Nem's visit with the lawyer was very eventful. Due to recent events, lawmakers had decided to operate on how things were prior to the deaths of the spawn point victims. This meant that Nem still legally had custody of Safaia.
However… Scalpel wasn't willing to let that slide.
He threatened the take Nem to court for physical and emotional child negligence since it had been him caring for Safaia the past three months. Unfortunately, Nem's lawyer told us that he might have a strong case and he could potentially take Safaia away from us once the case was closed. This put a great deal of stress on Nem-Nem, and so Safaia and I were obviously concerned for her mental health.
We didn't know what to do.
As for Safaia standing in the hallway that first night…
It seemed she couldn't remember anything at all from that, nor recall anything Berry had said she'd done. This worried me greatly because it meant that she might not be in control of herself at certain times. If I wanted to help Safaia settle back into the family, I needed to figure out why she was acting this way, and I knew just who to turn to.
Visiting the Octarian base where I'd first met Ophelia was… scary. Octolings were all around outside and I felt I should've waited until Henry's weekly visit, but… this was important. Henry's visit was three days away, but Safaia was a great concern.
Two octolings stood outside the doors, watching me. While I was within my suit, I hoped they wouldn't know I was a human. I had to play it cool and make sure I sounded like a legitimate octoling, so… I asked Ezra to help me out.
"Halt!" shouted an octoling elite, staring at me through her sunglasses. She aimed her octoshot at me without hesitation. "State your business!"
With the familiar gurgling of an octoling, I replied, "I'm here to see Henry and Ophelia. I have a meeting with them."
"Ophelia?" she recognized. "The head scientist?"
"Correct," I answered, shaking a little, hoping they wouldn't notice my nervous twitching.
The two guards briefly exchanged glances before they typed something into a keypad. Upon pressing a red button beneath it, the doors slid open. As I walked in, I could hear one guard ask the other, "Does something seem off to you?"
"I'm not questioning anything related to Ophelia. Last time I did, she almost had me demoted," replied the other guard, making me sigh in relief. It seemed Ophelia had quite the reputation here if no one wanted to question her.
As I entered the larger room, all octolings within stared at me with a predatory glare, stopping what they were doing. I felt great fear, but continued to walk. I just needed to play it cool and find Ophelia and Henry.
As I walked by the lab tables, a slightly taller boy stepped in front of me, looking down at me, pale as the moon at night and with the same hair as one of the elites, the long tentacles covering his face, but from what little I could see, he had golden eyes that outshined even the silver pieces on his black armor.
Despite seeming to be around my age, it was obvious that this octoling had trained a lot, his abs clearly visible and indicating that this was an octoling I didn't want to mess with, especially if he was holding a melee weapon.
But what stood out the most about him was the thick, red fur on his tentacle hair. Was he some experiment involving mammal DNA? I'd never seen fur on an octoling before, so I was cautious. I didn't know what I was dealing with.
Looking down at me, he gave a malicious grin, displaying teeth sharper than any other I'd seen. Just seeing his tongue run across them gave me shivers and made me want to run, but I stood my ground. Looking up at him, I could see his eyes gazing right into my visor and taking note of my shaking. This made him chuckle.
"I don't think we get many new recruits around this base very often," he whispered. "Maybe I could show you around?~"
I already didn't like this…
"I'm here to find Ophelia," I said, hoping he'd recognize the name.
He did. "Ophelia, huh…? Sure, I can take you to her."
Ezra, standing behind me, said, "I don't like him. Decline his offer."
"I think I'll wait here," I said, following Ezra's advice for once. Alarms were definitely going off in my head.
"Do you have any ID?" he asked me with a smug smile, making me sweat.
"L-Left it back at headquarters?" I tried to bluff.
He wasn't buying it at all. "Oh, really? Back at headquarters?" he said with a laugh. "You know that's against the rules, right? Being without an ID is a high offense, so I'm gonna have to arrest you, ya got that?"
The other octolings were all staring at me, some with smirks on their faces, others whispering to each other. I was scared, seeing this boy approach me so suddenly to grab my arm. As I pulled away to avoid his touch, I bumped into a familiar face behind me.
"H-Henry!" I shouted, looking up and seeing my brother. "Th-Thank cod."
Henry and the furred octoling exchanged glares. "Aren't you supposed to be working, Dex?" Henry asked.
The octoling, presumably Dex, grinned. "Oh, of course I was," he replied. "I was just about to arrest this… spy."
Spy?!
"She's not a spy," said Henry to Dex. "You're just a little creep."
Dex shivered, sticking his tongue out a little before quickly withdrawing it. "Can't I just do my own thing?"
Henry had this aura of anger surrounding him. "Dex… You may be dealing with puberty, but I will beat you with a dynamo roller if you attempt anything with my sibling. I don't care how new you are. I WILL HURT YOU."
Dex's golden gaze lowered down to meet mine, puzzlement on his face. "Sibling? Since when did any of us have siblings?"
"Get back to cleaning the test tubes," said Henry. "Now, newbie."
"Th-That's a newbie?!" I shouted, looking back at my brother.
"D-Don't let her know that!" shouted Dex, looking frazzled. He no longer had that professional bad boy look about him. "F-Fine, I'm going back to work!"
As Dex hurried away, mumbling swears under his breath, Henry put a hand on my shoulder. "Why are you here? This place is too dangerous for you."
"I need help," I replied. "I need you to take me to Ophelia."
Henry tilted his head. "I could've sworn you hated Ophelia…"
"I-I do," I said. "I… just really need her help right now. She's a scientist and I don't feel like going to see Scalpel about it…"
"Scalpel?" Henry questioned. "Who?"
"Very long story," I muttered. "Could you please help me?"
Henry sighed. "Fine. Follow me," he instructed.
I nodded, walking close behind him. "You have no idea how grateful I am for this."
"You have no idea what Dex was going to do to you," he replied. "He's going through a phase and if I ever catch him alone with you, he won't live to see his adult years."
"W-Was he really going to kill me?" I asked.
Henry shot me a confused look. "Kill you?"
"Yeah, was he?" I questioned, now just as confused.
Henry looked like he was going through a multitude of algorithms in his head. Eventually, he answered, "Let's just say it would've been worse than death. You don't need to know more than that, alright? You're obviously too innocent for that."
?
"Um, o-okay?" I muttered. What could've been worse than death…?
We entered a small office where Ophelia had her back turned to us, looking over some paperwork. The room was filled with posters of octarian bands and equations that made no sense to me whatsoever. In the corner was a small computer with green graphs rolling across the screen, looking very important.
"Ophelia, I'm back," said Henry.
"Oh?~" said Ophelia, still looking over her papers. "So early? Did you really miss me that much?"
"I brought Amelia," he said.
Ophelia went silent, her hands gripping the paperwork so hard it tore. Turning around, she put on a false smile, one that definitely didn't fool me. "Oh, hello!~"
"I need your help," I said, cutting to the chase. "It's important. Really important."
"What's so important that you needed to come directly to my lab?" she asked, shooting me an annoyed glare, her fake smile still present.
"Um… Genetics…" I replied. "Regarding the undead inklings."
"Henry, could you please leave us alone for a few minutes?" asked Ophelia.
Henry gave her a look of questioning. "I'd prefer not to leave her alone."
"I promise I won't do anything," said Ophelia, looking offended. "You can wait outside the door."
After I gave Henry a nod, he gave Ophelia one last look before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. The moment he did, Ophelia and I exchanged the tensest glares of the century. I didn't like her. She didn't like me. This was obvious.
"So," she said. "Undead…?"
"I… have a sister who's an inkling/anemone hybrid," I explained. "She's also one of the undead victims. Every night, she stands in the hallway and stares at me, but she doesn't seem to remember anything from those nights."
"Easy to see why," said Ophelia. "Everyone in the Octarian science community knows this is a classic case of sanitization. The ooze that's used to create these new bodies removes all inhibition and allows for… more primal urges."
"Primal?" I questioned, narrowing my gaze.
"Your 'sister' definitely won't see you as her sibling during certain hours," said Ophelia. "We've seen and studied these effects before. At night, many subjects displayed the same symptoms. A constant urge to hunt, starting out as a stalking game."
There was a long and frightening silence. "How can I prevent things from going bad?" I asked quietly, fearfully.
"I could make some changes to her…" said Ophelia. "I need something from you, though…"
"Anything," I said, looking up at her.
"I want to study you," she said.
Not this again… Did everyone want to dissect me? "Why are you doing this?"
Tilting her head, she giggled. "Oh, don't worry… There won't be anything invasive. I'd just like to study your progress."
"How…?" I asked, very wary now.
She took out a clipboard from a drawer next to her. "I just want you to tell me how you've been feeling, how the serum has affected you so far. Have there been… any apparitions?"
"Ezra…?" I muttered.
"Is that what she calls herself?" Ophelia questioned. "Tell me, have you been getting along with her?"
"We're doing fine," I replied. "Your serum won't make her hurt me."
Ophelia couldn't help but giggle. "Oh, you think she was supposed to hurt you?~"
"Why else would you inject her into my mind?" I asked, a little angry.
"Amelia, I don't think you understand," said Ophelia. "Sadly, I don't think you will, even if I explained it to you."
"Try me," I dared.
She shook her head. "Let's just say she's there to help you and that she's always been there. You just haven't noticed her until the serum was administered to you."
"But… that doesn't make sense," I responded, greatly puzzled.
"Just… try to get along with her," said Ophelia. "Anyways, have you noticed any new symptoms?"
"New symptoms?" I replied. "Um… I can use specials now."
:Any… violent rages?" she asked.
"Turf Madness…?" I assumed.
She nodded. "Mhm… And what of the… tentacles?"
"If you're talking about the hallucinations… I do see them in the corners of my vision," I answered.
She scribbled down on her clipboard while replying, "Those… aren't hallucinations," scaring me.
"N-Not hallucinations?!" I spouted.
"Do you ever feel an itching on your back?" asked Ophelia with a smirk, resting her head in her palm. "That's them, Amelia. They're temporary until the transformation is complete. Sometimes, you might have control, but most often you won't. You usually just won't see them because they're under your skin until they're needed."
"M-Makes me feel like a monster when you say it like that," I said to her, shaking.
"We're all monsters, Amelia," she replied. "We just pretend to be civil."
"I don't like to think of it like that…" I whispered.
Ophelia looked down at her clipboard, face showing a bit of thoughtfulness. Looking at me, she smiled. "Your brother didn't want to think about that, either. He'd tell me all about human society. He wanted to believe in it up until his cryostasis."
"I miss him…" I whispered.
"He's outside in the hall," she said. "He's still your brother."
"Yeah, I know," I said. "I just meant… I wished he could remember everything."
Ophelia was silent for a while, her eyes looking back down at her clipboard, as if she were trying to remember something. Then, to my surprise, she began to sing… in perfect English.
Silent night, holy night.
All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant so tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Sleep in heavenly peace.
I watched her in awe, remembering previous Christmas days when my brother would sing along with my mother. While he wasn't religious, he still liked to spend time with her and he'd even invite me to join in on the songs.
"D-Did he…?" I asked.
She slowly nodded. "He was singing that the day after Squidmas. I'd asked him about it, but he couldn't seem to remember where it came from."
"He's remembering…" I whispered.
"Maybe," she said. "But you must know this. The transition from a human brain to an octoling brain is… messy. It will almost always involve some form of memory loss and is typically irreversible."
"Please, don't remind me," I said, almost snapping.
She sighed. "I just don't want you to get your hopes up only to have them crash. It always hurts harder when we expect one thing and get something devastating instead. Sometimes it's best not to be optimistic. It's okay to have doubts."
Maybe…
"I want to doubt sometimes, but… something keeps me from doing that," I admitted.
Ophelia was intrigued. "Oh? What could be keeping you from doubting?"
I looked at her with a sad smile. "M-My friends?" I responded. Ophelia looked amused, the octoling giving a chuckle.
Suddenly, the lights went out. I heard a scream off in the distance from somewhere in the base. My brain went into full-on panic mode and I quickly ran over to the door, opening it up and seeing that Henry was already running down the hallway at great speeds. It seemed like he was heading in the direction of the scream.
As soon as Ophelia heard the alarms start ringing, she groaned and gripped my hand, surprising me. "C'mon," she said. "Need to get to shelter."
"What's going on?!" I asked with fear in my voice.
"That pesky agent…" muttered Ophelia.
"Agent?" I questioned as I was quickly led down the hall.
"It's a long story…" she replied to me. As we went down the stairs, I could hear ink being fired from multiple weapons at once, all being silenced by either a loud boom or a crash. Something was causing havoc up there. Something or someone."
Reaching the bottom floor, I saw some kind of safe. Dex, standing by it, looked frantic as he tapped on the keypad. "Th-The code's not working!" he stammered, making Ophelia shoot a glare at him.
"Did you learn nothing?!" she screamed, letting go of me and shoving him aside to type in the code herself. "They change every day!"
Dex stood back up quickly, jumping the moment he heard a boom from a few floors above. "I-I'm too young to die!"
"You're not going to die, you wuss," Ophelia replied, the safe door opening. "Get in, now."
As Dex rushed into the safe, Ophelia pushed me in as well. A few other octolings also began running in, looking scared and frantic, their nerves obviously shot. Ophelia sighed and told me, "I'm going to lock you all in here until the situation is over. The safe will unlock itself once it detects lifeforms within for more than twenty-four hours. If I'm not back before then, it's safe to assume I'm dead."
"Wh-What about Henry?!" I asked. "I need to help him! I'm unsplattable!"
Ophelia shook her head and pushed me further into the saferoom. "I don't care if you're a one-octoling army. Henry would be upset if I let you face a deadly squid like Agent Three."
"Agent Three…?" I repeated, deja vu somehow running through my brain.
I didn't get an answer. Ophelia shut the door and I heard the gears within the door turn and clank, the lights inside going dim and leaving me in fear and confusion. Who was Agent Three? Why was that so familiar?
The various octolings all looked like they were inexperienced and about my age. Dex was in the very back of the long, hallway-like saferoom, his golden eyes glowing whilst he hugged his knees to his chest, shaking.
It was so odd to see him acting like this now when he was trying to act so intimidating towards me. I couldn't help but approach him, sitting next to him. The thudding continued, a few of them actually rumbling the saferoom and making Dex's eyes widen, his breath becoming shallow and rapid.
"I-I can't die! I can't!" he muttered to himself. "I never got to experience life! I'll never graduate, never go on to a university! I don't want to go down like this! I don't wanna! I've never even kissed anyone yet!"
Oh, kissing… So, that's what Henry met. Why was I so clueless sometimes?
"Calm down," I said to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He reeled at the very touch, moving away from me.
"F-Freak…" he muttered. "Don't treat me like a friend! There's no room for that in the military!"
"Aw, what's the matter?" I mocked. "Weren't you acting so brave about thirty minutes ago?"
"Sc-Screw you!" he shouted at me, catching the attention of the other octolings. After he stared back at them all, they went back to whispering to each other and waiting out the hectic battle upstairs. Dex shivered. "L-Look, I was trying to impress people, alright? No one here's ever respected me because of my– ugh… Look, just… leave me alone!"
Was… he talking about the fur on his tentacles? It definitely made me pity this octoling. "Hey, um… You're not the only one here who's different," I said, looking away from him, rubbing at my arm nervously. "I know what it's like to have to hide things."
Dex stared at me, no longer as jittery. "Yeah…?"
I looked back at him. "Yeah. I'm trying my best to be a team player, but I… can't shapeshift. I'm forced to work around it."
He seemed a little skeptical. "You can't shapeshift? Wow! D-Did you come out of a bad batch or something? Did the tanks break during growth or…?"
What…?
Oh, right, clones.
"Uh, you could say that," I answered. "But I just kept going. I met my friends and they kept me going. There's nothing wrong with having friends."
Dex stared at me for a long time, making me uncomfortable. I tilted my head, a little confused, and this seemed to surprise him. He looked down, pressing his index fingers against each other. "O-Oh! Um… M-Maybe… we could become friends?"
"Uh, yeah…" I replied. "Sure."
We waited for hours, yet the thudding had stopped a while ago, greatly worrying me. Had my brother died fighting this agent? What was going to happen to us? Were we all going to die here at the hands of this stranger?
Everyone had fallen asleep, yet Dex and I stayed awake. I'd look through my phone, trying to get a signal, but there were no bars whatsoever. All I could do was play a few games on it, but I didn't, knowing they'd waste the battery when I could need it later.
"You know, I… didn't want to be a soldier," Dex whispered, minding the sleeping octolings. "I wanted to be a DJ."
"DJ Dex? Nice ring to it," I replied.
"Y-Ya think so?" I said, his cheeks turning red.
I nodded. "Maybe you could end up like Marina?"
Dex glared at me. "She's a traitor. Are you insinuating I'd betray my own?"
Looking at him with puzzlement, I replied, "No? Don't you know what she does in Inkopolis? She's this huge star and a lot of inklings and octolings look up to her. I'm just saying maybe you could have the same popularity."
His anger quickly left him, the boy looking down at his own phone. "Yeah, if I don't get splatted first…"
"I won't let this person hurt you or anyone else in this room," I replied, looking at the sealed door. "My brother's up there… but I'm scared. The fighting sounds like it's stopped, but… Ophelia hasn't come back yet."
"I don't get it," Dex said, giving me a raised brow look. "How is he your brother when we're all just a bunch of genetically modified clones? Were you born in the same batches? Is that what you mean?"
I didn't know how to answer that without giving myself away. "It's… complicated."
"And why the helmet?" asked Dex. "What are you hiding under there?"
"Just… looks cool," I replied.
"I bet you'd look cooler without it," he said. "At least lemme see your face before I die."
Oh, c'mon. Was this guy going to ask all the questions in the world? I sighed with frustration and looked at him, wanting to give him a glare, but I kept my composure. "Can you keep a secret?"
"Yeah, sure," he answered.
Considering these octolings were all asleep… I slowly took off my helmet. The moment he saw my hair, his eyes widened. I knew what he was going to say.
"Oh my cod."
Of course he would. All octolings knew.
"You're…"
It was obvious to them.
"...You're just like me!" he shouted. "Another fuzzy octoling! That's amazing!"
Eh?!
"Y-You're joking, right?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" he replied. "Do you know how rare it is for me to see another fuzzy octoling out here?"
"I-I'm not a fuzzy octoling," I corrected. "I'm a human. My brother used to be human but was turned into an octoling."
He blinked twice, confusion on his face, mouth slowly opening up before he responded, "O-Okaaaaaay? Wasn't expecting THAT."
"How could you not tell I was human?" I questioned, putting my helmet back on.
"I'm not exactly the brightest bulb in the bunch…" he muttered in shame, looking away from me. "Couldn't pass regular tests like the other octolings could. They'd make fun of me and so I like to try and intimidate new people, cuz if I don't, most of them won't respect me…"
He really was different from the octolings, but… "That doesn't mean you're not smart in your own way."
"What are you talking about?" he questioned. "I can't even solve most equations!"
I put a hand on his shoulder. "But you said you wanted to be a DJ, right?"
"Yeah...?" he responded.
"You don't need math to play music!" I pointed out.
"I guess you're right," he said, nodding his head, seeming to think it over seriously.
As soon as it seemed like he was going to gain optimism, all of it was shut down when there was a large thud against the saferoom door, cracks forming and golden ink spurting out through them. Dex immediately stepped behind me, hands on both my shoulders.
All of us helplessly watched as the door opened, the heavy metal creaking in agony as it revealed an inkling with an interesting gold-colored hairstyle. Two long tentacles draped down the sides of her face, hanging all the way down towards waist level. Upon her head was a blue captain's cap with a gold squid insignia on the front, showing her own authoritative rank. Orange eyes stared out at us all with judgment.
While it seemed like she was important, she didn't seem to have any armor on. No, she only wore a white t-shirt and pants that were slightly torn at the end of their leggings. Instead of protective shoes, she wore simple flip-flop sandals.
Standing behind her were two other inklings, one with short bangs, orange eyes, and wearing a yellow jacket, glowing shoes. Upon her head were a set of colorful headphones that covered her ears.
The third inkling, however, was different. She had bright yellow eyes and wore much more ragged clothing and had her tentacle hair in a braid on one side and a much longer tentacle on the other. Bandages on her arms and hands and the strap coverings on her feet indicated she may have been from somewhere rough and full of danger, a place where improvisation was needed in order to survive.
"Th-They're gonna splat us all!" screamed Dex, gripping my shoulders in fear.
The third inkling took out something from an old backpack upon her back. Was that… a stereo? It had to be some kind of new form of Killer Wail, right?! Why else would they have it?! As she set it down, all the octolings stepped back with fright in their eyes and I couldn't blame them. These were all new recruits, it seemed, and they hadn't even finished their training yet. Because of this, I broke free of Dex's grip and ran up to the three inklings, my dualies materializing in my hands.
The captain and I exchanged tense glances, words not even needed at this point. She had this sort of solemn look to her, a dignified look. She'd been through a lot and I could tell just from her stare alone that she had me outclassed in every way.
My hands shook as I raised them up to aim at her. Because of this, I drew the attention from the other two inklings, who raised two weapons I couldn't recognize, similar in shape to that of a splattershot, but much more advanced.
As it looked like we were about to have a showdown, the captain raised her hand, then looked at the third inkling, motioning towards the stereo. The third inkling smirked at me, then casually walked over to the stereo, not paying me any mind. I aimed my weapons at her, ready to fire, but I was immediately knocked back by the butt of the second inkling's gun, the weapon hitting the front of my helmet.
It was too late. I couldn't help the octolings. The third inkling had pressed the button on the stereo! I closed my eyes, ready for this strange new weapon's soundwave attack, but… instead of pain, I only heard music.
But this was no ordinary song.
It was the Calamari Inkantation.
We all stared, but it seemed I was the only one in confusion. The octolings seemed to lose their fearful expressions, a look of revelation upon their faces instead. The captain watched in amusement at me as I stood up, staring with intrigue.
Dex walked past me, seemingly in awe. "W-Wow. Is this what music from the outside is like?"
The captain, smiling, slowly nodded.
"Sc-Screw this military life!" shouted Dex. "I'm going out there to make my mark on the world! This song is so inspiring!"
I suddenly remembered what Liv had said to me once before.
"Don't get me wrong. Off the Hook is great and all, but the Squid Sisters really changed my life. With their music, they showed me there was another life I could live, and so I'm really grateful to them."
Was this some kind of liberation taking place?
Those thoughts didn't last long, however… I remembered my brother and what may have happened to him. The feelings of calm were quickly boiling into feelings of enragement. I raised my dualies, startling two of the inklings, but definitely not the captain who materialized two glowing dualies in her hands.
She seemed to be prepared to take me down but I wasn't going to let her get away with hurting my big brother…
The two other inklings began directing the octolings out of the saferoom, but Dex stayed behind, watching me with concern. "H-Hey, what are you doing?!"
"My brother was in that fight upstairs!" I shouted back, running towards the captain. "I'm not going to let her get away with hurting him!"
The captain ran at me, suddenly tossing out a pyramid-shaped structure I immediately recognized as a splatbomb, but I jumped to the side before resuming my fast approach, firing my dualies. She seemed to have this big grin on her face as she realized she was going to have a small challenge on her hands. I wasn't going to let her win this fight easily!
With her dualies' oddly-long range, her ink made contact. My suit protected me, but the ink still soaked through, burning against my skin. Gritting my teeth hard, I ignored the pain and tried to hit her with my weapons, continuing to fire them, but she seemed to anticipate that, going squid and twirling in between the blobs of flying ink coming from my dualies.
As soon as she had gotten in close, she shapeshifted back into her primary form and elbowed me in the face, the elbow shattering my visor and hitting me right in the nose, a soft crunch telling me it may have been broken.
I was not prepared for this…
Laying on the ground, I could only see double vision as the captain stepped over me and noted the red ink dripping down from my nostrils. With how hard that attack was, I could only feel my consciousness fading out. I didn't want to lose like this…
It was… too embarrassing.
…
…
…
…
…
"A human."
"But she knows how to use inkling weapons?"
"So do anemones and urchins, Callie…"
"We hardly ever see that, Marie."
I slowly opened my eyes, the light from the orange sky stinging my retinas. How much time had passed? I could feel the bindings of rope keeping my arms from moving. Standing before me were two blurry figures, my vision still hazy. "M-Mark…"
"Oh, you're awake. Alright, Marie, pay up. You owe me five hundred," said one figure.
The second figure shook their head. "Aren't humans supposed to be fragile? Her nose just healed right up with no problems."
As my vision cleared, I saw the two figures more clearly…
One inkling had black tentacle hair, her hairstyle utilizing twintails that went down to her waist, a pink gradient at the end of the two. With golden eyes and a smug smile, she gave me odd vibes, much like the kind of girl who liked to live the nightlife. Her attire seemed to definitely match, the squid wearing a black romper with three yellow stripe markings from her chest to the bottom edges. She wore white leggings and had very fancy black boots, completing the party girl look.
The other inkling had short, light gray tentacle hair tied into a bow on the side of her head and she possessed the same golden eyes. She wore a long, white coat with golden line markings in the same fashion as the first's, white gloves, and gray leggings that led down to a pair of white heels. This inkling struck me as someone who was more calm and collected, but her glare towards the first inkling gave me the impression of a squid who was snarky.
After getting a good look at these two, I slowly came to a realization. I'd seen them before on posters at the stores and on graffiti art during the previous Splatfest. They were none other than the Squid Sisters, Callie and Marie.
"N-No way…" I whimpered, trying to get out of my bindings. "What's going on here?! Why are you two here?! Aren't you two supposed to be ordinary popstars?!"
"Ouch, she called us ordinary," Callie remarked to Marie.
"Clearly, she doesn't keep up with the trends," Marie replied.
Looking around me, I'd noticed I was leaning against the front of what looked to be an old shack house. The mountains surrounded us all and I had the impression we were nowhere near Inkopolis. Nem was gonna kill me if she found out I'd left Inkopolis again…
"Too bad gramps isn't here right now to interrogate her," said Marie. "I guess we'll have to do it ourselves."
Callie walked over and sat down next to me. "Hey there! What's fresh?" she asked in a cheery tone. "Why don't you just spill it already and tell us what the Octarians are doing with humans, huh?"
Marie walked over, looking down on me in judgment. "You know what we do to those who work with the Octarian menace? We torture them with outdated music until they tell us all their secrets."
Oh no…
"Yeah, so if you don't wanna listen to the oldies, you'd better say something," Callie whispered in my ear. "Marie's not joking. She keeps a lot of really old Calamari County music."
"B-But I'm not working with the Octarians!" I cried out.
Marie walking over to an old phonograph set on the ground and held up the playing needle over the record. "I had some really nice seasoned fries on the way over here and now my gloves are a liiiittle slippery from all the grease. Who knows how long I'll be able to hold this needle up?"
"I-I'm not working with the Octarians, I swear!" I pleaded. "Please, let me go! I just want to find out what happened to my brother!"
"Well, then you'd better talk," said Callie. "Why were you in that saferoom, huh? Captain Three gave us alllll the details!"
"B-Because I was told to stay in there!" I answered. "I was visiting my brother and then your agents just suddenly attacked out of nowhere! My brother's girlfriend put me in the saferoom to keep me protected! Please, I'll do anything you want! Just don't start playing the oldies!"
"Wow, she was this easy to crack?" said Marie, putting the playing needle back onto its holder. "I'm disappointed."
"Soooo, why's your brother working with the Octarians, huh?" asked Callie. "Bet you'd at least know that."
"It's… really complicated," I quietly said.
"Try us," Marie challenged. "We've seen some crazy things."
"Would you believe me if I told you he was turned into an octoling?" I asked with a nervous smile.
Callie stood up and walked over to Marie. "Weird coinkydink, huh?"
Marie seemed to have thoughtful look about her. "Yeah… Just like the other one. Octavio's up to no good, it looks like."
I stared in shock. "Another one…?"
"It's really complicated," said Marie with a smug smile. "So, where's your brother?"
"That's what I wanna know!" I shouted. "Those agents were fighting him and when I heard the noise stop, I feared for the worst!"
Marie looked a little surprised. "Oh, those two."
"Your brother and the scientist are being interrogated," Callie informed me. "Captain Three's got them tied up elsewhere. Don't worry, they're safe."
"They haven't done anything wrong!" I yelled. "Okay, well, maybe the scientist, but… definitely not my brother!"
Marie shook her head, definitely not listening. "Look, kiddo, I know you're worried about him, but those two are important to our plans right now."
"Yo, Marie, maybe I could handle this?" said Callie.
"You're gonna let her off easy?" questioned Marie. "She knows too much."
Callie grinned. "Don't worry! I know how to get her to keep it cool. She won't tell anybody, I promise!"
Marie definitely didn't seem to believe her, giving a deadpan stare. "Really…? Fine. If she talks, you're giving me my five hundred back."
Callie smirked. "Oh, please! I've got this! Remember when I used to babysit that one squid back when we were younger?"
"You flooded the entire kitchen with marmalade and the television was covered in hot sauce…" Marie mentioned. "Not to mention the backyard collapsed in on itself… somehow."
"But we survived!" Callie pointed out.
Oh, cod, I was scared half to death.
After Marie had finally agreed, Callie untied me. From there, she took me back to Inkopolis, where she had me sit in the back of a limousine. The interior had plush, pink velvet seats. On the side was a minifridge absolutely filled to the brim with Tentacola and on the ground was an imprint of the insignia I'd seen on the inkling captain's hat from earlier.
We pulled up to a fast food drive-thru I'd never seen before, not one to typically go out to these types of places. I was used to Nem's cooking. Callie smiled at me and asked, "What sauce do you like with your fries?"
"This is stupid…" I replied. "I just want to see my brother…"
"You'll get to see him when we're done asking questions," said Callie, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I promise!"
"Why do you want to interrogate him?" I responded. "He doesn't remember anything about being human. Just let him go! Please!"
Callie leaned back in her seat, the squid looking up at the roof of the car with a nervous expression. "C'mon, I'm trying to give you the easy way out. Marie's all professional. Meanwhile, I'm at least trying to be the cool squid, and who doesn't wanna be the cool squid, right?"
"This is so dumb," I muttered. "I'm so tired of things going wrong…"
"I know how that feels," Callie replied with sympathy in her voice. "My cousin's almost always got the bigger spotlight and sometimes it feels like no matter what I do, I'm never going to be as popular as her. Everything tends to go wrong, especially when dealing with my missions. Did you know Marie won against me in a Splatfest about ourselves? That kinda stung…"
"I'm… sorry to hear that," I said, trying to ignore her, but there was some kind of… vibe in her voice that made me want to listen.
"After the Splatfest, Marie and I went our separate ways for a while. She put out a new song on her own and it shot her into the air with opportunity. Meanwhile, I got myself caught up in a movie deal. We tried to hang out… tried, but… it didn't feel the same. I thought she'd abandoned me, wanted to be a star without me. We were supposed to be the Squid Sisters, that we'd do everything together, but that wasn't the case."
I looked at her, feeling a little sad for her. "What happened?"
"Well, I tried to be cool," said Callie. "Ended up not being cool. When Marie left to visit Calamari County to visit her folks, I went off to… join up with Octavio and become a bigger star. Before she went to Calamari County, she invited me. I should've accepted her invitation…"
Wow… That story really got to me. "B-But what about now?" I couldn't keep myself from asking.
Callie rubbed the back of her neck, looking ashamed. "Well, after those events, Marie came to rescue me from myself. I'd fallen for Octavio's brainwashing and put on these freaky mind control shades. They looked wicked cool, though, but after all that was said and done, Marie and I decided we'd never be torn apart ever again. We started hanging out again and I decided that I didn't have to be as popular as her to be cool. Now I roll with the punches."
"I'm going to be honest here," I responded. "Marie kinda sounds like a jerk…"
"Oh, no, she's not!" said Callie. "She's actually really nice when you get to know her. She also uses a lot of sarcasm, so you've gotta be around her for a while before you can tell if she's being serious or not about something. Remember that she could've threatened to expose your human nature to the entire world if you ever talked about us being super secret agents, but she didn't."
I supposed Callie was right. They could've easily told all of Inkopolis about me and everyone would take their word for it. These were supposed to be popstars, so there was no competition against them.
"You promise you'll let my brother go home safe and sound when you're done talking to them…?" I asked.
Callie quickly wrapped her pinkie finger around mine. "That's a promise!~"
Geez, she was so bubbly and nice. I really admired that. Maybe I could get to know Marie more, too. That is, if I ever see them again other than at a backstage during Splatfest. "Thanks…"
"But no, seriously, what kinda sauce do you like with your fries?" she asked, her face now a little more serious. "I pay the chauffeur a LOT and it's by the hour."
While Callie's chauffeur drove me home, I looked down at the container of fries in my hand and the nuggets that came with them. Was this real chicken? Was there a substitute for that kind of meat? What did the yellow M on the fry container mean? Regardless of my questions, I didn't think I'd ever get the answer.
It was pretty good, though. Maybe I could try this food a little more often sometime.
When I'd stepped out of the limo, Callie waved to me. "Hey, don't forget our promise! Don't go telling anybody!"
Looking back at her, I nodded. "I won't. I swear. Just… please, bring my brother back safely. I don't want him hurt."
"Not a single tentacle will be harmed!" said Callie before she closed the limo door. The vehicle then drove off out of sight, leaving me with that small bit of doubt in the back of my mind. I was worried for Henry…
Since it was the end of the day and the lights were all off, I had to cautiously make my way up the stairs to keep from tripping and falling back down them. Taking the key out from under the mat, I unlocked the door and stepped inside.
As I silently closed the door behind me, I sighed in relief.
But…
"Amelia, we need to have a talk. This is the last time you come home late."
Sigh…
"Yes, Nem-Nem."