Inigo's PoV
The final bell rang, dismissing all students. Inigo stood up from his seat, stretching. At last, the school day was over! He could go home and relax.
...But he couldn't.
Last week, he had received a letter from the jail Tiffany was being held at, saying that she wanted to see him. Thankfully, his parents hadn't seen it—he was the one getting the mail at the time—but the worries continued to linger in his mind. Why did Tiffany want to see him? It had been four months since she was arrested and he ditched the Vigilante identity forever. Surely she would've had a trial by now, right?
Nonetheless, a voice in the back of his mind was telling him not to go back into Tiffany's clutches. Admittedly, he was curious. And so, against his better judgement, he agreed to go. And now, today was the day. He's spent the entire week thinking about it, even during the Splatfest. His latest argument with Geneva only made him think about it more.
He finished stretching and took a deep breath. He texted the Rainbow Squids that he won't be at Inkopolis Square today. At least, not immediately. Coincidentally, most of them had plans as well. The thought putting him at ease, he exited the school and started to walk over to his car, humming the tune to Fresh Start.
"Hey, Inigo!" he heard a voice call. He turned around to see Perry running up to him. "Can I come with ya?"
"With...?" He blinked before narrowing his eyes at the purple-haired boy. "Did you forget your car again?"
"Maybe..." Perry then donned a smirk.
Inigo frowned. "I can't," he replied. He opened the door to his car and climbed into the driver's seat. "Why can't you ask Yuri or somethin'?"
He shrugged. "Wanted to ride with someone else today."
The indigo-haired boy let out a sigh. "I already said, Perry, I have to go somewhere. Like, right now."
"Fine," he sighed. "I'll just super-jump home, I guess."
"See ya," he muttered.
"See ya," Perry said back.
Inigo slammed the car door shut, causing Perry to move back a step or two. He started up the car and pulled out of his parking spot, quickly leaving the school. He set his GPS to navigate him to the jail and began his drive there. Despite the traffic near the beginning of the trip, it went smoothly, arriving about ten minutes before he was supposed to meet with her.
The prison was rather isolated from the rest of Inkopolis, being located in a field not too far from Perry's house. Standing on a lone hill, it was grey in color, making it seem rather dull in comparison to the rest of the city. A parking lot was located just outside the building, where he stationed his car. He got out of it, checking his phone one last time before putting it in his pocket. He took a deep breath and walked to the entrance.
An elderly black seabream sat behind a counter in the entrance hall, wearing a guard's uniform as she sorted through something on the computer in front of her. The bell rang, signifying Inigo's arrival. The woman looked up, adjusting her glasses.
"Hello," she greeted rather unenthusiastically. "State your purpose."
"I'm here to visit someone," he replied, his voice faltering towards the end of his sentence.
"Who?" She raised an eyebrow.
"T-Tiffany Teuthis."
"Teuthis, Teuthis..." The guard returned her attention to her computer and proceeded to type on the keyboard. A few moments later, she started staring at him with her dark eyes. "Are you Inigo Sable?" He nodded. "Please show identification."
He pulled out his wallet, followed by his driver's license. He gave it to the guard, who scanned it and promptly handed it back to him. As he put it away, she nodded towards a few jellyfish, all wearing police uniforms, standing in front of the blue door to the left of her. Standing among the jellyfish was a muscular shark also wearing a police uniform, a lollipop stick in his mouth. He walked over to the fair-skinned boy, crossing his arms. The jellyfish followed him and proceeded to point metal detectors at him, scanning his belongings. One pointed at his pockets, and he complied, taking out his phone, his keys, and his wallet. They grabbed a basket from off the counter and held it out, and he deposited them in it. The jellyfish scanned him one more time and nodded towards the shark, who took the basket and held it under his arm.
"Safety protocols," the shark commented. "Follow me," he then instructed. He held the door open, allowing the jellyfish to walk through the doorway. He shoved Inigo towards him, a yelp escaping his lips as he was caught off-guard. The door slammed shut behind him, and they walked through the halls, footsteps echoing through the drab scenery. It just seemed so...sad. He couldn't imagine spending his days here, even if some people deserved it.
Like Tiffany.
He felt his muscles tense. With each passing second, he was getting closer and closer to talking to her. Seeing her face for the first time since the initial news reports. What would she say? How would she react?
He shook his head, willing these thoughts away. Why did he care? He's moved on from that.
Eventually, they arrived at a door, the jellyfish crowding outside it. The shark handed the basket to one of them and opened the door for Inigo, gesturing for him to enter. The inkling boy entered, followed by the shark, who closed the door behind them. He pulled out a walkie talkie and spoke into it, presumably asking his coworkers to bring in Tiffany. A jellyfish inside the dull room prepared a table and chairs for them, patting the chair closest to the shark. Inigo walked over to it and sat down, fidgeting with his fingers as he waited for the lady to arrive. Light only filtered in the room through a few windows, only dampening his mood.
He heard a door open, and from the other side of the room, a pufferfish escorted a red-haired inkling wearing an orange uniform into the room. As soon as he met those dark eyes, he immediately knew who it was—Tiffany. Her hair had been cut short, and part of her right ear was missing, as if someone bit into it and tore it out. She sat down at the opposite chair, and the pufferfish quickly ran to the door he came out of, observing them from afar.
For minutes, they sat in silence, staring at each other. Inigo couldn't tell what she was thinking, the red-haired lady donning a poker face. He thinned his lips, feeling awkward. He didn't know what to say. And from the looks of it, Tiffany didn't really know what to say either. A first for her.
Soon enough, she let out a deep sigh. "So," she began, "you sided with her over me."
He blinked, surprised. "That's what you wanted to talk about?"
"Well, not just that." Her eyes narrowed. "There's plenty of other things to talk about." He opened his mouth to respond, but she continued. "But first off. Why her? When you first brought her to me, it seemed like you two barely knew each other. But then, you suddenly changed. And betrayed me."
Inigo's mouth continued to gape open. How was he supposed to answer that? He could tell the truth, but then she would only become even more upset. He wasn't sure what would happen if he lied, either. He closed his mouth, trying to think of an answer. While the silence continued to drag on, Tiffany raised an eyebrow. Then, at last, he spoke.
"I figured," the boy with the ponytail started, "that she was the better person." That wasn't a lie, at least. Agent 3 was the better person. He gulped and continued on, clenching his hands into fists as they sat on his lap. "When you grabbed her, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I thought you were better than that." He frowned, the memories of that day drifting back into his head like they were fresh. "And then you tried to kill both of us."
"So that's your reason," she remarked. A sly smile tugged at her lips. "You know, you could've been a lot like me, if things turned out differently."
"I'd never be like you," he growled.
"On the contrary... You're a good speaker. You could easily deceive people with your words. You did as the Vigilante. I suppose you figure that's what I did to you. But you're too soft-hearted. You care about your friends more than yourself. You were friends with those squids who came to watch us that day, right?"
"I didn't know they were there," he interrupted.
"I'm not finished," she reminded him.
"I don't care if you're not finished," he pointed out. "You can't keep talking over me."
"Quite the rebellious streak," she commented, snickering. "Maybe I should've asked a fourteen-year-old."
"I don't think you should've asked anyone."
"Oh? Then how else would I reach my goals?"
He rolled his eyes. "Your goals are complete carp. 'Just catching up with someone?' From what happened in that alleyway, it sounds like you were planning to kill him."
"Kill him?" Eyes wide, Tiffany placed a hand on her chest, seemingly surprised. "No, I wouldn't want to kill him. That would land me here." Her expression quickly changed into a glare. "If it wasn't for your friends, I wouldn't be here in the first place, regardless of if that killed you or not."
"Yeah, right," he muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing, nothing. Just, get back to your point."
Tiffany crossed her arms. "Well, you've heard my point. You could've been like me if things turned out differently. Maybe you could've surpassed me some day. I do like your decisiveness. You don't hesitate."
"And I've made my point clear," Inigo echoed, standing up to his chair and walking over to her. Even with his shadow looming over her, she didn't seem intimidating. "I'm not going to fall for your tricks again, Tiffany. Never again."
The lady stood up from her chair as well, kicking it back with her leg. "What tricks? I haven't been playing any on you." She smiled and batted her eyelids, giving her an innocent look. ...If it weren't for the torn ear and the uniform, it might have worked.
"You know very well what you did," he snapped. Anger bubbling up, he raised a fist. "And I'm done with you!"
His fist connected with Tiffany's face, her eyes flashing with surprise as she stumbled back, gripping her face. She removed her hand and looked down at it. A bruise had bloomed on the bridge of her nose, blood trickling from her nostrils. Her face contorted with anger, but she lowered her hand, ignoring her bloody nose as the substance reached her top lip.
Before Inigo could process what he had just done, he felt someone grab his hands and put them behind his back. He lifted his head. The shark had grabbed a hold of him, spitting the lollipop stick out of his mouth. He let out a grunt, signaling the pufferfish to grab Tiffany. He obliged, grabbing a box of tissues before running over to her. He wiped her face and stuffed her nose with tissues before apprehending her as well.
"I believe we're done here," the shark announced. He glared down at Inigo. "And you're getting a fine."
He glared at him. "Why do I get a fine?" the inkling questioned.
"Well, you punched an inmate, and healthcare ain't cheap," he explained. The shark turned around and waited for the jellyfish in the room to open the door for him before walking out of the room, pushing Inigo along. They returned to the entrance hall to the sound of arguing. Inigo's eyes drifted over to the counter. The seabream scolded a rather familiar purple-haired inkling.
Perry.
At the sound of the door opening, he turned to face the newcomers. "See! There he is!" he told the guard, gesturing towards them. He took another look at them and quickly lowered his arms, eyes wide. "Woah, what the carp?"
The shark looked down at Inigo. "This your friend?"
"Yeah, but..." He glanced at the pale-skinned boy. "Why are you here? And how did you know I came here?"
"I followed ya," Perry replied. "What can ya say? Curiosity splatted the cat."
The shark let the boy with the ponytail go, and he ran over to join his friend. The guard then pointed his attention towards the woman at the counter. "Print out a ticket for the young man. Minor injury to an inmate."
The seabream nodded and started to type something into her computer, and the device next to it began to print out something similar to a receipt. She tore out two of them and handed them to Inigo and Perry.
"One for minor injury, one for disturbing the peace," she explained. "Please pay in a timely manner."
He read the ticket and looked up at the guard. "20,000G just to fix a bloody nose?"
"A fine's a fine," she said, annoyed.
Perry smirked. "Least I'm only paying 6,000G."
"Of course you'd say that," he deadpanned.
The shark handed Inigo's belongings back to him. "Now, scram. We don't need any loiterers here."
"Y-Yes," the purple-haired boy stuttered. He grabbed the indigo-haired inkling's hand and dragged him out, saying goodbye to the guards. They walked back to the car, grey clouds hanging over them. As soon as they reached it, Perry leaned against the car, putting his hands behind his head.
"So, ya gonna explain what that was all about?" he asked him.
"Nothing important," Inigo replied.
"C'mon, it can't be nothing!" he begged. "Why else would ya get that fine? And the bloody nose thing?"
He let out a sigh. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to tell Perry the real reason he was here. Besides, he could keep a secret. They've been friends for years. Before he could speak, though, his phone suddenly vibrated, and he took it out. Perry's phone went off as well, pulling it out of his own pocket.
"Octavia?" the boy with the ponytail commented. "What could she..."
As soon as he opened the group chat, his voice trailed off on sight of the latest text.
'Alexis is missing!'