-Present-
"Clearly, you're not a stranger to being imprisoned." Vytus remarked.
"What gave you that impression?" Marie responded coldly.
"Forget I said anything. What happened after that?"
"No, you forget I said anything." Marie rebuked. "I'm not going to tell the rest of my life story while you sit there and take it all in. You're going to tell me something in return."
Vytus looked at the camera nervously. When no response came, he turned back towards Marie.
"Go on."
"Why are to so interested in me? You're together with my one hundred percent sane cousin. Why spare a thought of me while I rot in this cage?"
"In short, it's happened again. Six more Inklings have gone missing."
-Past-
Marie broke down in tears the moment the guard took off her hood, confirming what she suspected.
She was home.
She turned to the guard, her voice shaking with emotion.
"Thank you so much."
The guard waved her off and backed away, closing the door behind her. Callie and Mira burst from behind the furniture, twisting confetti cannons and shouting welcomes at her. A banner saying "Welcome home Marie!" swung from the ceiling, and a cake sat on the table. The pair ran forward, pulling Marie into a hug she had no choice but to accept. The stepped back, beaming at her while she laughed. Mira moved behind her, her fingers beginning to work on the straitjacket.
"So!" Callie said, placing her hands on Marie's shoulders. "What's the first thing you're going to do when you get out of that jacket?"
Marie glanced at the cake on the table and shook her head.
"Scratch my everything. This thing is so uncomfortable."
The first strap tightened before vanishing, Mira moving onto the next. The cycle repeated, each strap tightening while Mira dislodged the needle before vanishing as she pulled the leather through. Marie bounced on her feet, waiting for the fabric to drop away. She didn't even care that she was only wearing a bra underneath, she just wanted to be free.
"Now..." Callie started. "Before Mira lets you out of that jacket, you have to agree to something."
Mira stopped on the last strap and Marie groaned with frustration, having been denied her sweet release.
"I swear Callie, you better get to the point fast."
"We are officially listed as your custodians."
"Yeah? So?"
"That means to have to do everything we tell you to, within reason, or..." She walked behind her and threaded one of the straps back through. "You go back in the jacket. Capische?"
Marie nodded, perhaps too quickly, and Callie leered for a second before beaming. "Good!"
Mira made quick work of the straps, and then the knot that held the sleeves together. The fabric dropped away, and true to her word, Marie's hands moved all over her body, getting rid of all the itched that had plagued her during her incarceration. She moved through to carpeted living room, lying down on the carpet and exhaling. Callie and Mira watched, confused. She glared at them, shifting slightly.
"You have no idea how good this feels."
"If you say so. Cake?"
Mira held out the baked good, and Marie took a slice, biting into it and almost crying again.
"It has been too long."
"You make it sound like you've been gone for years."
"Hey!" Marie shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Callie. "You haven't been in a straitjacket for a week."
Callie and Mira shared a glance, the former winking before regaining her composure. She dragging Marie off the carpet and sat her down on the couch, throwing a shirt at her. Mira sat down next to her, two bottles of juice in her hands. She handed one over.
"Oh? Do I have two maids now?" Marie taunted.
"No." Callie said, making a show of tilting her head towards the straitjacket that was now draped over a chair. Marie glared at her.
"Don't even think about it."
"Don't give us an excuse." Mira retorted, giving her a shove. Marie arched a brow.
"Where did all this confidence come from? The other day, you were timid as anything."
"I performed. I guess you must have rubbed off on me." Mira shrugged.
Marie tried to think of a witty response, but nothing came.
"Well that explains the sarcasm." She said. Callie leaned over her.
"Soooo, what do you want to do?"
"I have no idea. There's so much I could do... A film, maybe?"
"Any in particular?"
"Oh, I don't know. A romance, maybe?"
Callie grimaced. Marie picked up on it and pressed onwards.
"Yeah, a romance. Mira? Are you okay with that?"
"Yes. That's fine."
Marie grinned while Callie's expression darkened; she borderline glowered at her when she brought in her favourite film, and Marie knew Callie hated it. Mira seemed indifferent. Marie pulled her cousin onto the couch, Mira sitting between them as the opening credits played.
Callie endured the endless stream of cliches and lovebird staring, almost gasping with relief when the closing credits rolled up the screen. She noticed that at some point, Mira had moved herself onto Marie's lap, and her cousin had her arms wrapped around the Octoling. Callie rolled her eyes, pulling herself to her feet.
"Either of you two lovebirds want a drink?"
The pair nodded, and Callie poured them both a glass of juice. She opened the cupboard, contemplating the packet of tablets that lay hidden inside.
I could always... Motivate her.
She decided against it, closing the cupboard and taking the drinks through and handing them to the pair. Soon after, Marie stood up, claiming that she was going to bed. When Mira stated that she was going to be sleeping on the couch, Marie took her by the hands and dragged her towards her bedroom, passing through the kitchen as they went. Several minutes later, Marie's bedroom door clicked shut. Sighing, Callie poured herself a glass of wine, taking a sip before sitting down at the table, the contract she had signed for custody of Marie sat in front of her. She flipped it open, reading the rules she had agreed to again.
"Always have a custodian accompany the patient. Check. The patient is not to consume alcohol or illicit substances. Check. The patient is not to be exposed to scenes of an excessively violent or threatening nature. Ugh, no action films for me for a while. As a custodian, you must keep a restraint or straitjacket on-hand in case of an emergency." Callie looked up, and saw that the straitjacket was no longer on the back of the chair. "Uh-oh."
She stood up, downing the rest of her glass before heading down the corridor, knocking on Marie's door before opening it.
"Hey, have either of you moved the... Strait..."
She backed out quickly, trying her hardest to scour the scene she had just witnessed from her mind.
When Mira had suggested that she slept on the couch, Marie had taken her by the hands and led her to her bedroom, making it abundantly clear that she wasn't taking no for an answer. Mira had squeaked something about the discharge conditions and grabbed the straitjacket from the chair as they passed. After a few minutes of personal hygiene, Marie was sinking into her mattress, laughing at the comfort she hadn't realised she would miss so much. The fact that she was able to lie in a comfortable bed in a set of pyjamas, no straitjacket required, was a luxury in itself.
The straitjacket in question was currently hanging in the grip of Mira, who was stood at the foot of the bed. Marie sat up and looked at her.
"Are you going to stand there all night? Come here and keep me warm." She said, dragging out the last word as she leaned forward and pulled Mira onto the mattress. The Octoling pulled away, moving out of Marie's field of view. The Inkling settled onto her back, staring at the ceiling and listening to the faint rustle of fabric. She turned over and almost choked when Mira sat on the edge of the bad, a sliver of her back visible between the belts of the straitjacket. She held the sleeves out behind her.
"Please... Fasten it..."
Even from her current position, Marie could see the tips of Mira's ears burning crimson. Marie had a sudden moment of clarity.
"I saw you looking away when I showed Inkopolis I was in a straitjacket. You... Like it, don't you?" Mira nodded, whimpering. Marie grinned salaciously. "Kinky."
Marie took the first strap and fastened it- not as tightly as she had it when she was forced to wear it, but tight enough that Mira felt it rubbing against her. She fastened the rest of the straps, and then moved onto the sleeves. Mira had already cross her arms in front of her, the sleeves trailing behind her. Marie took them and tied them in a loose but secure knot. Mira actually shivered when Marie moved her hands away.
"Well? Now what?" Mira mumbled something that Marie couldn't make out. "I'm sorry?"
"D...dominate me..."
Wow, she is totally into this.
Marie pulled her into a kiss, her tongue running against the inside of Mira's lips before she lifted her up, dropping the Octoling onto the bed and straddling her. Mira's face burned. Marie smirked.
"Well then... Now that you can't touch..."
Both of their heads snapped to the door when it opened, glaring at Callie, who very quickly backed out and slammed the door. The pair burst out laughing at the interruption. Marie calmed down first, placing a finger on Mira's lips, silencing her. Her hands went to her shirt, slowly beginning to lift it while she swayed from side to side. Mira whimpered as she took it off completely and leaned in again, going in for another kiss. Mira gave no resistance. Marie moved down, running a hand down Mira's chest, stomach and was reaching even further down into her shorts when she stopped. Mira almost cried.
"Please..."
"Shh!"
Marie held up a finger, all traces of playfulness gone from her face. She put her shirt back on.
"Do you hear that?" She whispered while undoing the straitjacket.
"Hear what?"
"The window..."
"But we're on the top floor..." The Octoling said, readjusting her shorts. "Nothing can be out there."
Taking a Splattershot from under the bed, Marie crept towards the window, shivering as she went. The room felt much colder now, as if the heat had been leeched right out of it, and by proxy, herself. She reached out with her left hand, yanking the curtain back and aiming at the window, only to see that there was nothing there, apart from a thin layer of frost on the outside pane. She opened the window, shuddering as the night air clawed its way inside the room. Looking down to the ground below, she saw nothing. Frowning, she went to close the window again until she heard another noise; not cracking, but a noise like thick liquid peeling away from a hard surface. Swallowing nervously, she turned, her back facing downwards as she peered up to the room. When the eyeless Inkling appeared over the edge, she stifled a scream, wriggling back inside and closing the window as it pitched itself over the edge and walked down the side of the wall with a slowness that Marie felt was to deliberately unsettle her further. The tar that had been in the clearing, dripping from the Inklings' skewered bodies, now slid down the window, soon followed by the eyeless Inkling standing on the glass, the fragile material cracking under its weight. Up close and lit by the room, Marie could see that it was, or at least once was, a boy, and that his entire body was coated with his own tar. It stared at her, and she backed away, pulling Mira from the bed and crouching behind the furniture.
"Do you see it? Tell me you see it."
"I-I see it."
Marie breathed a quick sigh of relief. She wasn't hallucinating. She stared out at the eyeless boy, who stared back, his mouth twisted into a sick smile. It walked further down the wall before placing his hands on the glass. Marie backed away even further as his hands turned to liquid, passing through the gap between the pane and the frame, fingers forming inside the room, removing the latch and pushing the window open. The eyeless boy walked inside the room, whispering incoherently as it approached, leaving a trail of tar in its wake. Marie and Mira backed into the corridor.
"Callie!" Marie shouted. She heard footsteps, and she turned to them as they approached. Callie ran towards her, urgency written all over her face.
"What?"
Marie pointed into the room, looking away from the creature inside.
"That was there. I saw that the day before the missing Inklings were found!"
"Saw... What? There's nothing in there."
"What?"
Marie looked into the room. True to Callie's word, the eyeless boy had vanished; not just in person, but all traces of it were no longer there. There was no tar soaking into the carpet or down the outside wall, and the window was shut. Marie was wide-eyed with fear, and Callie's face was etched with worry. She held her phone in one hand.
"Do I have to call Tesh to tell him you're hallucinating?"
"No, because it's not just me! Mira saw it too!"
The Octoling nodded rapidly. Callie frowned.
"Alright."
She vanished down the hall for a second, returning with a folding chair and setting it up in the corner of Marie's bedroom. She sat down with her Roller. The message was clear- she was keeping watch. Marie and Mira both got back into bed, clutching each other close.
None of the trio slept well that night, Marie and Mira paranoid that something was moving in the shadows, something with the intent to hurt them. It was in the early morning hours when Callie fell asleep, the three of them falling into fitful slumbers plagued with nightmares. When Marie awoke the next morning, she almost ripped the curtain from its rail as she tugged it aside to check there were no eyeless horrors outside. Seeing there were none, she turned away and roused Callie, who had fallen asleep. She woke up, tilting her neck from side to side.
"Yep, I thought I'd regret sleeping in a chair. That's sore." She checked her phone for the time. "Crap! We've got ten minutes!"
Callie stumbled out of the room, tripping over the discarded straitjacket. Her slip allowed Marie to overtake her, and moments later Callie's expression soured when she heard the bathroom door slam and lock. She growled, hammering on the door.
"If you're not out here in five minutes, you're going to regret it!"
"Whatever!"
Callie breezed into the kitchen, snatching a bowl from the cupboard and pouring herself a bowl of cereal, bolting the morning meal before gathering a fresh pair of clothes. She waited outside the bathroom four minutes later, waiting for Marie to finish. The lock clicked open.
"Finally! Come on, you need to- oh for-!"
Marie walked out of the room completely nude, slapping Callie face lightly as she went.
"All yours."
Callie growled again, storming into the bathroom and setting the shower to the correct colour while she stripped down.
Minutes later, the sisters were stood in front of a camera, their stories for the day handed to them on paper. Callie read hers and cast a worried glance at Marie who looked back at her.
"Are you looking at the-"
"Yeah."
"And you're alright with it?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, if you say so." She turned to the camera. "Hold onto your tentacles..."
"It's Inkopolis news time!"
"Unfortunately, we have some bad news."
"Awful news."
"Another six Inklings have gone missing."
Six faces appeared on the screen. Marie pointed to them.
"If you happen to know anything as to where they could have vanished to, or who took them, please tell the authorities!"
The pair moved onto the stage news, and soon enough, the report was over. Marie sat down heavily, Callie sitting down across the table.
"Feel like waiting around today?"
"I just need time to... Process the fact that more have gone missing."
She turned and waved to a fan stood outside the window, Callie following suit before turning back.
"The problem is, we don't know who they're going to get. There's not enough police to guard every child in Inkopolis, and the hotels don't have enough rooms to put them all in one place."
"I know, it's just- ugh- I hate feeling like I can't do anything, like all of our Agent training has gone to waste." She waved to another fan before standing up. "I'm heading back."
"No walk today?"
"No, I have some unfinished business at home."
"I will never look at that straitjacket the same way."
Marie almost choked, a blush erupting across her face.
"Oh, uh, you saw that?"
"Oh yes." Callie narrowed her eyes. "She's into that, then? The whole submissive thing?"
"Apparently."
"Lucky you."
"Callie!"
Callie burst out laughing at Marie's reaction. The sister turned away, walking out the door. Seconds later, Callie heard the distinct sound of an Inkling propelling themselves into the air.
When the sisters had left, Corlu had dragged herself out of bed and to the kitchen, slowly eating her way through a bowl of cereal. She had showered and dressed, sitting down and switching on the TV while she waited for the sisters to return, just catching the end of their broadcast, their catchphrase "Stay fresh!" echoing in her ears. As she sat there, she briefly considered going back to the refugee centre, back where she belonged to give another little show, but that thought vanished- along with other coherent thoughts- when Marie caught her off-guard by draping her arms over her shoulders and folding them across Mira's chest, silencing the Octoling's scream with a kiss. Mira broke off.
"Marie! Please don't scare me like that!"
"Aww, I'm sorry." Came the snarky reply. A straitjacket landed on Mira's lap. "I believe we have some unfinished business."