When Eight went to bed last night, she would never have expected to spend hours sitting and thinking about seeing her two best friends in bed together.

Eight had been the first to awaken that morning. One of her regular tasks was to make sure Pearl and Marina got up on time to make any appointments or just to make sure they got up at a decent hour. Pearl wasn't terribly fond of the latter part. It normally wasn't an issue, however, since Marina was often up and about the same time or even before Eight anyway and Pearl's own pride tended to force her to get up within a half hour of her partner. However, even after an hour, neither of them had gotten up.

Frowning, Eight went to Marina's room to check on her, but she found Marina's bed still made and undisturbed. Concerned, Eight searched for any kind of note she might have left if she had gone out. Perhaps she was in the parking garage working on her bike before breakfast? Despite living with them over two weeks, she still didn't know all their habits. Finding nothing, she decided to check on Pearl. That was when she received quite a shock.

When she cautiously and quietly opened the door to Pearl's bedroom, nothing seemed amiss. Her day clothes were still lying on the floor from yesterday, despite repeated attempts from both her octoling roommates to get her into the habit of using the hamper, and the windows were all shut and undamaged.

Eight then tiptoed into the room, the supple carpet helping to mask any sounds from her movement. Her skin and tentacles changed colour, blending into the eggshell coloured walls as she scooted along the ensuite wall and peeked around the corner at the bed. What she saw gave her quite a shock.

Snuggled up in bed together, utterly peaceful and dead to the world, were Pearl and Marina. Marina had her arms around Pearl as if she were holding a priceless object, clutching the much shorter inkling against her while Pearl's head rested against her chest.

Eight uttered a tiny squeak and then quickly hid back behind the wall. Her mind flashed back to times on training exercises when she had caught officers sleeping together like that.

Officers showing such closeness or intimacy with each other was against regulations in the training splatoons. That particular pair; however, had been pretty persistent in their affection for each other. It was made even more scandalous by the fact that one was a direct subordinate of the other, which broke more rules than Eight could bother to remember. She was aware that officer couples were not uncommon in the regular army but it was rarely shown openly.

This is different, she chided herself. This isn't two officers you caught falling asleep together, they're close friends, partners, this is normal. There's nothing scandalous about this. At least, she hoped not. She was still very new to inkling society and the whole issue with the mantle gloss highlighted just how much she had still to learn.

Eight risked another peek around the corner. They were both unchanged. Neither appeared to have been forced into their current position so whatever they were doing had to be consensual.

Eight leaned further out from cover, her peek turning into a long, intense gaze at the two girls she had come to view as the closest thing an octarian understood to family. They looked so content, so glad to be so close to each other.

As Eight continued to stare, she had felt her stomach tighten and she felt an ache in her chest. Her left hand clenched, holding it up against her breast. Confused emotions swelled within her, envy, jealousy, and others she didn't recognize. All she knew as she stared at the two of them, so tranquil in each other's arms, was that she wanted that, whatever it was.

Eight quietly backed out of the room, unable to bring herself to wake them up and not wanting to create an awkward moment. She went to the kitchen and poured herself some cereal. She had a feeling it was going to be a while before Pearl and Marina woke up. Now, more than two hours later, she realized she had been right.

Saturday was one of the busiest days in Inkopolis. It was a time when many inklings with jobs didn't have to go to them and could do other things. Pearl and Marina didn't have any appointments this morning. The Inkopolis News morning segment had been replaced by special programming due to tonight's Squid Sisters' concert. So, Eight hoped she wouldn't be scolded for not waking them up.

She remembered last Saturday, when she had been introduced to the very concept of a weekend. It had been a day full of so many amazing things, when Pearl and Marina had taken her out shopping and bought her new clothes. Eight had spent so much time being awed by everything she saw that she didn't really care what clothes she got, they were automatically "fresh" to her compared to everything she had worn prior.

"I wonder what Three's doing today," she mumbled to herself as she stared into the rainy gloom outside. What did the deadliest inkling warrior do on a weekend? "Probably turf war," she said with a smile. She would have to check later for any matches with Three in it. Had she gotten over the incident earlier in the week with that octoling? She hoped so, but last night seemed to indicate that she was still feeling the sting.

"It's not the fact she hit an octoling that's bothering her," Eight mumbled thoughtfully to herself. "It's that she expects better of herself than to break one of the game's rules unintentionally like that." Three did seem to hold herself to a very high standard. She was probably the type that was hard on herself too. She had known good officers like that.

That reminded her, she promised Four she would text today when she got the chance. She hurried to her room and retrieved her phone from its charging dock. She had one waiting text message. She read it as she walked back to the living room.

'I felt like the heroine in a movie. So many boys wanted to dance with me and everyone stared when I showed up. I felt like a real life Cinderella!"

Eight smiled. It must have been quite a special night, especially since Four didn't use any text speak in her message. It wasn't hard to picture Four entering a room full of people and all of them gaping at her beautiful dress. But what was Cinderella?

A soft noise touched her ears and Eight quickly rose to her feet, looking in the direction of the bedrooms. She spotted Marina just entering the room, carrying a dozing Pearl in her arms as if she were a small child.

Marina gave Eight an awkward smile. "She won't let go."

Eight let out a small sigh of relief and managed to smile back. Clearly, the two of them sleeping together was no big thing. That was a load off her mind.

"Should I help?"

"No, just pour me some cereal, would you?" Eight nodded and poured out a bowl for Marina as she sat on the couch. When Eight brought her the bowl and a spoon, she asked Marina again if she'd like some help.

"No, it's alright." Marina shrugged and started munching her breakfast. "She'll let go when she wakes up."

Eight frowned. "This has happened before?"

"A few times. We've shared a lot of hotel rooms and sometimes Pearl and I just end up sharing a bed one way or another. I guess since Pearl has a tough time getting up in the morning, it's especially difficult when she's snuggled up and cozy."

It reminded Eight of times when her intake of octoling recruits would snuggle together for warmth, even with others they didn't like. It said something about the trust soldiers put in one another when they were able to fall asleep even in situations like that.

"It's too bad Three couldn't come on the touge runs with is," Marina said between mouthfuls. "I think she would have had fun."

Eight hummed and stared out the windows in the direction of that particular mountain. "I wonder if Three allows herself to have fun. Does she do turf war because she enjoys it or is it just training? Is real battle the only thing she takes enjoyment in?"

Marina sighed. "I don't think anyone enjoys fighting with their life on the line. I mean, you'd have to be crazy."

Eight wasn't so sure about that. She didn't know Three well enough to say that she really did revel in battle like that, but she did know that the one time she had fought her for real, Three had a drive to her that couldn't have been due to any kind of urgent goal she needed to complete. There had to have been more to it. She didn't like to think that the inkling she admired so much was that kind of person though.

"Who'd have to be crazy?"

Both octolings flinched in surprise and then looked at the slowly awakening inkling still attached to Marina's torso. Pearl was finally awake, eyes still clouded with sleep.

"Good morning," Marina sang. "Sleep well, Pearlie?"

"Best sleep I've had in awhile. Wish it didn't have to end so quick." She rubbed her eyes with one hand and then slowly moved off of Marina's lap to the spot on the couch next to her. "I didn't oversleep too much did I?"

"Only a bit longer than I did," Marina shrugged. "Don't worry. Nothing we're late for."

Pearl yawned. "That's good. I'd hate to have to go through that again. How about you Eight? You sleep okay?"

"Um… y-yes…" Eight was both bewildered and impressed at how Pearl took the unusual situation she had woken up in and completely dispelled any feeling of awkwardness. It really is impressive the way she takes charge of a situation.

Eight brought Pearl her own bowl of cereal and then resumed her seat. "Pearl, do you know what a Cinderella is?"

"Huh? Sure, it's a fairly tale passed down from the precursors."

Eight blinked. "What's a fairly tale?"

"A timeless story that gets passed down through generations if I remember my schooling right." She grinned wryly, although Eight wasn't sure why. "Maybe we can watch one of the movies later. Of course, there's a lot of different versions of it. It's pretty amazing how the same basic story can be remixed so much to make what are almost new stories. So, why are you asking anyway?"

"Because Four said she felt like Cinderella when she went to her ball." Eight looked at the message again. "She said a lot of boys wanted to dance with her."

Pearl chuckled. "Good for her. Hopefully, she'll make a boyfriend out of one or two of 'em. Girl seems like she needs a little grounding but she's a pretty good catch."

"So, her feeling like Cinderella is a good thing then?"

"It is in this case. It means she felt like the most special and important person at the ball. That's a feeling anyone would love. You'll have to get Four to tell us all about it when she gets back."

"It's too bad you couldn't see her off," Marina chimed in. "I'm sure she would have appreciated it."

"It's alright. She understands that duty comes first, especially if I can meet her when she arrives."

"We'll see." Pearl grinned. "If you're going anywhere tonight, just be careful where you go. Traffic is going to be nuts with Callie and Marie's concert."

Eight grimaced. "I know. Three will probably be there and with Four out of town, I don't really have anyone other than the two of you to hang out with. When are you going to be in the concert?"

"Next month," Marina answered. "We have some rehearsals before then." She shivered with excitement. "I can't believe I'm going to be on stage with the one and only Squid Sisters!"

"Easy there." Pearl said, amusement in her voice. "We're there as the double act; we're not there to fangirl over them."

Marina pouted indignantly. "I know that, but aren't you excited? Honored?"

Pearl shrugged. "I guess, but I'm still kinda' inked at them for what they pulled. Sure it benefits Eight but it was a direct shot at me. I want revenge."

"Pearl," Marina said in a maternal warning tone. It always amazed Eight how quickly the two could switch roles between parent to child with each other.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna do anything nasty, but the idea of pulling a little friendly prank on the Squid Sisters is something too good to pass up."

"I don't really know anything about practical jokes," Eight admitted. Even if they were known to happen in octarian society, they weren't exactly common among the disciplined ranks of the army, or so she had been lead to believe.

"Well, maybe Three would be willing to help," Marina suggested. "I'm sure she would be able to help you come up with something, as close to them as she is. I think if you ask her right, she'd do it, despite her loyalty."

"Three huh?" Pearl rubbed her chin in thought and then her face twisted in a malicious smirk that made Eight feel very uncomfortable. "Marina, you just gave me the inkling of an awful, wonderful idea."

Marina sighed. "Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut." Eight agreed, and she hoped that Three would be able to handle whatever was about to come her way.

The dark clouds and heavy rain caused Inkopolis' street lights to remain on later than usual. The sidewalks were under a perpetual layer of water and several drivers inadvertently splashed pedestrians as they drove down the street. The weather was not enough to inhibit Three, however. She had a place she needed to go, something she needed to do, and she couldn't let mere weather get in her way. It was at times like these Three was glad her hard training and duties as an agent had toughened her.

As she neared her destination, the almost complete lack of people drove home just how bad the weather was. It turned out even the most rabid paparazzi thought twice about waiting in ambush during weather like this.

Three approached the gatehouse and held out her ID card. The guard knew her but there were reasons procedures like this had to be followed. Her card was scanned, accepted, and then she was allowed in through the pedestrian gate.

Calamari Castle was, essentially, a gated community for the rich and famous who needed the convenience of a residence within Inkopolis but the privacy and security of a mansion or estate outside the city proper. It consisted of both apartment and house-style condominiums; and a handful of private homes.

Three remembered when Callie and Marie had first moved to this place a few months after their final splatfest and their popularity and fame had skyrocketed. With uncharacteristic pedantism, Callie had complained that a gated community, such as Calamari Castle, did not fit within the definition of what a castle was. Marie and Three had laughed until their sides threatened to split open while Callie looked on, perplexed as to what could possibly be so funny. Three supposed that it had something to do with Callie's father being an archeologist. Castle was a Precursor term, after all.

Callie and Marie lived in a house-style condominium roughly in the centre of the community, a simple, light-green bungalow with a grey roof, white window frames, and a few bushes out front. A rather simple-looking home for arguably the world's biggest celebrities, most would think, but Three liked the fact Callie and Marie never forgot their humble, country roots.

Three rang the doorbell trice in a specific pattern, a way of letting them know it was her before they even arrived at the door.

The door opened and revealed a brightly smiling Callie who hurried her inside. Three was relieved to finally be out of the rain. She quickly removed her raincoat and Callie took it, hanging it up over a plastic pan that collected the water dripping off. By then, Three had removed her shoes, just in time before Callie trapped her in a big hug and kissed her cheek.

"Good to see you, Three. It's been a while since we've gone so long without seeing you."

Three returned the gesture, her lips lingering a bit longer than intended. Callie's cheek was silky soft and warm, a great comfort after spending so long in the rain. Three's mantle turned rosy pink, conveying her happiness just being in Callie's presence.

Callie looked her up and down and quirked an eyebrow at her. "Are we going to have to take you out shopping again?" She gently prodded the small gap between Three's shorts and shirt, emphasizing how Three had grown since buying them two years ago when the shirt had fit her loosely. By stark contrast, Callie wore a well-fitting magenta turtleneck sweater and black pants that hugged her curves well, doing some emphasizing of their own.

Three's response was to add white splotches of apology to her pink mantle. Callie rolled her eyes. "Just go sit in the living room and I'll bring some nice hot tea to warm up your tummy."

Unlike Three's old house, the young condo was open concept. Once one left the porch area, the living room was immediately to the left, while the kitchen was against the back wall of the house with no wall separating them. Three turned into the living room and found Marie lying on one of the couches, a laptop on her stomach. She was wearing the same outfit as Callie, but the sweater was lime green.

"Hey, Three," she said softly. Three smiled back at her and her mantle turned a happy yellow as she leaned in to share a hug and kiss with her other mentor and best friend. "You shouldn't need us to tell you when you need to buy new clothes. You're a big girl now, aren't you?"

Three shrugged sheepishly and Marie rolled her eyes. "You never change."

Marie sat up and moved the laptop to her lap, gesturing for Three to sit beside her. "So, how did Friday night go?"

As she sat down, Three's mantle turned a green slightly brighter than her natural colour as the memories of the event went through her mind, but then a shimmer of much darker green followed by a ripple of dark blue showed itself. Three winced, knowing that Marie would not have missed that. She wished she had better control of her chromatophores. Despite relying on them so much to communicate, she lacked the firm command over them Marie or even Callie possessed.

Marie sighed. "Alright, what happened?"

Three said nothing at first. She wasn't quite sure what she should tell right now. Did it even matter? It was a bit embarrassing. Three froze as she felt a familiar pair of soft fingers turn her head to bring her ruby eyes into the crossed golden orbs of Marie.

"Come on, you can tell me. You know you don't have to hide anything here."

Three's mantle rippled like a puddle in a rainstorm, each ripple showing one of the confused and conflicted emotions that flashed through her conscious and subconscious in that brief moment. The subtle seductive lilt Marie added to her voice somehow always rattled her walls.

Marie insisted that Callie was the better actress but Three always thought Marie had the best control over her voice. It was no coincidence she had been cast as the titular role in the film Temptress.

"Things went okay with Eight and Marina," she said finally. "Eight seemed to have a good time but I think she might have had more fun if she didn't insist on running interference for me to stop the other octolings there from recognizing me as Agent 3."

"Ah." Marie leaned back in her seat and looked back down at her laptop screen. "I guess that's something we're going to have to start thinking about. It's going to be hard for you and Four to keep your true identities a secret, but that was one of the reasons we insisted on you using different colours during different missions: to keep them guessing."

"But Eight said they already know my natural colour. They even called me the 'Green Demon.'"

Marie snickered. "What?"

"It's true," Callie said as she returned from the kitchen. She was carrying a tray with three teacups, which she set down on the coffee table. "I seem to recall something about that while I was hypnoed. I told you already, Marie, that they still look under their beds for Three at night." She giggled and Marie smirked.

"I do recall you saying something along those lines."

"But what happens if they find out that I'm Agent 3? Will they stay afraid or will they try to take me down the second they have a chance?"

Callie shook her head disapprovingly. "Three, that's just paranoia."

"It's a legitimate concern," Marie countered. "Be honest, we're not sure what they'll do. The NSS isn't exactly a sanctioned operation, in fact, we're borderline rogue. Plus, using Three as a bodyguard is going to make her even more public than her own turf war matches. If they don't recognize her now, they will eventually."

Callie grinned and gently rubbed Three's head. "I think that may be a good thing. From the way the octarians see the two of us now, they might actually feel better knowing that Three appears to be taking her lead from us. If they believe we influence Three, then they won't worry about her as much. She'll still be feared but it'll be in a more respectful kind of way. Sorta like an officer that's really good and trusted, but still scary."

Marie crossed her arms and thought for a moment. "So, are you saying we should make her role as our bodyguard more official?"

"I don't think we have much choice anyway. Three's someone we trust and she knows about the NSS. She's the ideal person to be our bodyguard. We won't need her all the time and she needs a real cover now that she's getting older. I think she should be able to tell other people she works for us if she has to. We've already been using her as one anyway and that's her cover for meeting with us half the time. We should make it official, at least as a part-timer."

Marie sighed and massaged her brows. "We'll have to talk it over with Gramps. I know he wants to keep his agents out of the spotlight but with the internet and them needing turf war to keep their skills sharp, it's going to be tough to avoid. They never had to worry about it before all the octolings started showing up in Inkopolis."

Callie shrugged. "The times are changing, Marie. Maybe, someday, the NSS won't be needed anymore."

"Maybe." She looked at Three. "But that wasn't the only thing bothering you, was it?" Three shook her head, her mantle turning a sombre blue.

"Did you find something else about your mom?" Callie asked.

Three had already told them what she had found out about her mother and her past as a street racer; Silvia, Katrina, and about Gyari Trailmaker, at least the highlights.

"I found out that my mother was one of the Queens. She was one of the two that didn't get beaten in her yun'rai-ka challenge. After that though, she started to distance herself from street racing, eventually leaving it entirely." A tiny smile tugged at one corner of her mouth. "But, after Eight and Marina went home, I found out that the street racer couldn't get taken out of Mama."

Both Squid Sisters looked at her curiously and said: "Oh? What happened?"

Even at one A.M., Sunset Fields still had a pleasant and friendly look to it. The street lights and walkway lamps cast warm, yellow-orange light, attracting swarms of tiny insects that buzzed in whirling balls around them. So, the aggressive, dark-purple coupe that burbled into the neighbourhood stuck out immediately as something that didn't belong.

"Place hasn't changed," she heard Silvia murmur as they pulled to a stop along the curb. Three used squid form to more easily get out of the cramped back seat and reformed outside. Rather than take them along the walk to the house, however, she took them down the back lane. Something she wasn't really supposed to do.

"Big garages for people who don't really care about cars," Katrina mumbled as they walked. Three elected not to comment. They kept going until they reached a garage with a red roof. The garage for Three's house.

"This is it," Silvia said quietly, a hint of nostalgia in her voice. "This place hasn't changed either, at least on the outside." Three walked up to the people door on the side of the garage and took out her keyes.

"You brought us all the way here to look in your garage?" Katrina asked. "Don't tell me you actually have a project car or something." Three, again, said nothing.

The door opened and three switched on the lights. The garage wasn't particularly well lit, leaving a lot of dark corners. Most of the illumination was around the garage door, where the family sedan sat parked next to a quartet of bicycles.

Three took out her phone and used the flashlight app to navigate between stacks of boxes towards the back of the garage, where a large object sat under an old tarp, a few small boxes on top of it and layered with dust. The sight of it elicited a small gasp from Silvia, as she, like Three, guessed what it was.

Moving carefully in the dim light, they removed the boxes from the tarp and then all three of them grabbed onto it. They looked between each other and then, as one, pulled the tarp off, creating a small cloud of dust that made them all cough. As the dust and their lungs cleared, they all looked back at what the tarp had been covering and now it was Katrina who gasped.

It was a squat, racing red, boxy little car with bulging fenders, fat tires and circular headlights flanking a matte-black grille.

"So, she didn't get rid of it," Silvia whispered.

"I guess not," Three murmured. "I think I remember her taking me for drives in this car once in a while when I was really young. I forgot all about it. I guess I always assumed it was the other car," she tossed her head to the sedan back at the front of the garage.

Katrina snorted. "Yeah, right. Night and day between this car and that one. This is a Hakodate Consort, it was one of the hottest little cars tuners could get their hands on back when they were new."

"And for a while after," Silvia added, running an affectionate hand over the car's shining red roof. "Fulvia adored this car. She loved driving it even more than her first one, even though it didn't quite hold the same place in her heart. This was her baby." She looked at Three with a fond smile. "At least, until you came along."

Three managed a nod, but it was difficult to respond properly. Her mind was running rampant with thoughts and emotions so she didn't know how else to respond.

Memories of her mother flashed in front of her eyes along with some of the more recently acquired information. All of it brought feelings of longing, and a sense that she really didn't know her mother very well at all, and that clues to her mother's past were this close the whole time. All together, it gave Three a mild case of the shakes.

Silvia wrapped her arms around Three, hugging her tightly. Three needed that hug. It was just enough to keep her from breaking out in tears at the flood of emotions washing over her.

Her mother never had many possessions. Most of what she had were clothes and a few gifts from her father and Iya. As a result, there were relatively few items Three had to look at that might tell her something about her mother, to help her remember her. Now, she had the most telling item she could possibly have.

Retelling the story of what she found in the back of her garage brought all the emotions from then back, carrying more with them. It was too much and Three broke down crying. Within seconds, she was the filling in a love sandwich between Callie and Marie as they both hugged and nuzzled her to provide as much comfort as possible. They hummed a gentle, soothing tune, helping to calm her down and their mantles displayed a serene sea blue, shimmering in a way that mimicked the motion of waves. Three's mantle turned blue with white splotches in apology.

"Aww, there's nothing to be sorry about," Callie whispered gently. "We know this is an emotional time for you. You've wanted to know more about your mom forever, right?"

"But you shouldn't be sad," Marie said. "You should be happy. This'll be like meeting your mom again, in a way. That car sounds like it was pretty customized, so every piece of that car you learn about will tell you something about her."

Callie looked across Three at Marie. "You expect her to take it apart?"

"It's probably been sitting for a long time and who knows the last time it's been maintained. She wouldn't want to risk breaking it."

Three sniffled and hiccuped before managing to speak. "Silvia said it would need some work before I can even start it. She said it might be best to overhaul it."

Callie wrinkled her nose. "Really? Tear the whole thing apart?"

Marie smiled. "I bet your mom probably built the thing herself to some degree. Think of it as part of the learning process. Mechanical skills are handy to have."

Three sighed, wiping her eyes with a tissue. "Probably, but I don't know how to take it apart. I can't even open the hood because the doors are locked."

"You haven't talked to your parents about it yet?"

Callie tsked. "Three, that's not good. You should always be able to talk to your parents about these sorts of things. It's not good to keep secrets like that. This is about your family after all."

"I'm not trying to keep secrets; I just don't know how to talk to them about it. I felt better coming to talk to you about it first. Sorry, I know you're busy getting ready for the tour."

"Are we ever," Marie said, looking at the clock. "We actually have to leave in about an hour."

"Still, honored that you'd talk about this kind of stuff with us, Three, and you know we're always ready to listen."

"You're my best friends," Three whispered. "You're family to me."

"And you're like the little sister we never had," Marie smiled. "But you really should talk to your parents about it."

"I will, I just… I know it'll bring up some bad memories and I know they're worried I'll get into street racing like Mom did."

"Do you plan on doing street racing?"

"No," Three said. "I don't want to do anything illegal like that, especially as a member of the NSS and as your bodyguard. Maybe there are some more legal options available to me, it's just… going to be hard to convince my parents."

She felt Callie's hand on her face again, and it turned her head to meet her golden eyes. "Cortina," she whispered, "It'll be okay. Your parents trust you and they love you. They loved your mother too and I'm sure they want to honour her memory and her wishes. Even if it might hurt them a little, they'll do what they think is best for you or what you think you need to do."

"Just make sure you communicate yourself properly," Marie said. "Just like you do with us."

Three nodded slowly. "Thanks, for everything."

"It's what we're here for." Marie kissed her cheek and Callie did the same. "Now, before you and we have to go anywhere, we have a little task for you."