail that ripped his jaw open to an alarming degree.
The thick white walls muffled his screams.
3 stared at the ceiling, his strained sobbing seeping through his beak. His mind was filled with rage. His chest was filled with fear. His muscles continued to spark, which only fueled the fire of hatred that was starting to burn inside of him. What would 8 think if she saw him like this? Could he even live in such a state? What kind of sick kick did Scylla get out of mangling and mutating people? Oh, how he wanted to wrap his new claws around her long neck...!
Slamming his balled paw into the ground, 3 roared. A thick cloud of fog was shrouding his mind, and a primal anger was now setting in at a breakneck speed. His sense of self was slipping away as he stared long and hard at the claws that were now digging deeper and deeper into his palm. Pain sprang through the limb as purple blood trickled out from underneath the sharpened tips. He didn’t care.
Snarling, he bore his beak. He glowered and glared at the paw, loathing how unfitting and large it was. It didn’t belong there. He didn’t want it. He hated this new body of his, and wanted nothing to do with it.
Something snapped inside of 3′s mind. No longer himself, his eyes were wide and wild, as if he had gone completely feral. Gnashing his beak he suddenly lashed out and sank it into his forearm with as much force as he could muster. Astringent-tasting blood stung at his tongue and pain shot through his entire arm, and yet he didn’t let go. If it meant that he could be rid of this monstrous thing attached to his shoulder, he was going to tear his own arm off.
Just then, a buzzing could be heard and felt from something wrapped around his neck. He hadn’t noticed it until now, but Scylla had placed a collar there, possibly to keep him in check if something like this happened. While he expected a shock, a sweet aroma instead started to waft around the area, and a pink-toned cloud of smoke rose around 3′s face.
Eyelids heavy, 3 was overcome with a sleepy sensation. His entire body began to relax, and the electric sparking finally started to die down and allow his muscles to ease. His beak slowly released his arm, leaving behind a beak mark, teeth marks, and a mixture of blood and ink that began to pool on the floor. 3 crumpled into a heap on the floor as his consciousness began to fade away once again. The fog of rage parted, only to be replaced by a dense smog of sleepiness.
Just barely aware of his surroundings, 3 could hear people entering the room. He could make out shapes in his blurred vision--it looked like Scylla and Jellsica. The two approached and began to examine closely, hands and tentacles placed about his body. With his subdued senses, each touch was like a faint buzz against the edge of his consciousness. He wanted to move away, but for the life of him, he couldn’t.
“Tch,” Scylla sneered, “Well, this is why we placed him into confinement, but we should have strapped him down...”
“At... At least the c-collar worked,” Jellsica started.
“Of course it worked,” Scylla huffed haughtily, “I made it.”
Jellsica was tempted to mention that she was the one who came up with the idea of using sleeping gas instead of harming the patient, but she refrained, “Um... I... I f-fear he could have broken any bindings, however... If we weren’t careful...” she squeaked, “He may not b-be aware of... Of his own s-s-strength...”
“Perhaps,” Scylla sighed in an exasperated way, “Either way, we’ll have to muzzle him for a time. Hmph! I can’t say I expected him to try and eat himself!” she paced back and forth while Jellsica continued the examination, “Ah, it started off so well, too! His reaction to his beautiful new body... If only he could have appreciated my handiwork.”
The anemone leaned over and placed her own face directly in front of 3′s. She stared at him with a sharp gaze, which he could just make out. When he blinked hazily, she gave him a sinister toothy grin.
“Don’t worry, my little Zapfish,” she hummed darkly, “You’ll adjust to your new body in due time.~” she gingerly brushed one hand over the side of his face, as if he were some kind of pet or animal. It felt horrible, sending chills down his back and through his tail. If he could have bitten her, he would have...
She stood straight and folded her arms behind her back, “Jellsica.” the jellyfish jumped, “Bandage his wounds and make sure it doesn’t bleed out. Muzzle him, and...” she paused, “Find a way to cap off his claws until we can get him to cooperate. Maybe put some mittens on him, I don’t know, I don’t care, just make it so he can’t hurt himself.”
“B-but he... He’s still awake...”
“It doesn’t matter! Just do it, or you’ll wind up worse than him!”
“Y-yes, m’am...!”
Scylla left the room, however the tension in the air was still thick enough to cut with a knife. 3 could hear Jellsica sigh before she dragged a large first-aid kit to the agent’s side. With her in view, despite being very blurry, it made him realize... Just how large he was, now. He knew the helpful jellyfish wasn’t always that small. He screwed his eyes shut. He didn’t like this, not one bit...
Delicate tentacles tended to his wounds with extreme care, and they were so gentle that he could barely feel them as they brushed up against his skin and washed the bite marks. With all of his might 3 attempted to pull his arm away. However even with what felt like herculean strength, his massive arm barely moved even a quarter of an inch. It... Wasn’t as if he didn’t trust Jellsica at this point. That was probably the only reason that Scylla chose her to tend to him. No, it was because he didn’t want these wounds to recover.
By the time Jellsica finished tending to him, 3 had finally fallen asleep. Her already watery eyes wobbled with tears for what these poor teenagers had to endure. It didn’t matter whose fault it was, it didn’t matter who twisted them into unrecognizable shapes, or who lead them to the lab. Jellsica felt responsible for their horrific states, and hated herself for not doing more to get them out.
But... What could she even do...? Try and seek help? Be considered a loony? Potentially lead any help to their doom? If she was going to stop Scylla, she would need an army and a half, but where on earth could she get one of those? And if Scylla found out, not only would Jellsica be in danger, but an entire hive of jellyfish, too.
Continuing with the instructions given to her, Jellsica found a muzzle that would fit on 3′s enlarged face. Now for those claws... He would probably be able to pick off any caps they placed on, so she instead found four flat pillows with their cases and tied them around each hand and foot. Once he was prepared, she called for some guards to assist in bringing the poor soul back to his room.
3 tensed. Whoops! He had been seen! There was really no point in trying to conceal himself completely, but he remained half-hidden as he watched the human’s reaction to his unfortunate visage. If it were any other time, 3 would have likely chuckled at the guy nearly losing his phone; in one sense, this human wasn’t terribly different from any other Inkling!
He had no clue what the guy meant about “basegame,” however. Raising an eyebrow, he wondered if this guy was some sort of gamer...
Shrinking back however, the human had unwittingly hit a soft spot of 3′s. The massive agent was now attempting to make himself look smaller, rubbing at his nose upon mention of cologne.
“Whoa, h-hang on, I’m not going to eat you!” he cried, “And I can tell you put on cologne, I can smell it from here...”
