The work day crawled by for Sam. He glanced at his phone through the day, half hoping to see a text from Calamari, but all he got was radio silence all day. He knew she probably needed the time and space to think, but all he wanted to do was work this out.
When five rolled around that afternoon he got up from his desk and made his way to the breakroom to find Pearl and Marina getting ready to leave themselves. "Hey, guys, I'm heading out." He said quietly.
"Oh, alright. I think we're about to head out too…" Marina replied as she adjusted the bag on her shoulder. "We're heading up to Mount Nantai."
"Oh, yeah. How's that going…?" Sam asked. "...how's Agent Eight?"
Marina sighed, and gave Sam a tired smile. "...she's exhausted. The tests she's going through are...rough, you know? I feel bad for her."
Sam nodded, shuffling his feet. "...I really wish I could help her."
"Why don't you hike up to Nantai with us tonight?" Pearl said quickly. She pulled on a backpack. "We're going to change and eat some dinner then we'll go up. You could talk to her, and Cap'n Cuttlefish."
"Yeah! I'll translate for you! You're really good at encouraging people, anyways." Marina said quickly. "...I think she'd like you. She needs another friendly voice."
"Ah….well...maybe. I have to go talk to Calamari about some stuff and um...I don't know how that's gonna go." Sam said. He looked away from them both, desperate not to meet Pearl's eyes. "...I'll text you and let you know."
"That's fine!" Marina said quickly. "We have to eat and stuff anyways so...it's alright. We'll wait and see!"
"Alright. But hey, if I can't go, you should take Tai. He still speaks Octoling and he'd probably relate to her….if she's down there….she's a soldier, right?"
"I think she is, or used to be." Marina nodded. "...text him, and bring him with you if you come."
"Will do. Alright, I'm out. I'll see you later, and...good luck if I don't go." Sam said as he turned to walk out the door, hearing Pearl's 'Thank you!' as he left. The walk home was cold and almost suffocating. His stomach was in knots, and his heart ached. When he found himself at the front door he could only stare at it for a few moments, the keys in his hand.
...he wondered how Calamari was. He wondered if she'd talk to him at all about what happened this morning.
He finally took a deep breath, and unlocked the door. He stepped inside to the smell of food being cooked in the kitchen and rattling of pots and pans. He quietly placed his bag on the couch, and slipped his shoes off before hanging up his keys. He turned to peek into the kitchen, seeing Calamari standing there.
He slowly stepped into the kitchen ."...hey, Cal…" He said softly.
Calamari stopped what she was doing, and she trained her one eye on what she was cooking in front of her. Sam started to get a little nervous the longer it took her to reply. What was she going to do? Tell him to forget the wedding? Tell him they wouldn't work out? Tell him-
"I was wrong."
Calamari's voice ripped him from his thoughts, and he looked up at her and blinked. "...h...huh?" He squeaked.
Calamari reached out to turn the heat of the stove down before turning to him, placing her hand on the counter. "I was wrong. I thought about it a...a lot while you were at work. I don't have a sister...but...if I had lost Pearl when I was younger and...she showed up again and I had a chance to help her but you said no...I'd be devastated, Sam…"
Sam bit his lip, and he nodded silently.
"I...the reason I said no was just….just because I was….scared. I've never had a child, much less one who was 14 and...and mentally disabled. Or an 11 year old who has been through so much trauma. I've never been through custody battles or...anything like that and it's overwhelming as hell, you know? But I...I can't sit here and keep you from helping your sisters because of my fear. That's not fair. If I'm going to be your wife then I have to support you. All of the way. I have to trust you. I have to have your back, because you have mine. S-So...please. Let's get Cheese, and let's get Olive. We'll do this."
Sam stared at Calamari with nothing but shock. Slowly, his mouth opened to speak but no words came out. He found himself just reaching up to wipe tears from his eyes as his throat closed up.
"...oh, Sam." Calamari sighed as she walked over to pull him close to her. As she did, Sam leaned into her to press his face against her shoulder. His own shoulders started to shake as he started to cry. "I'm sorry I hurt you so bad. I never should have I...I'm sorry."
He pulled his face away, furiously wiping tears and snot from his face. "N-No I...I kind of overreacted too and...It's complicated. I-It's...complicated, but I'm sorry."
She nodded, and leaned back to grab a napkin to hand to him. "Here…" She said. "...we're both sorry. We'll know better, and we're going to get Cheese and Olive but...we should...probably talk about the other thing, too…"
"R-Right. Yeah we...we should." Sam nodded, wiping his face off before going to toss the napkin in the trash. He took a deep breath before asking, "...so you...you can't be pregnant."
"I can get pregnant." Calamari explained. "But it could kill me, so I shouldn't get pregnant. Marfan Syndrome is what makes me really tall, right? My body overproduced the grow juice so everything is kind of stretched thin and my heart could struggle. If I get pregnant, it increases blood pressure and volume. The walls of my arteries are already kind of stretched thin from too much growth juice and so I could have what's called an Aortic Dissection. The Aorta just...tears open and blood leaks out, I could die, or the baby could die. Or both. It's...risky. I don't know if I'm willing to take that risk."
Sam nodded as he listened. "...that's...fair." He admitted. "...I don't know if I would take the risk either honestly. I um…" He paused to shuffle his feet and nervously play with the hem of his shirt. "...I really do want a...a biological kid. I think I've always dreamed about it since I was a kid. However...I think that...that you're more important. I'm kind of madly in love with you and I'd rather spend my life with you than anything or anyone else, you know? Plus...who knows, things change. Medicine changes. If I'm still with Marie, you know…"
"Yeah, I know." Calamari said with a small smile. "...I'm...I'm really glad you understand. I-I'm...I'm kind of...honored, you'd...well. Choose me."
Sam laughed a little. "Of course I'd choose you, Cal." He admitted. He walked over to take her hand to squeeze it lightly. "...I love you."
She smiled, and leaned down to kiss his head. "...I love you too." She muttered. For a moment, she just rested her chin atop his head before sighing. "...Dinner is basically ready. Hungry?"
"Oh, god yeah. I didn't eat lunch." Sam muttered. "...Pearl and Maina have that concert coming up and they've been rehearsing some dance moves between shows plus I have all these details to work out and….ugh."
"Yeah, that sounds ugh." Calamari said as she pulled two plates down.
"Yeah. And...Oh! Oh shit, uhhh...I'm supposed to do something else tonight. Remember how I told you about how Pearl and Marina are going through some stuff?"
"Oh, yeah. Pearl told me already." Calamari said as she handed him the plate and went to get some food.
"...she did?"
"Yeah of course, she texts me all the time."
"...oh. Well, Marina asked if I would go up to Mount Nantai with them tonight. To talk to this new agent over the radio. I might bring Tai, do you mind if I go…?" Sam asked. "I really want to. You could probably go too, if you wanted."
"Nah, I don't really feel like a hike." She said. "...but I don't mind if you go. Should I wait up for you?"
"...probably not. They're always there all night, but I'll text you as much as I can!" Sam said quickly.
"Alright, that's fine." Calamari said with a nod. She took her plate and went to sit down at the table with her food. "...also, hey uhhh….when do you intend on getting Cheese…?"
"As soon as possible. I would seriously go pick her up tomorrow if you're okay with it. We can set her up on the couch...I'll take her to get some actual clothes and anything else she might need…"
"Yeah, that's alright. We should probably start to look at real houses sooner too…" She said. "...My parents said they don't mind paying for a good amount of the house if not all of it, and we just pay them back when we can, you know? They don't really care."
"...so we'll just owe a mortgage to your parents." Sam said as he sat down across from her.
"Yep! A lot safer than the bank." Calamari said with a smirk.
Sam was quiet for a little bit. He took the first few bites of his food before he sat back. "...how do they do that, Cal? Pay for our wedding and our house and stuff….I mean, I know they're rich. I knew they were that rich. But….how can they just…"
"...how can they just pay for everything? Without even batting an eye?" Calamari finished for him.
"Y-Yeah. That."
Calamari had to pause to think about it. "I think that they've been planning on this kind of stuff their whole lives. They...care for me a lot."
Sam nodded. "Sorry that's…" He trailed off, sounding shaky. "I don't know. It's amazing to me. That parents….care. They can love you and want to love you. Want to care for you. Don't...Don't hurt you."
"Your parents are shitheads and bad parents. Parents are supposed to do everything you just said and they failed." Calamari said with a firm nod.
"Well….I swear to God I'm gonna be the best parent I can for my sisters." Sam nodded, clenching the fist sitting in his lap. "They deserve it, you know? To have a good life."
Calamari couldn't help but smile at him, her own heart warming. "They do. I know you'll do great, Sam. I'll do anything to help."
"Well...two parents are better." Sam glanced up a ther with a slightly worried look.
Calamari paused. A look of worry settled into her eyes, but regardless she nodded. "...you're right. I'll do my best." Cal said. "I don't know how good of a parent I'll be, but…."
Sam just grinned. "-hey. Believe you me, you're better than my parents now."
Calamari just laughed weakly. "Yeah...you're right."
Once dinner was finished Sam got changed into some half decent hiking clothes and drove over to get Tai. As the Octoling climbed in the car he smiled to Sam. "Hey, what's up?"
"Not much." Sam answered. "You ready for a hike?"
Tai laughed a little. "I think so. It's been a while since I had to do something like this."
"Did you have to do this alot? As a soldier?"
"The last big hike I did was when I was coming up here to spy. I climbed Mount Nantai, just like Marina."
"Oh. Well...you've got more experience than me." Sam admitted with a nervous laugh.
"It's fine, Sam. It's not that bad." Tai smiled to him. "...hey, you haven't told me what's up?"
"Oh. Right. So...Pearl and Marina found a radio on Nantai. They've been talking to an Octoling soldier that's underground." Sam watched Tai's face soften into empathy and familiarity. "She's trying to escape. She's going through all these tests. Pearl and Marina can explain better."
"Tests…" Tai muttered, messing with his hair a little as he thought. "...can I talk to her? Over the radio?"
"Yeah! That's why Pearl wanted us to come." Sam smiled.
The two of them soon pulled into a small parking lot at the base besides a trail. Sitting by the start was Pearl and Marina in their casual clothes. When Marina saw Tai her face lit up. She hurried over to take both of his hands. "-Tai! You came!" She exclaimed in a language Pearl and Sam didn't understand "It's so good to finally talk to you! I always see you around the studio but we never talk!"
Tai looked overwhelmed, but also overjoyed. Hearing his own native language made him happy. "I-It's good to meet you too! I-I love your music-" Tai said. "And it's so good to hear Octoling again!"
Marina just beamed at him, holding his hands as tight as she could. "Thank you! It's good to talk in Octoling again too. I miss it!"
"Okay, you two." Pearl spoke up. "...save the Octoling for Eight."
"R-Right! We should get going before we're totally in the dark." Marina nodded and glanced towards the setting sun.
"Yeah! Let's go!" Pearl pumped a fist in the air before starting up the trail so others would follow.
The hike took almost an hour. By the end of it Sam's legs felt a little like Jelly. They stood by a kind of cliff looking over a deep valley. Sam plopped down by the edge. "...damn, guys…"
Pearl plopped right by him and reached over to pat his back. "You're getting lazy, Sam." She muttered and reached over to poke his belly. "You're getting kinda chunky."
"Hey! Pearl!" Sam snapped. He slapped her hand away from his stomach. "I appreciate my tub, thank you very much. I used to be skin and bones."
Pearl faltered slightly. "Ah, you're right. Sorry. Anyways, Rina you got the radio?"
"Yep!" Marina smiled. She sat down besides them both, and dug out a small walke-talkie looking radio. She hit a button on the side and spoke. "Eight? Cap'n?"
There was a long moment of silence before the radio came to life. "Cap'n Cuttlefish and Eight here!" Came Cuttlefish's voice. "Good to hear from you!"
"Yeah! Good to hear from you too!" Marina answered. She looked a little relieved to hear their voices. "We brought some friends!"
"Oh? Who'd you bring?" Cuttlefish asked.
"We brought Sam, and Tai!"
"Ohhh…Samuel! Marie's boyfriend!" Cuttlefish said, making Sam blush. Pearl elbowed him right in the ribs. "Good to hear you're there, Sam. Who's Tai, though?"
"Oh! He's my friend. He used to be an octoling soldier and escaped." Sam explained. "...we thought Eight might appreciate talking to someone who was in a similar situation and...made it out alive."
There was a small hum from the captain. Sam couldn't decide if it was disapproval or not. "...alright." He said finally. "Does he want to talk to her?"
Sam looked up from the radio and up to Tai with a raised eyebrow. The octoling quickly nodded, and he held his hand out for the radio. When Marina handed it over, he held the radio up to his face and hit the button. "Y-Yeah, I want to talk to her."
"Alright, just hang on." Cuttlefish said. The radio went dead silent for a little bit before there was another crackle, and a quiet voice spoke to him.
"Hello?"
Tai's face lit up. He hit the button to speak once more with a slightly trembling hand. "H-Hi! Agent Eight! My name's Tai! I-I'm a friend of Pearl and Marina's!"
There was another long moment of silence, before he got a quiet reply. "Nice to meet you, Tai. I'm….I-I'm Eight."
Tai nodded, glancing at Marina slightly. "Is uh...Is Eight your real name? Or is that just your agent number?"
"Uhhh…." Eight paused. "It's my agent name. I don't know my real name anymore."
Tai paused at that, "...you don't remember your name?"
"I don't remember anything."
Tai took his finger off the button and looked to Pearl and Marina with a look of alarm. "-did you both know that?" He asked in Inklish.
Marina sighed and nodded before motioning to the radio. "She can...explain more."
Tai pressed the button. "Why don't you remember anything…?"
"I...don't know. Captain Cuttlefish says I was fighting an...Agent Three and we fell. But I keep getting these…" There was a long pause. "...Mem Cakes from the tests. They help…"
Tai nodded. "What are the tests? Or….how are they?"
"I have to get through these tests and then get the four thangs, I think it called them…" Eight paused. "...once I get those I can come to the promised land."
"...The promised land?" Tai blinked a little in confusion. He looked at Marina who just shrugged. "I don't think me or Marina have heard of that…"
"It's the surface." Eight said. "...y-you know….away from all of this. S….Safe."
Tai felt his heart break just a little for her. "Yeah... ? How hard are the tests, down there?"
"H-Hard." Eight admitted. She sounded shaky and tired as she said it. "...I'm...tired and hungry. My back hurts really bad. When you fail a test the pack explodes and splats you. So that you'll start over."
Tai visibly cringed. "Damn...I-I'm really sorry, Eight." He whispered.
There was a long sigh from her. "...it's not your fault. It's just….nice to talk to you…"
Tai smiled, feeling a small blush cross his cheeks. "I'm really, really glad I could help."
Marina reached out for the radio back, taking it from Tai's hands as he handed it over. "Do you guys want to stick around for the tests?" She asked. "We'll be here all night but…"
Sam looked over at Tai with a raised eyebrow. "...it's up to you." He said quietly.
"...y-yeah, can we?" Tai asked. "...I-I um...want to stay and help her out, if I can."
"Then we'll do that!" Sam said quickly. He wiggled around to make sure he was comfortable while Marina clicked the radio to talk to Eight once more as they began another night of tests.
A/N: I'm so freakin' exctied that Eight is here! I love her character!
As always, thanks for reading! Hopefully chapters will be a little steadier. I'm back in school, but I tend to write during class since doing two things helps me concentrate on the lecture. So. Hopefully at least weekly chapters, but no promises.
Anyways, thank you again! 3
