CHOSEN ANSWER: Switch the sensor off

Did she even need to ask? Of course I was going to turn this off! Without a second thought, I raised my hand to the switch and flipped it quickly. "Even if we don't know everything, this is one risk I'm willing to take if it means that the others will be safe," I remarked.

"Thank cod that's off," Sagaci heaved a sigh of relief, placing a hand on her forehead. Standing behind her were CallieMacN and VicVillon who both looked visibly more relaxed after hearing the click of the switch earlier.

"Thanks so much, 8," Etcesona said gratefully, a hand on his chest. "At least that's one issue solved,"

*The splatubers will remember this.

"Alright, now that we got that out of the way..." Agent 3 coughed for attention, cueing us to get back on track. "I think we've done all we can here for the light situation. We should go and check out that trap where Skul died now,"

I nodded once. "Agreed. I hope we find something useful there,"

Without another word, we all exited the kitchen and walked back to where the trap was, a room behind the door residing in the dining room. As we made our way there, I could feel the atmosphere between the splatubers being much lighter than before, perhaps due to the fact that they could not fear for the lights turning off suddenly and one member dying out of nowhere. Truth be told, it was a nice feeling for me too.

A feeling that was unfortunately demolished the second we stepped back into that room.

The place where I had made the fateful choice of saving CallieMacN instead of SkulShurtugal.

I could feel shivers creeping down my back the moment my foot touched the ground. The room seemed untouched from when we left; CallieMacN's door was opened, SkulShurtugal's door was closed, and the tank remained upturned and empty with not a single drop of water left behind.

I must have been visibly shaken by the sight, because it wasn't too long before VicVillon patted me on the shoulder, mentally commanding me to look up at her comforting smile. "It's not your fault, 8. You did nothing wrong, believe me on that,"

All I could do was nod silently, internally praying that she was right. Meanwhile, from the corner of my eye I could see Agent 3 and Etcesona pushing against the door in unison a couple of times. After the fourth try, it finally gave way, allowing us to enter the room where the poor splatuber was drowned to death.

"Okay, first things first," Agent 3 said slowly, looking around the small area. "Anything left behind when Skul died?"

Beside her, Etcesona was kneeling down. "Found it," He answered straight away as his hands picked up a set of Studio Headphones, their appearance being just like the ones that Agent 3 was wearing.

"Alright, so... that's a bit of progress..." CallieMacN noted carefully, revising the clues left behind by the killers. "We got everyone's headgear now, including Skul. The only question is, what the shell does that mean?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Callie," Sagaci shrugged. "I mean, these guys can't be that twisted to leave behind memoirs like that, right?"

"Honestly, if that was their intention, I wouldn't be surprised," Etcesona claimed as he stood up, crossing his arms. "I mean, they literally made Agent 8 cause Skul to die. If anything, I'd say they're just messed up in the head,"

Despite his lack of malice, the words alone made me cringe, the memory of what had happened merely minutes ago flooding my mind again. The water, the screaming, the banging on the doors, Skul's final shriek of death... The noise echoed in my ears, forcing me to hunch my back slightly, covering my ears as I denied to hear anything.

The changes in my demeanor naturally attracted the attention of everyone, especially VicVillon who was comforting me a few moments ago. "Etce!" She lightly scolded the octoling for bringing up the sensitive topic. "Agent 8's right here, you know,"

Upon realising his mistake, Etcesona apologised profusely, though as the memory passed by and the noises subsided, I accepted it quickly. "Vic, he was speaking the truth, it's fine," I explained to the caring inkling. "I'm just being a little overdramatic, that's all,"

She shook her head regardless. "Still," She pressed on. "It must have been a horrible experience for you..."

"She's right," CallieMacN added, a guilty look on her face. "I'm grateful that you saved me, but in the heat of the moment, I could barely process what could have happened to me, thus I kept banging the doors and screaming. And yet, you managed to surpass all that and stand here?"

"We just can't imagine how you're feeling right now, 8..." Sagaci finished before patting CallieMacN on the shoulder, having noticed her guilt-ridden face.

A short moment of silence entered the room, but was soon interrupted by Agent 3 speaking.

"Honestly though, are you okay, 8?" Agent 3 came up to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You can wait outside if you're not comfortable staying here,"

Somehow, I feel a sense of foreboding with this choice...

~~~~

~ A DECISION TO MAKE ~

🦋

(Underlined and bold indicates the final answer determined by my Twitter poll)

I should've saved him

Loose ends unresolved

I'm glad he's dead

( ... )