Ayla's brain had stopped working long before the first responding officer arrived on scene. The adrenaline-fueled rush for survival was long gone by then, leaving the former scout plummeting into a sluggish haze as time slowed to an onverwhelming crawl. She'd seen Gavin pace around the room a few times as he spoke on the shellphone, but Ayla couldn't figure out why he was making calls to begin with. The former scout hadn't moved from her huddle in the corner when the officer knelt to ask about the incident, and Inklish sounded exceptionally fast that day. And Ayla was ever-so-slightly worried she'd accidentally answered with "I ate the window" instead of "he broke the window…"

"Dispatch, this is Officer Esteban with a priority." The Inkling officer didn't seem perplexed (thankfully) as he gripped the radio clipped to his chest. "I need all units here now—including homicide, forensics and an ambulance. Advise backup to be on the lookout for a male Octoling—gray hoodie, gray duffel, Octoleet Goggles; be advised the scene is consistent with a Lightfisher hit and witness claims he left ten minutes ago. Over."

It was barely a heartbeat before his radio crackled back to life. "Detective Alex speaking. If you just described the Lightfisher's first lookout then I will love you forever, rookie."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you sir." Officer Esteban chuckled as he took his hand off the radio, but his eyes bulged bigger than saucers when he realized Ayla was still less than a yard away. "Uh…I-I didn't mean it like that! It was a joke, totally a joke we weren't actually being serious or anything I'm dead serious that's just cop humor and…oh cod I am not ready for the field…"

Ayla only offered a forgiving shrug. The truth was she hadn't even been paying attention; the Octoling was still trying to process that her neighbor was dead on the floor. Dead. Not splatted. Actually permanently dead. And the fact that the body still hadn't vanished yet wasn't helping Ayla's numbed-out brain process any.

The rookie had slinked off in an attempt to escape from his embarrassment, and it wasn't long before he was replaced by Gavin.

"How're you holding up?" He was kind enough to speak in Octolish—which Ayla was beyond grateful for.

"I…" The former scout tried to yank her brain back into working order.

"So step one—" A finger nudged her chin away from Valerie's body. "Stop looking at it. Trust me, your brain needs a break."

"R-right, sorry." Ayla tried to blink some moisture back into her eyes. "But…it's just…why is she still there!? Why didn't she respawn on top of the hotel? Why did that guy shoot her to begin with? Why did he hang around? How on earth am I still alive after that? Am I still alive? What about you? Are you alive or are you dead? How are you supposed to tell between what's real and what's the afterlife because I swear I wouldn't be surprised if he killed me so well I didn't even notice—"

"Okay, okay, slow it down." Gavin raised his hand with a chuckle. "First things first—I think it's safe to say you're still alive because I doubt the Lightfisher had enough time to kill you, me…and about half of the entire police force." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder to point at the quickly growing crowd of blue-uniformed cops. "So yes, I think the sheer number of unequivocally still-living bodies implies that we're indeed alive."

"Right, yeah…um…" Ayla mumbled as she looked down, sheepishly scratching at her arm. "That…that's a good point." She'd been absently watching Esteban set yellow markers beside evidence when a very energetic voice sounded from the other side of the caution tape.

"Um, excuse me," Officer Esteban scrambled over his own markers to meet the cephalopod in the hallway. "But this is a crime scene so only those with proper authorization are allow—"

"That's ok, I have one o' those!" The voice—an Inkling, judging from the lack of an accent—chirped back. An elbow wrapped in a pink cardigan poked from the doorway as she searched through her bag, producing a small pink case.

Esteban took the case and opened it to examine the golden yellow badge, then shrugged. "All right, you're in."

There was a long pause before the squid answered. "…Hm?"

"We're in." A second, much calmer voice spoke with an exasperated groan. "Get out of the way, you dunderhead."

"Oh—thanks!" The Inkling leapt over the caution tape and bounded over to a group of officers, leaving Ayla's brows to furrow in consternation. That getup—the beanie, the shades, the pink cardigan…she'd seen that before, hadn't she?

The ex-scout didn't have time to remember before another, silver-tentacled Inkling slipped into the room, but this one was much more cognizant of her surroundings. She had stopped a few paces from the doorway and her golden eyes slowly scanned the surroundings until they landed on Ayla. The Inkling stared at her for another few heartbeats before her eyes narrowed into a deep, scheming stare above her surgical mask. And then, without any explanation, she broke eye contact and wasted no time in rifling through Valerie's trash can.

"Yo, Eight!" Quinn—much to Ayla's surprise—jogged up to his friend. "You good, bud?" Ayla didn't pay attention to the other Octoling's reply, still wondering who all of these squids were, why Quinn was among them, and why they all called Gavin "Eight."

But everything clicked when Agent 4 stepped into the room.

"Oh cod." Ayla's hands went to her head. "Oh cod. You guys are NSS." Her gaze flicked to the other two Inklings—that's why the getup had looked so familiar; it was Agent 1's leaked disguise. And she'd originally assumed that Quinn and Gavin just happened to be friends with Delta; but if they were working alongside not one, not two, but three NSS agents on a criminal investigation, then they had to be agents as well.

Why was it so hard to stay away from the NSS? Was she supposed to perform ink sacrifices or something?

Quinn's sigh snapped her back to reality. "Well, looks like the catfish is outta the bag. Yo, One!" The pink beanie turned around and sunglasses zeroed in on the Inkling. "Can you c'mere a sec?"

Agent 1 squatted to join the small crowd in front of Ayla. "…Aww, who's this lost little soul?"

The aforementioned scout did her best to hide her surprise at the idol's query. They'd already met before, but apparently the rumors were true: Callie must not have remembered last year.

Gavin finished his explanation and Callie's beak curved into a sympathetic frown, then she held her little finger towards the Octoling. "Pinky promise ya won't tell anybody?"

Ayla couldn't help but notice that Delta had made her way over and was quietly standing behind Callie with folded arms…and memories of the agent's previous warning told her crossing that pinky was better for her health.

"'Attagirl!" Agent 1's beak burst into a wide, bright grin; then she turned back to the boys. "Well, now she's gonna tag along whether she likes it or not—it'll be easier to keep an eye on her that way. 'Sides, this is one thorough Lightfisher; we gotta make sure the slob doesn't come back for his only witness. So why don'tcha take the poor thing outta here and ask some questions in another room?"

"Understood." Quinn offered a nod. "We'll get started on that right away."

"Dude." Gavin flicked a hand at his friend. "The girl's been chased by a murderer, grilled by cops, spooked by all of us, and even endured an existential crisis. I know you like to get stuff done, but dear cod give her a break first." Sympathetic red eyes turned to the other Octoling. "Three and I will be in the lounge at the end of the hall—why don't you take your time and meet us there when you're ready."

The place was trashed; that was Delta's not-so-expert opinion. The door to Valerie's room had almost been blasted off its frame and was clinging to the wall with its last crooked hinge. Dark green ink still dribbled down the door's oak planks; there hadn't even been enough time for the killer's ink to evaporate. She turned away from the entrance to notice the overturned cocktail table and numerous papers that had crashed onto the ground. The table was soaked with green and a look at the scuffed rug made Delta frown with somber understanding. Unlike the previous Elizabeth Summers, this one had tried to defend herself.

"Find anything?" Delta knelt beside the body, taking care to keep a good few inches from the white tape.

"I've found more questions, if that's what you're asking." Marie repositioned her face mask as she glanced at the Inkling next to her. "In terms of the body, the method is almost identical—minus a couple broken nails that she'd clearly used to defend herself with. There's the blow to the head..." Marie's gloved finger pointed to a faint bruise just above Valerie's left temple. "And here's the callsign." Her hand sank to cup a metal hook piercing through Valerie's shirt collar. Delta had to suppress a shiver as the glove cupped the large fishhook and slid along the infamous string of dead glowflies.

"Okay…" She tore her eyes from the fishhook. "…I'm not hearing any questions so far."

"Yeah those kick in once you look at everything else." Marie swept a hand across the extended stay suite with an emphatic nod. "There's a lot of weird things, like…" The Squid Sister trailed off as her golden eyes landed on something, and her silver brows began to crinkle in suspicion.

"What?" Delta tried to follow her mentor's gaze, but her focus could've been anywhere from the crowd of cops to the wall across the room.

"Why is Callie standing so still?" Marie mumbled, and Delta's eyes finally settled on the pink squid leaning against the wall. One arm was squeezed against her diaphragm and the other hand had reached up to massage her temples.

"Hey, Agent One?" Marie called, watching a golden iris peek over Callie's palm. "You okay?"

"Mmm." Callie's hand slid back over her eyes.

"That's a no." Marie was up and moving toward her cousin, already pushing her mask back into position. Delta was left to shake the sleep from her leg and limp behind.

"What's up?" Agent 4 arrived in time to hear Marie's query and reached a hand down to massage the ink back into her knee. "Migraine?"

Callie conceded a slight nod. "But don't worry about me. Keep doing your thing, I can handle it."

"Yeah, you and what medicine?" Marie reached behind her unzipped hoodie, rummaging through the handbag underneath. "You left it at home this morning."

"…I did?" Callie's breath hissed into a wince. "Carp."

"Guess who's got your back." Marie produced an orange pill bottle from her handbag, a knowing half-smile peeking from the corner of her surgical mask. "And isn't as forgetful as you."

Agent 2 might've been focused on her cousin, but Delta's mind began to wander. She'd left her own apartment in a rush to answer the sudden summons—had she put all the stuffed animals safely back under the bed? …Carp, no she hadn't.

Callie took the bottle with a tired smile of her own. "Thanks."

"Anytime." Marie gently took her cousin's arm. "Now let's take you home."

"No, I can get there myself." The pink squid protested after swallowing two capsules. "You guys were in the middle of things. Keep goin'."

"Uh-huh, and I'm queen of the snails." Marie scoffed with an eyeroll. "You're about to fall over; I don't think you're gonna make it by yourself. Besides, Four and I can keep talking on the monorail, and then she can ride it to the train station for her date with a certain handsome Inkling." Delta could feel her cheeks blush at the mention of Dylan, but she quickly swallowed the emotion when her mentor's golden eyes fell on the agent. "Grab your stuff and let's move out."

"Okay, so..." Marie eased her cousin into one of the monorail's seats, then sat beside her. "As I was saying before, the questions start coming in once you look at everything other than the body. There was only one splatter pattern and nary a scratch in Elizabeth's apartment; but this place is covered in ink and the door's practically hanging by a thread, for carp's sake." She paused to watch Callie don her sunglasses. "It's almost like he threw subtlety to the wind this time, and I don't understand why."

"He was in a fight this time." Delta offered a shrug from her seat across from the Squid Sisters. "That's why."

"…I saw that, too." Callie mumbled as she leaned her head against Marie's shoulder. "All the papers and everything everywhere point to a struggle…" a hand came up to gesture in no particular direction, "…and stuff."

"Don't fall asleep on me." Marie gave her cousin a gentle nudge. "I don't wanna have to carry you inside, you've had way too many burgers recently."

"Meanie." Callie mumbled back, flicking a haphazard smack in her cousin's direction. "Keep going, I'm just resting."

A flash of black steel whizzed past the window, and Delta looked through the glass to watch the monorail circle around Inkopolis Square. "But even then, the damage was still…excessive. Maybe he switches from careful to hasty when things don't go his way."

"Perhaps…" Marie allowed a pensive nod, hand returning to her chin. "But a lot of crucial stuff stayed the same—for example he's still impressively conscientious. Both Elizabeth and Valerie were killed right after they'd turned in for the night, so if it weren't for your good friend Ayla—" she spared a comedic smirk at her agent, "—no one would've even noticed Valerie was missing until her shift this morning, let alone grow concerned enough to suspect foul play."

"Yeah, and I bet it's so he can run like the little coward he is." Callie resurrected herself with a low growl. "The stupid squit 'prolly needs the whole eight hours just to haul his fat rump out the door—"

"Hey, cool it will ya?" Agent 2 silenced her cousin with another nudge. "Getting riled up is not gonna do you any favors right now."

"…Let's just catch the guy, alright?" Callie settled her head back onto Marie's shoulder with an aggravated grumble. "I don't like this."

"I don't like it either." Delta gave a resigned shrug. "We're supposed to protect the city, not sit back and watch its civilians die. But I only know how the military works," she ignored Marie's "I noticed," "homicides are still new. It's a lot easier to find an enemy soldier in their territory than it is to find one in your own."

"Well," Marie began as she grabbed her green jacket, lifting a flap to reveal the purple book stowed inside its inner pocket. "We might not know who or where the Lightfisher is, but we could trick him into telling us."

Delta could spot the sly creases around Marie's eyes; the idol had to be smirking under her face mask. "That sounds like a scheme."

"Hear me out." Marie dropped the flap and patted the inside pocket against her torso. "The Lightfisher seemed hasty this time, and we know he encountered resistance. He also left a lot more evidence behind—so maybe the hastier he gets, the more mistakes he'll make." She paused for a quick check on Callie. "If we crank the heat up enough to make him squirm, maybe we can get the guy to trip up and drop a trail of breadcrumbs."

"Hmm." Delta spotted an approaching jellyfish in a Squid Sisters shirt. She tugged on her pilot goggles in the hopes that her mentor would get the message. "So, how do we do that?"

Marie glanced at the fan and pulled at her green hat until the visor covered her eyes. She protectively leaned in front of her indisposed cousin until the jellyfish had passed—now wasn't a good time to meet with fans. "Well, it'd be pretty telling if we put somebody through the ringer and the Lightfisher responds in kind—hopefully Three and Eight can find someone to bring in."

Delta heard a soft ding as the monorail slowed to a halt. A slightly too pleasant voice announced Flounder Heights as passengers began to gather around the car doors.

"…All right, we'll take a break here." Marie straightened herself with a huff and gently shook Callie's shoulder, who—very reluctantly—began to stir. "C'mon, up and at 'em. We've gotta leave Four to her date." Callie had time for a complaining hum before her cousin lifted the sleepy squid to her feet and ushered her out the exit, leaving Delta to ride to the train station on her own.

A/N: So you might've noticed the "part 1" and "part 2" thing XD. That's a new tactic from the rewrite—I noticed there were some chapters that quickly grew draggy simply from the sheer amount of content they needed to cover in order to keep the plot moving at its proper pace. I didn't like splitting them into a whole new chapter since the whole point was to make things feel shorter instead of longer, not to mention having two half-sized chapters felt weird when every other chapter was about 5k words long. So I decided to split the chapter and call it what it truly is: part 1 and part 2.

Here's the relevant authorly rants from the original chapter:

-In case the InkPD/NSS relationship isn't clear: I organized Inkopolis law enforcement into departments—like a city's police force vs the DEA vs the FBI. The NSS is one of those departments and therefore has access to the same resources Inkopolis PD does, it's just exceedingly rare that they ever use it since they're mainly focused on external military affairs.

-For anyone who hasn't read the first story or simply forgotten, Callie's migraines are a leftover side effect from her brainwashing in the first story. I went very, uh, scientific with my version of brainwashing—and judging from the facts, leaving her completely 100% was pretty unreasonable and occasional migraines was probably the nicest option that I could've gone with.

-It's also come to my attention that several of you were curious about what a bobbit worm was. Several of you looked it up. And several of you immediately regretted that decision. I apologize for the collateral damage that our bet war has caused, and feel free to direct your therapy bills to deepcauldron (disclaimer: this has been A Joke With Phoenix and don't actually do this)