Maize had followed Marie for quite some time. He was starting to mentally ponder why they did not just call for a taxi, but he knew there was some reason behind it. The sun was beginning to lower at around four in the evening. It would only take a couple of hours before nightfall.
"Also I better not ever catch you trying to break into our home," Marie threatened. Agent 3 groaned, knowing that this probably was a more high costing home. He was beginning to recognize the area more and more.
"I'd never try to break into your place, especially with the cap'n around," Maize chuckled nervously. They walked through a small side alley and arrived into a huge open sandlot that had tall apartment buildings surrounding it.
"Wait… you guys live in Flounder Heights?!" Maize said in surprise. This was one of the most expensive places to live for an apartment complex, but he had been told that every single apartment was as big and nice as a regular home. He recalled hearing Callie complain about how she and her sister would live here if it wasn't so expensive.
"Well, we got a raise after we started to get more popular outside of Inkopolis. So we moved into this place not too long ago," Marie stated. It was a bit of a punch to the stomach to Maize to just be reminded of how broke he was. Flounder Heights was another turf war location. He was happy that it was not one of the current four maps, otherwise they would already have been coated in ink. They approached the entrance to the second complex.
"Whoa…" Maize could only say as the entrance had led them straight into a small hallway. They had two options; they could either take the stairs or the elevator. They both opted into the elevator, stepping inside. Marie pushed the button to the third floor, the doors closing and the elevator beginning to rise slowly.
"Uhh, Marie, I have to apologize," Maize coughed, confusing her. She did not even want to know what he was apologizing for.
"For what?" she rubbed her head tiredly.
"For, y'know, freaking out back there on that guy…" the yellow squid reminded. His friend in green shook her head.
"He had it coming. Someday, you'll be a great dad, unlike that guy," Marie complimented Maize. The mindset that he had was amazing. He would be a perfect father figure. He gained a small blush from her saying that, but he knew by the end of this visit, the Squid Sister would most likely be very upset with him. The elevator came to a stop and opened up, letting them off. They exited onto the third floor.
"How do you think Callie did with Bondi?" Maize asked as they headed down the right side of the hall, hoping that Agent 1 had taken good care of the squishie, but he knew that neither of the Squid Sisters really had much experience with young inklings aside from the ones who were their fans.
"As long as they both aren't crying, I'll call that a good job," Marie joked. They arrived to the end of the hall. The door number for the apartment was 309. She pulled out her key and unlocked the door, leading her friend inside. Their apartment looked great, and just at the entrance already showed a small stand with a vase on it filled with brightly colored flowers, and a nice oil painting of Captain Cuttlefish hanging on the wall. Maize was glad those two loved their elder quite a lot.
"Hey, Callie! You here?" Marie called out, wondering if her cousin was even home at the moment. Maize entered the living room which also looked nice, having a couch with two foot stools in front of it and some pillows lined on it. The television was a decent sized flat screen. Maize could tell that this apartment was decorated with both of the Squid Sisters' personalities in mind. It must have been quite a pain for the two of them to agree to what they wanted while decorating. He then took notice of the long window that gave a great view out beyond.
"Yeah! I'm just in the kitchen!" Callie's voice rung out. They both went through a small doorway. The kitchen had too many electronics in it. Maize could never see himself using one thing. He had enough trouble making grilled cheese without being paranoid about accidentally starting a fire. They saw the black inkling standing near the microwave. She had changed out of her disguise and was wearing her favorite outfit, a black stylish shirt with no sleeves that had three pink marks running down it, and a pink and white hat on her head.
"Feels good to see you in your usual clothes," Maize commented. Callie nodded in agreement, turning to him. She was holding Bondi. The small squishie was content in her arms. The microwave was still running, slowly heating up a bottle inside it.
"Wow. I'm surprised you handled babysitting a squishie all day," Marie admitted. She did not expect everything to be calm when they arrived to the famous squids' home. Maize had to agree with her on that one.
"Well, he cried once, but otherwise he's been pretty calm," Callie smiled. She then heard the microwave beep, indicating it was done. She opened it and pulled out the bottle of formula, making sure it was freshly warm before beginning to feed Bondi. The squishie looked very happy to have the bottle.
"We found Bondi's parents," Maize informed Agent 1.
"His name's Bondi? That's so cute…" Callie could only say. She seemed caught between happy and sad, wondering where the parents were. If they knew where the squishie's real parents were, then she questioned why her cousin and close friend had not just called her to bring the newborn and meet up with them.
"Once he finishes the bottle, we'll go take him to his parents," Callie added. The other agents gained an unsure look, Marie knowing that their blonde friend had something in mind but unable to figure out what. They went to the living room so they could continue the talk.
"Sorry, Callie. We can't take him to his mother. She's not allowed to be around him anymore," Agent 3 stated. He had already brought Marie up to speed over what happened to the squishie's mother after they left Arowana Mall.
"Oh. Well, I'm sure his father will be happy to see him again…" Agent 1 presumed the squishie's father could get his son back. Marie was leaving it up to their dear friend to handle this conversation. He was better at interacting with her cousin in more unsure situations when no one had any idea what was going to happen.
"That's the other thing. His father is a huge jerk. He left Bondi in that pile of trash. He's no father… just a rank obsessed lunatic," Maize added. Now Callie was not speaking up. The squishie was happily enjoying his formula, having almost drank the whole bottle already. She had been doing her best to take care of him today and make sure he was not going to get sick after being in the rain for so long.
"I'm sorry, Callie, but you know what we said would be the last resort if this didn't work out," Marie apologetically reminded them of how they had planned on informing Squishie Protective Services. The best thing that could happen is the newborn squid could be adopted.
"Can you give us a minute, Marie? I need to have a personal talk with them," Maize requested. Marie nodded, thinking if anyone could cheer up her cousin, it would be the yellow inkling himself. She left the living room to go change out of her disguise. The young inkling sat down beside the Squid Sister.
"It's so sad, Maize… and unfair. You found his parents, but neither can have him," Callie exclaimed, sounding upset from imagining the torn apart family. He could go into extreme detail and explain to her why and what happened, but he just wanted to leave it simply that the father of the squishie made too many mistakes in a row.
"We're agents of the Special Squid Service. We have to do everything we can to help out every squid," Maize declared. Callie looked at him for a moment, then her odd eyes reverted back to the squishie that had finished the bottle. She took it away from Bondi and put it aside, cradling the newborn in her arms.
"But sometimes our best isn't enough, right?" Callie guessed what he was going to say next. He shook his head.
"Everything we do, small or big, no matter what, will change some squid's life for the better, if that is what we choose to do… and I choose to do it with my promises," he exclaimed. To him, there was no such thing as the term "never enough". Effort was effort, and as long as he could handle these crazy missions, he was going to keep doing them. Agent 3 stood up and got in front of Agent 1.
"You and your cheesy lines…" Callie giggled, speaking another comment about how he spoke. He had cheered her up a little, brightening the mood of the conversation. He brushed the comment aside.
"I'll make the call to Squishie Protective Services. Since we have no options left," the Squid Sister sighed. Maize rubbed Bondi's head, the blue squishie enjoying it.
"We have two options actually. Bondi's mother wanted me to find him a loving family, and I promised I would," Maize told Callie. She wondered if he was actually considering handling Bondi himself and trying to find him a better home for the squishie.
"And Callie, I've seen you with this squishie. You took care of it and gave it everything it needed. I think you'd be the perfect one to raise Bondi," Maize suggested that the Squid Sister adopt the squishie. He could tell just by watching that she loved him and had adapted to handling a newborn quite well.
"Wh-what?! You're saying… I should be his parent?" Callie had to ask him to repeat the information, not able to believe what she had heard. She never expected to have this kind of conversation with someone she considered a best friend, he almost was like a brother to the Squid Sisters. Hearing all of this was stunning to her.
"I'm saying I think you'd be a great mother. But really, it's your decision in the end. If you decide not to, then I'll take care of Bondi and make sure he finds a loving home to fulfil my promise," Maize told her, aware that this was a sudden request and a life altering decision that would put a lot of responsibility on one of them. He could see the look on Callie's face that she was trying to think about it rationally.
"I feel… I feel like my heart is trying to talk instead of my brain," Callie lightly laughed, seeing Bondi looking up to her. She put her other hand on his stomach. He let out an odd noise, feeling tickled from the smallest touch that made the agents smile.
"You have to use both when it comes to something like this," Maize claimed, not wanting to put any pressure on his great friend. He felt horrible for forcing her into this heavy decision. Each minute that passed felt like an hour. Callie closed her eyes, trying to go through her thoughts.
"Alright…" she said. He tilted his head.
"Hm?" Maize wondered what she was meant. He watched the Squid Sister give the squishie a gentle hug.
"I'll do it. I'll be his mother," Callie agreed to raising Bondi, aware that there would be hard times and calm times at once. On top of her already busy lifestyle, raising a squishie was another layer on top of that. She stood up, wrapping an arm around Maize, catching him by surprise.
"Do you think you can make me a promise, though?" she requested. Maize gained a grin across his face as their hug broke.
"That's my specialty," he laughed.
"Promise me that I can rely on you if I need help," Callie requested. She wanted to know that the reliable inkling would be able to help. A promise from him seemed perfect. She just wanted to be safe in case Marie and her grandpa were not able to help.
"I gladly promise to help whenever you need me," Maize gave a thumbs up. That cheerful personality was rubbing off on Callie. She was making plans already to do some shopping. They had to do a lot to get the proper preparations for Bondi's care. She and Maize suddenly noticed Marie return.
"Marie! I have great news!" Callie handed Bondi over to Maize. The squishie seemed saddened to be out of her arms, but Maize did his best to make sure the newborn squid was calm.
"Did another one of our albums go platinum?" Marie asked her main hope. They already were rich with coin cards, but the more coins, the merrier. Marie got grabbed by her cousin, pulling her into a tight hug.
"I'm adopting Bondi!" Callie told the white inkling. That expression on Marie's face described how she felt about this.
"Wait, what?! Why is it whenever I'm out of the room something crazy happens with you two?" Marie gasped, annoyed. She focused her glare on Maize. The yellow inkling chuckled before he returned the squishie to his new mother.
"Sorry, Marie. A promise is a promise," Maize apologized. He had to fulfil the promise he made to Aureolin no matter what, but now he felt bad for not discussing it over with Marie sooner. All he knew was that he was going to be trying to get things settled down from now, but one look at the new mother brought a smile to his face. Callie held Bondi in her arms, ready to get everything prepared with her cousin and close friend's help.