"Azule…Sky…do you recognize who I am?" said the General in a soft spoken tone, one so soothing to the ears that it was barely audible to cold ears. Sky trembled as she connected the dots; her trembling wasn't of fear, but of excitement.
"Are you perhaps…big sis Lime?" said Azule twiddling his thumbs, shyly looking away; Sky did the same as well. Both of them were familiar of an older sister that had a loving heart of both a mother and older sister, and as they peeked at her once more, it was definite.
A light shined in Lime's eye as she grabbed both of them-hugging them powerfully as she rocked side to side. Azule and Sky both relaxed in her arms, feeling the warmth that they knew so well from their childhood. At last, they'd reunited with their eldest sibling, Lime-Estella Royale. The first division leader kept a distance from the three as Callie and Marie pushed him over to join in.
"Don't be shy! You should join in with your family!" proposed Callie.
"Yeah, it wouldn't look cool for the older brother to not greet his precious little ones!" added Marie.
The sight was comical as they literally had to push him over, he wouldn't budge an inch; the three stared at him with happy eyes as he came closer to them, realizing the Teal inkling was none other than Verde, their older brother. He looked away, trying to maintain his cool persona that he'd spent forever maintaining-in hopes of looking cool before his younger siblings when the time would come, but as soon as Sky and Azule present themselves before him with their beaming faces of joy, he began to waver as his lips quivered. He hugged them both, a smile sprouting as he squeezed them tighter.
"It's great to see that you two are well…" Said the first division leader, Verde Royale; the Squid sisters and Lime joined in.
"For the first time, we're all together again…"-said Lime, patting Sky and Azule on the head-"Thank you Callie and Marie, I don't think this ever could happen if you two didn't tell us back then…"
"Back then..?" chirped Sky, looking up at her big sister.
"Yes, it was thanks to Callie and Marie that we were given a hint about you two. Honestly, we didn't expect you to actually be this close to home by us!" chimed Verde.
Callie and Marie both looked absolutely elated to see that the Royale siblings finally reunited after the long roads each of them faced on their separation from one another.
"But wait, how did you guys end up becoming the head General and first division leader of the army?"-Sky asked, holding both of their hands-"And why did we all get separated!? Why did mom put us in a cuttlefish orphanage...?"
Lime calmed her down-understanding the many questions that Sky must have about their mother and her reason for separating them, "I'm afraid those explanations will have to be for another time…"-placing her hands on her shoulder-"I'm just happy we could see each other again…"
Unfortunately, Lime and Verde could only stay for little bit before returning to HQ in, the reason for the meeting at Mahi-Mahi resort was that it was out of their own personal time to notify the prodigal agents and officers of the current events. They exchanged numbers, gave one last embrace and then made their exit from the rooftop on a helicopter, the helicopter's blades cutting at the wind and interrupting the peaceful sound of the resort down below.
"We'll see you in the winter!" were Lime's departing words as her and Verde left on the helicopter, leaving on the rooftop and waving goodbye. Callie and Marie were still there to keep them company as they left the rooftop and re-entered the twelfth floor; the two siblings beginning to feel down, already missing Lime and Verde.
"Tomorrow we'll hang out! We'll contact you later on." Callie said as the two cousins saw off Sky and Azule to the elevator, giving them their phones numbers just before.
As the two boarded the elevator, Azule remembered that he was hiding from Fuchsia. Sky decided to aid him and be on the lookout for the Octoling. They met up with Violet and Pastelle right afterwards, passing by the many rival teams that shot them a look of disgust, whispering their envious views regarding the two siblings with one another.
Meanwhile about five miles from the resort, Sally, Cobalt, Tangie and Reice were all enjoying some ice cream in shade-avoiding the blistering hot sun. They had been discussing their plans for the fall splatfest and of their fieldtrip to the Museum D'Alfonsino. As it stands, Cobalt will be competing in the 15 man sword fight battle royal on Monday while Sally participates in the obstacle event on the track, Tuesday would be the martial arts tournament that will last until Thursday with both Azule and Tangie participating, the weekend would be the finale turf war of team Trick facing team Treat with Azule and the boys picking team trick and the Sally and the girls picking team Treat.
Today is Sunday; the students of SAHS would be going on the field trip to the Museum D'Alfonsino today, but Azule and Sky would be skipping to hang out with the Squid sisters instead. They both were dressed in their casual fit, both wearing matching Blue mint tees and black cargos with white sneakers and each with their signature headwear-sitting in the lobby waiting for the duo. They made sure to notify their friends that they'd be busy today; not telling them it was the squid sisters. A few minutes later, a fancy Black SUV pulled up in front of resort; the siblings got the text and headed in. As they got in, they saw Marie in the driver's seat while Callie was in the passenger seat, looking at the map on her phone.
Over at the museum, the students were told to get into groups of three and split up to enjoy the museum with one another. Many of them had an interest in the different paintings that had relation to the 2nd Great Turf War. But for Cobalt, Reice, and Tangie, they were spooked by the haunting rumor of the Inkling statue that was supposedly made to commemorate a fallen Inkling war veteran, that during the nights of splatfests, would laugh very creepy and loudly. They shuddered as they tried to imagine the sound, moving on to view the rest of the museum; After a few hours passed, Callie and Marie took the siblings out for a view of the festival float, which was in Flounder Heights close by the famous luxury apartments.
"The festival will be across all of Inkopolis with our concert starting in Flounder heights, traveling down south to Mahi-Mahi and ending it at the resort. We'll begin the concert on Friday and party down there on the two trucks…" said Callie, pointing at the two big rigs that were decorated in Orange for Trick and Purple for Treat.
"So you guys are actual agents of the government?" Azule said, taking a picture of the trucks and walking around to view the setup.
"Yes"-Marie answered, taking the lead of the bunch- "We were agents ever since we were teens. Our grandfather had us become Agents 1 and 2, and shortly after-3 years to be exact…"-holding up three fingers-"we met this girl that he found when she first came here to Inkopolis. She was from the nation Cepholodan, but she didn't ever tell us what her name was, so she went by the name Agent 3-that's what grandpa called her."
"The three of us helped rescue the Great Zapfish from the Octarians, and stop their king, DJ Octavio; while fighting an underground and secret war against them."-Callie chimed in, taking the lead back from Marie-"and afterwards, we went back to our lives and hanged out for a little as our grandpa rooted himself in the Inkopolis government."
"As a result, he became the president shortly after, recruiting the three of us into the army as his special agents. Then he added a fourth one to our team, a boy who was given the name of Agent 4. He had a very identical personality to Agent 3, quiet, reserved, talented, agile and very serious. " Marie said, once again taking the lead.
"After that, those two bonded and had kids a short time later in their early 20s. Then the Octarians declared war on us for imprisoning DJ Octavio. Which led to many big icons in the Inkling community joining in the war such as Agent 3-'the Hero', Renji Citra and his wife Cara Citra-the top two martial artists who've ever lived, and Arosuke Tokugawa and his wife Simone-the clan leaders of the famed Tokugawa samurai clan." Marie added, looking up at the evening sky.
"We had many laughs, shared many stories and overall enjoyed each other's company during the war. With them leading the front lines with us, we drove the Octarians back and won the war, but the price was those great heroes' lives…"-A silence passed as the Squid Sisters paid their respect to those fallen comrades.
They spent the rest of the day talking about their lives and sharing some of their personal memories of Agents 3 and 4; the two siblings learned more and more about their parent's lives before the war and during the war. As the day ended, the first events in the fall festival would begin tomorrow. Cobalt kneels before his bed, saying his prayer as he asks for his father's strength. Tangie is in the training room, sparring with Pastelle. Sally is out on the balcony, looking at the moon's reflection in the dark water as a slow breeze brushed against her. All three of them had the mindset which was very simple.
"Go wild at the festival!"
But for Azule and Sky, they both couldn't sleep after the shocking news they learned shortly before leaving the Squid Sisters.
"We're your godmothers! We were entrusted in your care, but Agent 3 never wanted to hand you over, even though Agent 4 was all for it."
Mom…why exactly did you put us there? Why couldn't you let us be with the Squid Sisters!? Thought both of them simultaneously as they closed their eyes, getting some rest for the big day that lied ahead.