Maize and Marie had spent the better part of thirty minutes looking in the neighbor's yard for the source of that noise. Even though it had only lasted a brief moment, they still did not want to go back to Mauve having gained nothing, not even the slightest clue what the cause of the noise was.

"Okay. I'm all for doing a thorough job… but I'm not doing this", Marie said. The two were near a storm drain and she was holding both umbrellas. Maize had the idea to go searching down in the storm drain, because it was empty and could easily echo from all over like they heard earlier.

"I'm not asking you to go down there with me. I just want you to pull me back up when I'm done searching," Maize repeated. The white inkling had the same facial expression that showed how dumb this idea was. She was happy he had a strong determination when it came to helping other squids, at least.

"Let's just go back inside Mauve's place and wait for the noise to happen again," Marie suggested an alternative plan, though Maize was ready to change into a squid and dive in the storm drain. He tapped his chin.

"Alright, I guess," Maize sighed. They had some of the morning left, as it was only around half past ten at the moment. Marie returned the umbrella to the yellow inkling, the two making their way out of the yard to get back to the home of Mauve.

"Hey, we're back!" Maize called out as they entered inside Mauve's home. Again they saw the construction manager himself not so far away from the entrance, being right in his kitchen, standing in front of the microwave. The two inklings put their umbrellas back down after closing them.

"Welcome back," Mauve greeted them. One look showed that the purple inkling was microwaving a towel, to their confusion. They wondered if the sleep deprivation had started to affect his mental state.

"Sorry, but we haven't found out what that noise was yet," Marie apologized, aware that they all had sworn to do their best and find it quickly. They heard the microwave beep, and Mauve grabbed the now warm towel out from it, and then walked toward his living room.

"Don't worry about it… that Caitlyn girl already found out what it was," the older inkling happily said. He looked a lot more cheerful knowing he could now get a good night's sleep and not worry about losing his job. That surprised the white inkling.

"Wow… really?" Marie could only say, amazed that Callie had found out what it was already, but now she wondered why her cousin had not come and told them both about the discovery either. The black inkling had left them both still blindly searching outside.

"That's great! We were more than happy to help," Maize stated with a smile, curious what the cause of the noise was. When they arrived to the living room, they saw Callie sitting on the couch. She looked relieved to see her cousin and friend.

"Oh good. You got the towel," Callie smiled. Mauve handed the towel over. Maize at last saw what the squid sister was holding. In her arms was a very tiny squid that mostly was light blue in color but had a red tinge at the end of its tentacles.

"Wh-where'd you get a squishie?!" Maize asked, shocked. Squishies were newborn inklings. This squishie did not appear to be more than a month old at most. Its eyes were red in color and they only seemed to show fear for its new environment. Agent 1 was wrapping the young squid up in the warm towel, the old cold blanket she had brought it in was lying in the floor. The squishie was absolutely shivering from being out in the cold rain so long.

"I found him out in the pile of junk. He was making that noise," Callie answered. She was doing her best to take care of the baby boy. It was unexpected to find a squishie to be the source of the noise. Maize was glad they accomplished the mission, but now it appeared they had a new one on their hands, and it was not an intentional one.

"It's a good thing you found him. He wouldn't have made it in this weather," Maize stated, not wanting to imagine the horrific outcome of the young squid being left in the cold rain. The yellow inkling pondered what to do now.

"Thanks for helping me out. But maybe it's time to contact Squishie Protective Services?" Mauve suggested that they needed to call a professional service so they could hopefully find the parents of this squishie.

"That'd probably be for th…" Marie tried to reply, but Callie spoke up.

"No way! The system would do nothing to help him!" Callie exclaimed while rubbing the squishie's head to try and reassure it was in safe hands. Maize knew this feeling in the atmosphere, to experience the Squid Sisters at another disagreement. He knew the black inkling was not entirely wrong, the most that all the protective services would do is just look through the missing squid database, and if nothing came back, they would send it to the first foster parent they could find and hope things go well.

"We'll do that as a last resort. But for now, why don't we see if we can find its parents ourselves?" Maize tried to suggest. He did not want to witness an argument between them, especially when they were guests in another squid's home. He pulled out his cellphone and took a picture of the squishie.

"Thank you, Maize. I'll take care of him while you two handle that," Callie gladly volunteered, aware that they had to get ready to leave at this point. They were far beyond intruding into Mauve's home, but he seemed glad just because he knew he would be able to sleep for once.

"Why don't you just leave him with gramps? We don't even have an idea where to start," Marie questioned as she took a picture with her phone as well. She believed Captain Cuttlefish would have no problem watching over a squishie altogether, and they could search better due to it.

"I don't think grandpa would be the best option to watch over him," Callie said, the squishie looking up to her. She knew there were a lot of things that had to be done to take care of the baby squid. She didn't want to put that burden on her grandfather.

"Heh, don't worry little guy. I promise we'll find your parents," Maize told the squishie. With that said, he left the home with Marie, both aware that Callie was going to make quite a few preparations so she could actually take care of the squishie.

"That's your third promise today," Agent 2 commented jokingly as they opened their umbrellas and made their way out, Mauve bidding them farewell.

"Yep, and already we fulfilled one promise when we solved the problem with what was causing the noise!" Maize happily reminded that he already had completed one promise. The white inkling could tell that he got some kind of adrenaline when he completed a promise. She wondered if he would be able to keep the one he made to the squishie.

"I'm more worried about what will happen when we do find his parents, though…" Maize then confessed. He was concerned about that. After all it was not often that someone lost their child on accident in someone else's yard entirely. His friend picked up on that worrying tone and gathered what he was afraid of. She put a hand on his shoulder in reassurance.

"I'm sure there is a reason. Let's focus on finding them. I'll head to Arowana Mall and see if anyone there knows anything," Marie said, ready to head to one of the most popular shopping areas in the town. Agent 3 nodded while making sure his splatterscope and the ink tank were ready on his back in case things got crazy. He wanted to be ready for anything.

"I'll head to the plaza. Call me if you find out something," Maize insisted. His close friend nodded before she headed the opposite direction. He had a funny feeling that she only wanted to go to Arowana Mall for something to eat, but as long as she did the mission as well, he did not mind. Maize began to make his way to Inkopolis Main Plaza.

Maize had continued his walk through the rain. Along the way he already had posted the picture of the squishie to Squidder, a common website that most inklings used for quick and easy messages or images. He had put up the image of the squishie in Callie's arms and add in text to ask if anyone knew the parents or the squishie itself. It was gartering a lot of views, but he presumed that was because it was a picture of something adorable online. The yellow inkling hoped it would help though.

"Yeah… this is what I expected to see," Maize muttered upon arriving to the plaza. The teenage inkling saw every other squid around, who was either taking cover under the nearest areas, relaxing in the cafe and shops, or fighting in turf wars, taking the ink washing rain as more of an added challenge. Agent 3 approached the café, deciding that was the best place to start.

"Uh, hi there. I'm from Special Squid Services. Can you tell me if you know this squishie?" Maize greeted the two, sitting at the closest table near the door. There was a couple his age sitting there, and they both were similarly dressed in academy clothing. The yellow inkling presented the picture on the phone to them both. They looked at it for a moment.

"Sorry, not many squishes are brought around the plaza," the girl apologized for not being able to help. Her boyfriend shook his head, having no idea either. Agent 3 nodded, thanking them for their time. He thought maybe it would be worth the time to visit Spyke. He was very informative when it came down to it. Maize left the café, not wanting to harass every squid in there just for the same answer. He entered into the alleyway, the rain not letting up in the slightest.

"Hello again, mate. Heard'cha trashed the club last night," Spyke greeted his friend upon seeing the familiar inkling enter the alleyway. The sea urchin was lying in the rain with little care in the world, his super sea snails all happily cuddling around him.

"Don't ask why, I had no choice! The owner was crazy! …anyway… I need to ask if you had any idea who this squishie was or where his parents are," Maize repeated the same information he asked other inklings earlier, showing his phone to the shady merchant. Spyke took the phone and looked at the image of the baby inkling. The sea urchin showed the photo to his super sea snails.

"Yep… the ma' for this thing has to be Aureolin," Spyke said, tossing the phone back. Maize caught it in his hands.

"Who?"

"Aureolin. I saw'er with the brat a week ago. She's ranked A+ in the plaza wif her crew. I'd be careful, mate, if you go near her but if you really have to look out for a gal wearing camouflage," Spyke explained as he pet one of the super sea snails. Maize was thankful that his older friend had not charged him for information, since he had no coins left.

"Thanks. I'll go find her now," Agent 3 hummed before re-entering the plaza. He saw a camouflage shirt being revealed from inside the clothing store. Maize approached and entered the store, where inside was quite full, and the shopkeeper working was even busier. Maize saw a girl in a camouflage coat and matching pants. She had bright yellow tentacles for hair, just like him, but hers was done back behind her head into a ponytail.

"Aureolin?" Maize approached, gaining her attention instantly. He had a hunch that he felt a few more sets of eyes begin to fall on him. He pulled out his cellphone once again, presenting the image to her that seemed to surprise the competitive squid.

"Who are you?" Aureolin responded. Agent 3 was happy to have her in front of him, and now he just had to interrogate her. She came off as cold and uncaring at the moment.

"I'm Maize, from Special Squid Services. Me and my friends found this squishie abandoned in some junk," Maize explained what had occurred, but Aureolin froze just from those words, shocked.

"A squishie you say…?" she stuttered, looking like she was stunned from hearing the news.

"Yes. I was hoping you could shed some light on this matter?" Maize inquired, thinking that he was getting somewhere with that expression Aureolin was showing. Immediately after, though, the female inkling had a grin, showing her sharp teeth. She had something on her mind.

"Alright. I'll talk… only if you beat me in a turf war," the female inkling retorted, with a still cold tone in her voice.

"What? A turf war?" Maize quirked, asking if he heard that right.

"Yeah! A turf war! I'm bored out of my skull anyway and need some thrills. Beat me in a turf war and I'll talk," Aureolin demanded, explaining her reasons. Maize was annoyed just by that. They both would have to tolerate random people during it, and that was only if she was going to play fair and not call her crew in to back her up. He did not seem to have any choice. Maize hadn't been in a turf war in a good few days, after all. If Aureolin was the mother of the squishie, he wasn't seeing many signs of it so far. She didn't even have the same tentacle color as the squishie did either.

"Fine. Let's go."