Three peered through her Hero Shot's scope, examining the compound below in detail. She had never been to this part of the domes before but considering the state it was in she considered that no big loss.
Many of the domes were falling apart but this one looked to be on the verge of total collapse. Much of the shell was gone, leaving little more than the skeletal frame to hold back the earth. The lack of lights made it very dark and Three had made certain to let her eyes adjust before moving in deep.
Most of the buildings had been long gone, either crushed by debris or scavenged for materials. Octarians were very good at recycling.
A single straight route was marked by dim amber post lights, showing the route from the kettle on the opposite end of the dome to the compound - by far the most well lit part of the dome, with mast lights illuminating whole sections.
Three watched the battlements of the wall that surrounded the compound. Only a handful of guards and the watchtowers were half dismantled, no doubt being salvaged for more materials. Overall, the place didn't look very secure. Hardly the sort of place you would keep prisoners of value.
"See anything?"
Three pulled back from the scope and looked to her left. Callie sat with her knees pulled up against her chest. Her roller lay on the ground next to her, and her black tentacles were tied in her trademark bow underneath her pink beanie.
"Guards," Three answered. "Not many. You're sure about this place?"
"This is where they're being kept." Callie said firmly. "Maybe the compound on the surface is just a cover? Maybe there's more underground."
Three smirked. "Callie, we're already underground."
Callie giggled. "Right, I forgot. You know, in Octo Canyon, they don't build their domes underground in most places, they just cover the canyon with a roof. Because of that they tend to be more vertical. Marie told me that Four complained about her otoliths hurting after some missions."
Three nodded and looked back through the scope, checking the central buildings. It was actually fairly easy to spot the prisoner cells because the windows were covered with dulled yellow plastic. Almost in the middle of the compound, it appeared to be the most well guarded building.
"You haven't seen them in months." Three said. "Are you sure they'll recognize you? You're not showing as much skin these days, either."
Callie raised an eyebrow at her, a few light ripples of yellow and orange washing down her tentacles. "I'm sure. I mean, I'm the only inkling they've ever known, after all, and they should recognize my voice." Then she crossed her arms and grinned. "And since when have you been such a smart mouth? Is Four actually rubbing off on you?"
Three opened her mouth to vehemently deny it, but she paused for a moment of reflection and then slowly relaxed. "I guess so."
Callie smiled and reached out with one of her tentacles to give Three a pat on the back. "That's good. You two actually bonded pretty quickly. A lot of people at the resort thought you were sisters by blood."
Three was fairly certain that was a gross exaggeration given how much Four told her she needed to loosen up. "They also thought I was your blood sister and Four was Marie's."
"Just a sign of how close we've all become." Her voice softened. "How much we've become a family." She reached out with her fingers this time, gliding them up Three's tentacle in a slow almost sensual motion.
Three felt her hearts quicken. Callie was always able to do that to her, probably without her even meaning to. Sometimes, she wondered-.
A low rumbling noise touched Three's otoliths and interrupted her thoughts. She turned to face Callie again. The inkling's mantle rippled an embarrassed light-blue and she had a hand on her stomach. Three sighed, removing one of the ration bars from her pouch and tossing it to her.
"Second Puberty is really kicking in, huh?."
Callie accepted it gratefully. "You have no idea. Marie and I can barely sleep at night because we're always getting up to have midnight snacks."
Three found herself smirking. "Marie doesn't even try to hide it anymore? It must be really bad."
Callie giggled and unwrapped the bar. These ration bars were equivalent to a full meal for an adult. Hopefully, it would satiate Callie for the duration of their mission.
Three returned her attention to her scope and examined other parts of the compound, looking for parts of the wall that might be easier to scale or get through, checking lines of sight for static guard positions, and the composition of forces.
Most of the guards were octo troopers, easy prey, with a handful of octocopters to provide overwatch. A single tower came out of what looked like a headquarters building, which likely contained administration and living quarters for the guards. Most likely there were only one or two octolings to keep an eye on things. The rest were prisoners.
"How does it look?" Callie asked.
"Not too bad. I've definitely broken into more heavily guarded places. As long as there's nothing too unexpected about the layout or any other hidden surprises, we should be alright."
"Only one of the cell blocks is in use," Callie said, pulling a sheet out from the pocket of her sweater. "They keep the prisoners apart. Fortunately there are only two or three that aren't one of the ones we're looking for."
Three nodded. "If you say so."
Callie showed Three the paper. It was a layout of the main cell block she had spotted earlier. Three levels of cells but only a relative handful of prisoners. That wasn't surprising. The Octarians didn't have the resources to spare to take care of people who didn't contribute to society. They did have penal splatoons for less severe criminals, while others were simply executed. This compound housed prisoners that they couldn't execute, for one reason or another, and didn't want mixing with others.
"I want to try and get them out soon," Callie said softly. "They've been in there for months."
"Are you sure they even want to?"
"Yes." Callie's tone brokered no argument. "Trust me, Three, they do."
She stood and brushed off her shorts. "Welp, I guess we'd better head back. Look's like we've learned everything we need to and I don't want to spend the rest of my day off in this dank place. I'm getting depressed just looking at it."
Three nodded, taking one last look at the compound before she joined Callie.
They followed the perimeter of the dome until they reached the other side where there was a small guard post. It was commanded by a single octoling, who was currently napping and a pair of octo troopers on their little platforms. Sneaking around them to go up the kettle was child's play.
Back on the surface, the weather was calm with only a few puffy white clouds in the sky. It was a little chilly after being in the warm domes but that was something they were accustomed to. Callie zipped up her sweater to compensate while Three was still fairly warm in her well covering gear.
They began their walk back to Cuttlefish Cabin. Free from the necessity of stealth, Callie was able to strike up another conversation.
"So, have things been going better with Eight lately?"
Three shook her head. "No. They might even be getting worse. Eight hasn't been as… she hasn't seemed the same since we got back from our vacation."
"Ah, yeah, she does look a bit down in the dumps lately. That vibrant spirit is one of the things you like about her, right?"
Three felt that irritating twisting in her gut again but she forced herself to ignore it. If there was one person she knew she could talk to, it was Callie. It didn't feel right to spill her guts to Four the other day but not to Callie now.
"When I told her I liked her, it was what I meant. Maybe part of me wished I could be like that."
"You're vibrant in your own way," Callie said, grinning. "It's just that you tend to hide it more often than not. Remember when you sang with us for the Christmas album? You were glowing."
Three's mantle turned light blue and her cheeks warmed. "That was only for one song."
"You provided harmony for some of the other songs too. I'm sure Eight would love to hear you sing."
Three's mantle turned charcoal.
"Awww, come on, she'd love it, everyone would."
"The only reason I sang that song with you was because that was Mama's favourite Squidmas song."
"And because you love to sing," Callie added.
Three clicked her beak and Callie smiled. "Awww, baby, I wish you wouldn't be so embarrassed about your gift. You said you didn't feel guilty about it anymore-."
"I don't," Three snapped. "But that doesn't mean I want everyone to know about it. I don't even know why I have this gift. It would have been better spent on someone else, like Eight or Four. Someone who would actually use it."
"You can use it if you want to."
"But I don't, so it's wasted on me. Like so many other things."
Callie raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Like what?"
"Nothing," Three mumbled.
"Too late now. Come on, Three, you know you can tell me anything."
"I don't wanna'."
Callie smiled. "You always act more infantile when you get cornered."
"I do not!"
Callie laughed and pinched the agent's cheek. "Aww Three, for someone who likes to wear capes you're awfully self-conscious."
Three blushed again and rubbed her cheek. "It looks good."
"Of course it does, sweetie, but do you act like this around Eight?"
Three's expression darkened. "I act normal."
"Normal for you or what most people would consider normal?"
Three glared at her but Callie just arched and eyebrow.
"I see, normal for you then."
"What's wrong with that?"
"If you're trying to establish a relationship, a lot.
"Remember when we were first getting to know each other? You were very closed off. You never told us anything about yourself and you weren't terribly forthcoming when we asked about you either."
Three frowned. "I don't like people asking about me so I don't ask about them. It's mutual respect."
"Is it? I certainly didn't feel respected the way you kept brushing us off and acting all prickly."
Three flinched. "But I'm better now, right?"
"To me, Marie, and maybe Four, but not Eight, right? Actually, kind of surprising since you've actually known Eight longer than you have Four."
Three flinched and her mantle developed blotches of washed out purple. "It's just… I didn't see Eight as much as Four until later."
Callie pulsed blue. "Three, you shouldn't be ashamed to have felt apprehensive about Eight because she's an octoling. Especially given the fact that every octoling you've known up until then has tried to kill you. What's important is that you got over that and you trust her now."
Three's mantle darkened. A small gust of wind kicked up bits of dust and debris and made a howling noise through the metal pipes of some long forgotten structure nearby.
Callie's mantle tinted a dark yellow. "You do trust her, don't you?"
"With my life," Three insisted. "She saved me twice."
"Then what's the problem-." Callie cut herself off as a memory from two years ago popped into her mind. Three's expression darkened and she looked away.
"You're still feeling guilty?"
Three pulsed grey and blue. "Maybe a little. I wasn't until Eight confessed to me and then… it just all started coming back."
"Oh." Callie remembered all too well the crying and screaming fourteen-year-old huddled in an old sewer pipe overwhelmed by things no fourteen-year-old should have to deal with.
Callie put a hand on Three's head and rubbed it gently. "Baby, you know you can always talk to me and Marie about these things. I know you don't like to admit weakness but you really don't have to hide it from your family. It's not like we'd be disappointed."
Three made a disgruntled gurgling sound and her mantle turned scarlet with more washed out purple blotches.
"But what about me?" Three asked. "What about how I feel about me?"
"That's the most important thing," Callie said softly. "So how do you feel about yourself?"
Three's lips curled back in a snarl. "Disgusted. I know Eight is good and that I can trust her, but… but I've just done so many things. I've killed people she knew, people she grew up with. I just… don't think it would work out, not when I see her face on every octoling I've killed. On every octoling I might have to kill."
Callie pulsed blue. "Thr- Cortina, don't you think you should talk to her about this? She does seem to really like you and I don't think you should make assumptions. Trust me, I've played enough characters on TV to know this. She needs to know how you feel."
Three made an unhappy noise while her mantle turned brown. "I'm not good at talking."
Callie flashed grey. "I'm not particularly good at driving but I still got a license. It's practice. Besides, it would be disrespectful to Eight not to talk to her about this. You need to be honest with her. You're the one who said you liked her."
"But what if I end up insulting her?"
"Three… don't you think she's also having conflicting feelings? I mean, she was an Octarian soldier, raised to fight and kill inklings and now she's asking you, their nemesis, to date her. I think she'll understand.
"Look, the point I'm trying to make is that you can't solve your problems by avoiding them; you have to face them head on or they'll just keep dragging you down and that's no way to live."
"I've worn a cape. I can manage."
Callie grinned. "Okay, Four is definitely rubbing off on you."
Three arched an eyebrow. "What makes you think it isn't Marie?"
"Well, Marie's snarky but Four has a less salty kind of wit." She bumped her hip into Three. "You should know the difference by now."
"I've never been good at humor."
"Practice, Three, practice. I think it's a sign that you're opening up a little more. Maybe practicing some of that too would help."
Three pulsed grey. "I don't think I'd like that."
Callie giggled. "You need to worry less about keeping this big, scary image of yours. Don't worry, you only need to open up to a few of us, including Eight. As long as you trust her, what's the harm?"
"I don't know," Three admitted. "Maybe that's what scares me."
Callie gave her a quick hug. "Let's just go to my place and we'll both get our minds off our problems for now. Maybe what you need is a clear head or a new perspective. Maybe a change in your routine might help. Try a new outfit, buy new ones, something like that."
"Maybe," Three said. She still wondered if Eight would appreciate what she would have to say by opening up to her. She didn't know how she would react. But, if Callie said she should open up then she knew she had to try, because who better than her would know?
Author's Notes:
And now we get to a story point that was originally introduced early in Looking, Feeling, Touching, where Callie is trying to free the octolings who looked after her while she was under hypnosis. This will become a more important part of the plot later on.
This is one of those chapters I had to rewrite quite a few times to even get it to this stage as Three's main conflict changed frequently during the early drafts. I think it's alright now though.