Anonymous reviews:
Agent 4: Thank you! As to why Geneva and Inigo are arguing...it's complicated. Geneva believes that since Inigo associated himself with Tiffany, her influence had changed him, and she worries he would eventually hurt someone, just like Tiffany did. The last part is mostly kept a secret - for the most part, the Rainbow Squids think she's mad at him just because he was associated with Tiffany. Inigo, on the other hand, thinks she's being ridiculous, and he's also partially mad at her for keeping her identity as Agent 3 a secret from him and the others. The point is, they're both being ridiculous, but neither of them see it.
Onto the story!
Perry's PoV
Another Saturday, another day for filming.
Just like Perry had been doing for the past few weeks, his dad dropped him off at the production studio, he checked in, he looked for Steffany Sail, and when he didn't find her, he merely went to the corner of the room and sat down, waiting for the production to end and go home. At least he got into a scene last week—that at least, made him quite happy. And he hung out with Callie, Kim, and Alyssa, too. They went to a candy store following the last session, where Perry bought a huge bag of candy.
Today, however, was different. As he walked over to the filming area, he spotted someone he didn't recognize. A woman with stark white skin and a fragile frame stood near some cameras, talking to another crew member. What stood out to him most was the red-and-white shell on her head, a shell trademark of a nautilus.
That woman was Steffany Sail. She had to be.
Excited, he skipped up to her, catching both her and the person she was talking to. A huge smile marked his face, his foot tapping excitedly.
"Hey, hey," Perry greeted. "You Steffany Sail?"
The nautilus raised an eyebrow. "Yes. ...Do you need something?"
"I wanna ask you something," he started. Suddenly, a nervousness bobbed in his throat. He had been waiting for this moment for so long, but what was he going to say? "So, uh, basically..." He gulped as he tried to think out the rest of his sentence. "I'm Perry Sculpin, and I'm looking for my mom, and I heard you know her."
Steffany rubbed her shell, staring at him with a perplexed expression. "I do. What about her?"
"Can ya tell me 'bout her?" he requested, jumping up and down. Finally!
"I can't," she replied. At those words, his face immediately fell, and he lowered his hands, his foot going still. His mom had silenced her, too. "...What's the long face for?"
"...You can't tell me either," he murmured. His brows furrowed as his despair morphed into frustration. "After all this time, I still can't find out anything." He clenched a fist as he felt his muscles tense. But before he could let his anger get the better of him, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He couldn't let his emotions get the better of him right now.
"To be fair, your mother has very good reason to hide," she argued.
"No she doesn't," he fired back, crossing his arms and looking away from her grey eyes. "She only cares about herself, doesn't she?"
"T-That's a pretty bold assumption to make!" Steffany exclaimed, surprised. Calming down, she put a hand on her forehead, sighing and shaking her head. "Look, you don't have the slightest bit why she left your father, do you?"
"W-Well, I..." His voice faltered. He really did have no idea why she left his dad, did he? All he knew was that she left a year after he was born, disappearing without a trace. And his father refused to talk about her any further. "...No."
"Then face me, and let me tell you." Perry complied, turning to meet the nautilus's eyes. Lowering her voice, Steffany kneeled down to meet his height. "Nearly seventeen years ago..." She paused, looking around briefly before returning her attention to the purple-haired boy. "Your father sent an assassin to kill her."
"What?" he immediately blurted. "Ya gotta be kidding me. That's bullfish."
"Keep your voice down!" she hushed. "Now, let me finish. Your mother was severely injured in the attack—she had to go to the hospital afterwards. While her attacker was arrested, they didn't find any evidence that your father sent him. The only connection they had was that he worked for him. But your mother was convinced that wasn't the case. Once she recovered, she left as soon as she could."
"Sounds like paranoia to me," he muttered. "Seriously, I know my dad well enough that he would never send one of his employees to go kill someone, much less kill the person he loves."
"I'll admit, I have my doubts," Steffany continued. "But your mother's as stubborn as a rock. It takes a lot to change her mind. Besides, not everyone is as they seem, right? It could be possible..."
"When snails fly," said Perry, rolling his eyes.
"I'm just saying..." The nautilus cleared her throat, taking on a much more serious demeanor. "But sorry, Perry. I can't help you with this."
"So that's how it is." He lowered his head, frowning. The more he learned about his mother, the more he started to dislike her. How could anyone be as selfish and paranoid as her? It just didn't make sense. But perhaps to the most irrational people, it did make sense in their mind. In that way, he would never understand her. "Thanks for your help," he simply muttered, and then, he walked away from her, towards the resting place for other background cast members.
It didn't take long for him to encounter another familiar face. "Woah, Perry!" exclaimed Callie's voice as he bumped into her. A quick glance at her told him she was ready to be on set, all dressed up and everything. "Is something wrong?"
"It's nothing," he replied, avoiding her gaze. "Really, it's nothing."
Callie frowned. "You sure? I've never seen you this upset."
He sighed, raising his hands. "Fine, you got me." She would understand, right? Of the Squid Sisters, she'd always been the more empathetic one. "It's about my mom."
"Oh. She get mad at you or something?"
"No, not at all! ...My mom hasn't been around since I was a baby, actually. I never met her."
Callie let out a gasp, covering, her mouth. "I'm so sorry."
"It's fine, it's just that..." Perry explained the situation to her, and she listened to him the entire time, eventually nodding her head in understanding.
"Have you tried checking Inkipedia?" she suggested. "Since your dad is so well-known, she probably has a page on there, too."
"I did that a long time ago. All it said was that they married in 1999, and they split up in 2002—a year after I was born." From what he could recall, it also mentioned a few things that he had already known: she was several years younger than his dad, she helped coordinate events for the Sculpin Company, and she never liked being in the public eye, so in almost all of her TV appearances, her face was blurred out to respect her privacy.
...Did it also mention her assassination attempt? He didn't remember.
"Well, in that case," Callie started, "I could help you find her with whatever free time I have. I'm sure Kim and Alyssa would be willing to help, too!"
Perry blinked, surprised. "Really?" He couldn't help feel giddy. Callie of the Squid Sisters was going to help him! That was something many inklings only dreamed of happening.
"Yeah!" she confirmed. "You're my friend, and I'm always happy to help."
He went silent, eyes wide before giving a nod. "Thanks," he said. "I mean it."
"No prob." She saluted goodbye and started walking off. "Well, I gotta go. Until next time, stay fresh!"
"Don't worry Callie, I sure will."
Ecstatic, Perry continued his trek, excited for what the future may bring. With the actresses on his side, suddenly he felt like he had a much larger lead towards finding his mother. Perhaps with their help, he could finally meet her at last.
"No."
Alyssa's reply was quick and curt, her eyes narrowed.
"Aw, don't be a party pooper," Callie said, pouting.
"Well..." The actress paused. "...If his mother is making it this hard to find her, then perhaps he should respect her wishes."
"C'mon, Alyssa," Kim egged. "This is clearly important to him."
Alyssa went silent for a few moments, worry starting to etch her features. "Can we talk? Just the two of us?" she quickly requested of Kim, who agreed. Her purple eyes then focused on Callie and Perry. "Excuse us."
The two actresses walked over to the corner of the room, towards the set. He spotted them hide behind some lights, and he watched as the two of them conversed, their gestures slowly becoming more exaggerated as they argued. Callie started walking towards them, and Perry grabbed the sleeve of her shirt, shaking his head.
"What?" she asked. "I can't just leave them there."
"They're gonna be fine," he assured. "They've been friends for years, haven't they? They'll make up."
Callie gave a smile, though Perry wasn't completely convinced she took his words to heart. "Yeah, you're right." She grinned. "Nothing can keep them apart!"
In the back of his mind, Perry began to worry. An argument like the one Alyssa and Kim seemed to be having already had happened between Geneva and Inigo—and in the months since, they still haven't made up. But Alyssa and Kim were adults—surely they would be much more mature than his teammates. Though, age wasn't always a sign of maturity. He knew that much. Still, their argument continued to escalate, with Perry barely being able to hear their voices from here, yet he couldn't make out what they were saying.
Curiosity getting the better of him, he inched closer to the actresses, wanting to listen in on their conversations. Perhaps eavesdropping wasn't the best idea, but maybe he could learn something. Unfortunately, he only heard the last parts of the conversation.
"Then maybe you aren't being a good friend!" Kim declared, stomping a foot on the ground.
Alyssa winced, her mouth falling open slightly as a hurt expression formed on her face. Her shoulders tense, she brought a hand up to her face, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, she seemed to avoid Kim's gaze, instead staring at the ground.
Kim quickly noticed her expression and reached out a hand to her. "I'm sorry. Was that too harsh?"
"No, no, maybe you're right," she admitted. Perry raised an eyebrow. What could they possible be talking about? "I'll help him," Alyssa then followed up.
"You will?" he chimed in, jumping towards them.
"Gah!" Alyssa jumped, placing a hand on her chest. "How much did you hear?" she immediately questioned, panicked.
"Just the last part," he answered. "I dunno what you were talkin' about, but I guess it was serious."
"Yeah," Kim confirmed. "Don't worry about it, though."
"Y-Yes," the other actress agreed. "Some things just have to be kept a secret."
He heard footsteps from behind him, and looking over his shoulder, he spotted Callie approaching them. "Did I miss something?" she asked.
"Nothing important," Alyssa replied.
"The important part is, Alyssa agreed to help me," Perry added.
"Let's get to it," Kim declared.
With a verdict reached, the group exited the filming studio, walking towards Alyssa's car. They climbed inside, getting into the same formation as always—Perry and Callie were in the back seats, Kim was in the passenger's seat, and Alyssa was their driver. They agreed to go to Perry's house, with Callie's reasoning being that if he wanted to find his mom, his house would be the best place to look. Besides, she had a good point—what if she was hiding something in a place he hadn't bothered to look in? It was impossible to keep track of everything that went on inside the house, after all. For whatever reason, Alyssa had her reservations, but thankfully, she kept up on her promise.
Perry sank into the car seat, watching the city lights pass by. Thanks to this filming session ending early, his dad wouldn't be home for another few hours. He thought about letting him know he would be coming home early, but for now, there were more important things to focus on. Who knows how his dad would react upon seeing three celebrities with his son? Especially when one of them was his all-time favorite actor.
While the trip was largely conducted in silence, Callie soon broke it. "So," she started, her gaze focusing on the two inklings in the front seats. "How did you two meet?"
"It was simple, really," Kim started. "I was walking along a bridge one summer night, when I spotted Alyssa, looking towards the river below. Assuming she was planning the worse, I ran up to her and told her to stop."
"I was surprised, really," Alyssa added. "I didn't think a stranger would care so much as to stop me from doing what I was about to do."
"Geez." Now, Callie was frowning. Perry had to admit, he didn't expect the conversation to get that heavy. Apparently, neither did the idol. "Did I bring up some bad memories?"
"Don't worry, Callie," she insisted. "That was a long time ago. Sometimes, it still hurts to think about it, but I've moved on from that."
"I remember when she first signed up for acting classes," Kim remarked. "She was so quiet back then. And look at her now!"
"H-Hey, you're not perfect when you're starting out," Alyssa defended. "I remember how much the director complained you were being too 'flat.'"
"Hey, acting didn't come as naturally to me as it did to you and Callie. But the important part is, we all turned out to be great actors in the end."
"Yes, yes."
Callie chuckled. "Guess this got a happy ending after all!"
"Indeed," Alyssa agreed.
About ten minutes later, they arrived at the mansion, and Alyssa pulled into the driveway. Perry removed his keys from his pocket and climbed out the car, leading the group up the pavement, towards the front door. He unlocked and stepped inside, grateful to finally be home.
Inside, however, he spotted someone standing on the stairs, her back turned away. The sailfish wore a maid dress, and in her hands was a duster. At the sound of the door opening, she turned around, her hair flaring out. Eyes wide, she ran down the stairs, staring down at the newcomers.
"Perry!" she exclaimed. "Why are you here?" The sailfish examined the rest of the group, and her hands shot up, squishing her cheeks. "Oh my cod, Callie from the Squid Sisters?! Alyssa Cabezon and Kim Joubin, too?!"
"Hey, calm down!" he exclaimed. "They're my friends, it's OK."
The maid started fanning herself. "Sorry, sorry. I guess with that TV show thing, you would meet a lot of famous people."
"If you want an autograph, we can give you one," Kim commented.
"An a-auto-g-graph?" she stuttered. "N-No thanks. You're probably really busy and all, I don't want to bother you."
"Well, since you're here, maybe you could help us," Callie offered. "You know anything about Perry's mom, by any chance?"
"Mrs. Sculpin?" the sailfish echoed. "No, no, she left many years before I started working here. Everything I know about her comes from stories from the older maids—it's not a lot, anyways." Quickly, she added, "Why are you asking about her anyways?"
"Because I'm trying to find out where she is," Perry answered. "Please, Izzy, can't you help me out here?"
"Like I said, it's not a lot," she reiterated. "She likes books, I think. I think she played mancala with one of the other maids a lot, too."
Kim exchanged glances with the purple-haired boy. "Do you have a library in here, by any chance?"
"Yeah," he replied. "I don't go in it a lot, though."
"Then we'll go there," Alyssa declared. She focused on the sailfish. "Thank you for your help..."
"Izzy," she supplemented.
"Yes, Izzy," she continued. "You should get back to whatever you're doing. We don't want to keep you busy."
"Oh, n-no worries," the sailfish assured her. "I was almost done, anyways. Well, g-goodbye!"
"See ya," Perry called back, waving. He gestured for the ladies to follow him, and together, they entered the hallway, purple eyes scanning the doorways. Honestly, he wasn't exactly sure where each and every room of his mansion was located. He knew general directions, but not exact locations. He approached a door and rested his pale fingers on the door handle. He just had to hope he chose the right room.
Opening it, he was happy to know he was right. Bookcases lined the walls, a ladder and a stepstool resting against the wall closest to him. A recliner and various other chairs were scattered around the room, giving people a spot to rest whenever they wanted to read a book. On a small table was a battery-powered radio, though no sound emitted from it. The group filtered into the room, and their search for any clues began.
It didn't seem very successful, though. Perry took out various books and flipped through the pages, only to find nothing of value. He even tried turning into a squid and looking behind the bookcases, but again, there was nothing. Not to mention, the space behind them was rather small. He rubbed his head as he emerged from one of them, sore from almost being squished. Looking at the ladies, it seemed they weren't very successful either.
"Maybe this is like a movie!" Callie suggested, putting her hands on her hips. "If you pressed on a book, it could reveal a secret lair or something."
"I highly doubt that's the case," Alyssa grumbled, shaking her head.
Kim walked up to the bookcase, running her fingers along the spines. "Maybe if we took one of the books out...?"
The purple-haired actress joined her and pulled a book out of the case, flipping through the pages. A piece of paper fluttered from the book, floating down to the ground. Once it settled, Kim picked it up and read it. Eyes widening, she held it out towards Perry.
"It's for you."
He took the paper, the handwriting on the page unrecognizable. Out loud, he began to read it.
"'Dear Perry,'" he began. "'I'm sorry I can't stay with you any longer. I hope one day, you'll understand why. I took most of my belongings with me, but I did leave a gift for you in the basement. It's the charger I used when I still played in turf wars some years ago. Look for a long, blue plastic box. It's in there. I'm sure it'll be outdated by the time you find this letter, so think of it as a memento. Love...'" He lifted his head, the final words barely a whisper. "'...Mom.'"
"What?" Callie blinked. "Could you repeat the last part?"
"'Love, Mom,'" he reiterated, a smile forming on his face. "It's a gift from my mom!" None of the ladies had no time to react as he dashed out of the room, forcing them to keep up the pace. "C'mon! We gotta see it!"
"Hey, slow down!" Alyssa shouted. "It's hard to run in heels!"
"Just take them off!" he suggested, looking over his shoulder.
"Do you really want me to run around this house barefoot?" she complained.
"Surely it'll be better than heels," Callie argued.
"Fine, fine." Perry stopped at the top of the stairs, watching as the actress paused in her pursuit, everyone's attention turned towards her. She held her heels by her side before running towards the inkling boy again, and fretfully, he began descending the stairs, still wishing to keep a distance between him and her.
It didn't take long for them to reach the bottom floor of the mansion, with Perry hanging a right to access the storage room. He stopped to catch his breath, allowing the ladies to catch up. He opened the door for them, allowing them to enter before closing the door behind him. He turned on the light switch, illuminating the room. Compared to every other room, the storage room was rather plain, the floor made of stone and the walls painted maroon as plastic crates were stacked throughout the room. His head still buzzing with excitement, Perry started to search the crates in search for one that fit the letter's description.
He was about to give up when he spotted a bit of royal blue plastic peeking through a stack of boxes. Carefully, he moved them out of the way and pulled out the box, setting it on the ground in front of him. The ladies gathered around him, eyes sparkling with curiosity. Indeed, the box was just as his mother described it—long and blue. Taking a deep breath, he took off the lid.
Inside was a rather old charger, fitted inside a foam mesh. The color scheme was primarily yellow and orange, and compared to modern-day chargers, its body was rather thick, with only the barrel being narrow. An ink tank was fashioned to the top of it, making it clear no scoped versions could exist. His mouth gaping open, Perry lifted the charger out of the case, the tank filling up with purple ink.
"Fresh," he commented. "Let's go try it out."
"Hold on," Kim spoke up. "That hasn't been used in like, twenty years. You should be careful."
"I mean, it's my ink that's in this right now," he countered. "If it blows up in my face, no biggie. It's not like I'm gonna use it anywhere."
Callie chuckled. "If Sheldon heard that, you just know he'll be giving you a lecture on how you should preserve it instead. Maybe how to handle old weapons, too."
"I've used this model of charger before," Alyssa interjected, much to Perry's surprise. "I don't think you'll need to call whoever this Sheldon guy is."
"Really?" he asked. "That's fresh!"
"How many times are you going to say fresh...?" she muttered. Louder, she straightened, putting her hands behind her back. "Let's meet outside. Fresh air is nice, isn't it?"
"Yep," Callie agreed. "We could grab a squid bumper, too!"
"Yeah, yeah," Kim concurred. "We can measure its power that way."
"There's an indoor shooting range upstairs," Perry pointed out. "I have a few squid bumpers in there."
"Do you need help?" the idol asked. "A squid bumper and a charger are a lot to carry."
"No need," he replied. "One of you squids can take the charger out for me."
"I'll take it, then," Alyssa announced, snatching the weapon out of his hands. "It'll be safe with me."
"If you say so." Perry saluted goodbye. "See ya in a bit."
In an instant, he had left the storage room, climbing up the stairs once more. Once he arrived on the first floor, he entered the hallway, running towards the end of it. Unlike the library, he definitely knew where the shooting range was. It was a recent addition to the mansion, replacing a guest room his dad realized he had no need for. At the end of the hallway, light filtering in through a tall window, he entered the door on the right, walking into a rather simple room, with beige walls and a laminate floor. Several weapons rested in a weapons rack, ready to be used when needed. The bases of squid bumpers were stacked up in the corner of the room, and some active squid bumpers rested in the middle of the room. He went over to the stack of squid bumpers and picked up one of them, exiting the room and making his way to the back exit.
He stepped out into the sunlight, taking a few moments to adjust to it. The ladies were standing on the paved area not far from the door, a basketball hoop hanging above them. Kim grabbed a basketball from the basket and shot it into the hoop, though it merely bounced off the board and landed behind her. She sighed and turned around to grab it, only to stop when she noticed Perry's arrival.
"Hey, guess who's here!" she announced. Alyssa and Callie turned to face her, soon acknowledging the inkling boy's presence as well.
"Took you long enough," the former remarked. "Now go set the squid bumper down."
"I can't wait!" the latter bubbled. "This is gonna be superfresh!"
Perry walked out into the grass and switched the squid bumper on. As a balloon-like material began expanding out of the base, he set it down, watching it wobble around for a few moments before settling. Afterwards, he returned to the ladies, grabbing his mom's charger from Alyssa.
"I suppose it works the same as modern chargers," she mused. "Just hold down the trigger, wait until it starts glowing, then fire."
"You might want to just press down on the trigger a few times," Kim suggested. "Since it hasn't been used in forever."
He took the short-haired actress's suggestion, pointing down at the pavement and shooting at the ground a few times. At first, not much ink shot out of the barrel, but eventually, it proved to be just as effective as any other charger. After the warm-ups were complete, Perry lifted the charger and aimed at the squid bumper. This is where its age began to show—no lasers formed from the charger, making it unclear where it would actually hit. He just had to trust his instinct. As soon as the light on the charger glowed, he fired, piercing through the squid bumper and popping it.
"Booyah!" he and Callie cheered. Kim started to clap, while Alyssa merely smiled. Once the squid bumper regenerated, he fired it again, and once more, it popped. Over and over again, he charged up the charger and fired, landing a hit on the squid bumper almost every single time.
Only his dad's voice brought him out his exhilaration.
"Hello?" his father shouted. "Is anyone here?"
"Dad?" He lowered his charger and pushed the gate opened, stepping out in the grassy area next to the fence. There his dad was, standing in the driveway, his hands cupped around his mouth. "It's just me!"
He snapped his attention away from Alyssa's car and looked past the house. "Perry!" He ran towards the backyard. "You're home early!"
"Same goes for you," he commented. "Thought it'd be a while before you came back."
"Whose car is that?" his father questioned. "It's none I've ever seen before." His eyes drifted down to the charger Perry held, soon widening. "And where did you get that?"
"Dad, I can explain," he told him. "Just come in." He stepped through the gate, beckoning for his dad to follow.
The moment he saw the actresses, though, he seemed to forget all about it. "Alyssa!" he exclaimed, a toothy smile forming on his face. "So that must be yours!"
"That is my car, yes," she responded, crossing her arms. "I drove him and the others here."
His dad glanced at Callie and Kim briefly before returning his attention to Alyssa. "You're filming for that show Perry's in, yes?"
"Yes." She walked up to him and started whispering into his ear. Whatever she said, his dad's smile quickly fell, his expression dumbfounded. Once she finished, she stepped out of the fenced area, her back turned. "Kim, Callie," she started. "Let's go."
"Already?" Callie gasped. "We barely just got started!"
"He found that charger from his mom," she argued. "I don't think there's anything else we can do at the moment."
"Well, you are the one driving," Kim admitted. "I guess I really should be going home. My daughter probably wants to see me."
"See ya whenever, Perry," the idol said as she joined Alyssa. She quickly did her signature pose and exclaimed, "Stay fresh!"
"You too." Perry mimicked her pose. "Stay fresh!"
Kim said her goodbyes as well before all three of them disappeared behind the house, towards the driveway. His dad closed the gate and turned his attention towards Perry, his expression suddenly hardening.
"So," he started, "is there something you want to tell me?"
Perry sighed and started to explain what he had been doing the past few months—his first meeting with Noelle, his search for his mother, his actual reason for signing up to be the background cast, and now the results of the search thus far.
"Dad, the part about you sending someone to kill Mom isn't true," Perry lamented, his eyebrows knitting with worry. For some reason, he was afraid to hear the answer. "...Is it?"
"Of course not," he replied. "I haven't had the faintest clue of how she got that idea into her head. But if that squid hadn't done it, then..." He trailed off, frowning. "Forget it." He walked to the back door, sliding it open. "I admire how hard you're trying, Perry, but trust me, even if you find her, it won't change anything. I'm worried that maybe, you'll even regret it."
He slammed the door shut, leaving Perry all alone in the backyard, his words heavy in the air.
A/N: As I mentioned last week, today is my birthday. Thank you to everyone who has given birthday wishes thus far. What did you guys think of this chapter? The mystery of Perry's mom deepens... I'm very excited to see everyone's reactions. See you next week, and Branchwing, out!