Sam slowly walked back down the hospital hallway towards the exit, head hung low, trying to process his thoughts. "How could he just blow me off like that? I just wanted to see him." He felt a pain growing in his heart. He never expected that being shunned by his best friend would sting so much. "I guess I'll just go home. I can call him later." he sighed.

A blur of familiar blue in the corner of his eye caused him to look up and see Thea frantically running toward him. "Th-Thea?" He instinctively grabbed her as she nearly collided with him. "H-hey, Thea, what's wrong?"

"No, not now, Sam!" Thea spat as she shoved him off herself and continued running down the hallway, back to Jason's room.

Sam stared after her, feeling like he had been betrayed. Neither of his friends wanted to talk to him at all. His chest felt sore, and his fists clenched. He turned around with a huff and restarted his walk out of the hospital.

"Jason!"

Jason's pointed ears perked up at hearing that voice call his name. He sat up against the backboard of his hospital bed as Thea stumbled into the room. "Thea, you're back!" he sighed in relief that she hadn't run away for good.

"Jason, they're here!" Thea got out between gasps for air. She wiped her sweaty brow with the back of her hand. "The police are here!"

Jason's heart sunk. "Oh…"

Thea continued panting hard. She hadn't run far but her heart and her mind felt like they were racing a million miles a minute. "They'll be here any second now!"

"Thea, Thea! It's ok, breathe!" Jason tried to calm her.

Thea nodded her head, gulped down the lump in her throat, and focused on slowing her breaths. "I'm not ready, Jason! I'm scared!"

"It's ok, Thea. Remember what we talked about! We're going to co-operate and they're going to help us." Jason reassured.

"No, no no no, you don't get it, Jason!" Thea cried. "I've been on the run for so long! I've sacrificed so much to get here! I can't go back!"

Jason frowned, confused. "But we already talked about this"-

"I'm sorry! I know, I know, I know, I said that I would be brave! I know it's the right thing to do!" Thea covered her face with her hands. "But…I'm still not sure I can do this!"

Jason sighed and lowered his head. "It hurts to think about it, doesn't it?"

"Wha-?" Thea looked up at Jason.

"To think about the past." the Inkling clarified. "I can see it in you every time it comes up. You've told me yourself, that it's hard...that you have nightmares. One half of you knows what to do…what's the right thing to do…and wants to be brave. The other half is still stuck in the past, traumatised by everything you've gone through."

Thea nodded sadly. "I want to help, Jason, I do. But I'm so scared."

"It's just like learning to do your first super jump." Jason mused. "You can tell yourself that you won't get hurt all you want, but it's still terrifying the first few times." He slowly shuffled himself to the edge of the bed and swung his legs over the side. He now sat right in front of Thea, looking up at her face.

"The problem isn't in here," he pointed at her heart. "The problem is in here." He lightly tapped her forehead. Thea smiled slightly at the silly squid. Jason smiled back. "It's hard to keep a clear head if all it's filled with is bad memories. It makes it hard to remember what's the right thing to do, and what you're capable of."

Jason eyed the golden ornament pinned to Thea's hair tie. "What did you say that was supposed to represent?" he said, pointing to it.

Thea reached up and pulled it out to hold it in front of her. "Hope and courage. The overcoming of impossible odds." As she gazed into the intricate patterns engraved on the ornament, she saw visions of suffering, anguish. The base. The weapons. The officers. Her mother.

Jason saw Thea's emotions on her face. He reached out and she handed the ornament to him. He gazed into the same shimmering metal and tried to imagine what she was feeling. "There's a lot of bad memories attached to this…and it's not even your original one." he said. Thea nodded. "But there's good ones in there too." He placed the ornament back into her hand and clasped her fingers over it, holding his hand on hers. "And maybe, you can add some new ones."

Thea once again stared into the golden ball and spike, but this time, the nightmares were slowly being replaced by visions of the sky, the sun, the bustling city of Inkopolis, and of the Inkling sitting in front of her. His comforting hand on her shoulder. His warm embrace. His heart for people in need. His blazing, emerald, green eyes, full of drive and hope.

Thea felt a weight being lifted from her shoulders and the dark clouds of her past fogging her mind rise a little. She slowly cracked a big smile and Jason smiled with her.

The sound of approaching footsteps brought the two lovers out of the moment and they turned to see two Inkling officers in blue uniform enter the doorway. "Jason and," one of the officers checked his notepad. "…Thea?"

The said Inkling and Octoling looked back to each other and shared a moment in silent understanding. Jason squeezed Thea's hand and simply nodded. Thea nodded back. She then slowly stood up straight and turned around to face the officers. "Yes, that's me."

The officer with the notepad smiled. "Sorry to interrupt. Thea, would you please come with us to the station for questioning? It's not far, just a couple of blocks. Detective Kimley here can take you in his car." He motioned to the other officer.

Thea gulped and put on a brave face. "Yes, sir." She took a few steps toward the officers but hesitated and looked back to Jason.

"Officers?" Jason spoke up. "Could we please just have a moment to say goodbye?"

Detective Kimley checked the time on his watch. "Please make it quick."

"Thank you." Jason grunted as he pushed himself off the bed and onto his feet.

Thea quickly met Jason at the bed. The two of them didn't say anything for a few seconds before Jason finally broke the silence. "Thea, I'm so glad I got to meet you. You've brought so much joy to my life and changed the way I see your people." He took Thea's hands in his. "I…I'm so sorry for my screw-ups, and…if this really is our last time together…then I'm sorry our time was so short. But the last few weeks have been the craziest and most fulfilling of my life, so…I'm glad."

Thea breathed deeply and looked up from Jason's hands and into his eyes. "Jason, I have so much to be thankful for because of you. You saved me and brought light and hope into my life. These last few weeks, I have been the happiest I've ever been in my life. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you, and for making things so difficult. And-" Thea's voice broke, and she blinked away tears. "…I hope we get to see each other again."

The Inkling and Octoling hugged each other for one last, tight hug. Jason could feel Thea's fingers digging into his back. "You keep holding on to hope, ok, Thea?" he said over her shoulder. "You can do it. You're stronger than you know."

Thea nodded, sniffling back a runny nose. "I will! I'll do everything I can!"

They stayed in each other's arms for a while before Jason slowly pulled away and Thea reluctantly let go. She turned back around to face the officers standing awkwardly in the doorway and took a final deep breath. "I'm ready."

"Right this way, please." Detective Kimley stepped aside and motioned for Thea.

Thea walked out of the room, pausing in the doorway to look at Jason one last time. He smiled, wiping the tears off his face, and gave a simple nod. She smiled and nodded back. She walked away with Detective Kimley following close behind.

Jason stared after them and slowly sat back down on the bed. The other officer walked over and sat in the chair next to him. He placed a small recording device on the table next to the bed and pressed the start button. A beep signalled the audio recording had started. "Alright, Jason. My name is Detective O' Connor and I'll be taking your primary testimony, but, uhhh…first, how are you feeling?" he asked, pulling a pen from his shirt pocket and flipping open his notebook.

"Fine." Jason stated, staring at the floor. "It hurts, but I'll live.

"Ok, that's good." the detective continued. "Now I must apologise for not getting here sooner, but we had to deal with Harry first. We interviewed him first because he was conscious at the time, and then we acquired a search warrant for his residence and that took a while to wrap up."

"Mhmm." Jason raised his eyebrows. He looked up at the detective. "Please be careful with Thea. She's not mentally stable right now."

"I'll send the station a message. They'll try to make her comfortable." O' Connor assured. "For now, can you please tell me everything you know? I know it can be hard to remember some things after a traumatic event, but please try to remember as much as possible."

"Don't worry." Jason groaned as he lay back down on the bed as he prepared to tell the whole story for the second time that morning. "I remember everything."

A big, dimly lit room. A big one-way mirror on the wall. A cold, steel table with chained handcuffs. This is what Thea expected to be waiting for her at the police station. Instead, she had been directed to Detective Kimley's office.

It was a small, brightly lit room with just a desk, a computer, and some chairs. There were metal bars on the large window, but the sun was shining, and from the second floor of the station, Thea could see the busy streets of Inkopolis outside. Not the interrogation she was expecting, but the casual feeling of this office helped to put her mind at ease.

Detective Kimley had left the office to get something, leaving Thea alone for a few minutes. She sat in a chair opposite the desk and fidgeted with the golden ornament to pass the time and to keep her nerves at bay. She jumped and turned at the sound of the door clicking open behind her. The blood drained from her face when she saw the army uniform follow Detective Kimley into the office.

Two bulky officers in red and black, non-combat uniform, sat in chairs on either side of her. Their fancy white, black, and gold caps on their heads and the numerous medals on their chests gave away that they were high-ranking officials. Their faces were stoic, focused. Thea felt herself shrink under their shadow.

Kimley sat on the other side of his desk, behind the computer. "Don't worry. They're just here to observe and ask a few questions too." he said, sensing Thea's distress. It did little to calm her. He then produced a folder from his desk drawer and pulled out some documents.

For a few minutes, the detective and the two army officers flicked through papers, passing them around for each other to read. The silence in the room was oppressive. Thea didn't dare try to look at what was on the papers or make a sound. Eventually, after everyone else was satisfied, Kimley laid the papers down on the desk, putting some of them back in the folder.

Kimley cleared his throat. "Right, well I'm just going to summarize this very quickly." Everyone turned their attention to him.

"Thea." Kimley began, reading off a document. Thea looked up but didn't meet his eyes. "Born in dome 12B. Daughter of a soldier and a kelp farmer. Attended Nighstar elementary school. Did not graduate. Father went MIA two years ago during the war. Mother was killed as collateral in a hospital."

Thea dropped her head, not wanting to think about the event.

Kimley paused and his tone lowered. "Killed at the same time as her mother as collateral."

Thea perked up at those words, eyes wide. "Wha-?"

The detective cocked his head to the side and smiled coyly. "Yes, Thea. According to your official record from the Octarian citizen index, you died years ago in the bombing of that hospital." He turned the document around for Thea to look at. Although she couldn't read any of it, she doubted the bold, red words printed next to a portrait photo of her as a child meant "living".

"So, Thea, if that is your name…" Kimley continued. "Since I don't believe in ghosts, this means either you aren't who you say you are, or you are who you say you are and you have one shell of a story to tell."

Thea reeled from the information, eyes wide as saucers. "They faked my death…Why?" she whispered.

"And we would also appreciate it if you could explain this." Kimley turned his computer monitor around. On the screen was fuzzy, black and white CCTV footage. It showed a video of a young girl, in Octarian combat uniform, talking to the checkpoint officer and being turned away.

"And this." said one of the officials sitting next to Thea. He produced a bag from behind him and placed it on the desk. He opened one of the compartments. Inside was Thea's combat gear, each of the pieces sealed in individual plastic bags.

"Y-you searched Jason's apartment?" Thea stuttered. "Don't you need his permission to do that?"

Kimley kept his coy smile. "Thea, when we started investigating this case, we started to uncover some very interesting threads. It got so complicated and…shall we say, involved? That we had to bring the military into it."

Thea glanced up at the officers towering over her, who calmly watched her. Her breathing quickened as she tried to process what was happening.

Thea gulped. "A-are you going to send me back?"

"No. We need more information before we contact the Octarian authorities." Kimley said. "Some of those interesting threads lead straight to you, and then on to something else."

Kimley leaned forward and clasped his hands together on his desk. "Something fishy is going on, Thea. A girl gets killed in a war and shows up years later with the combat gear of an unknown task force? And is staying with a civilian and gets involved with a mu-" Kimley paused. "Well, we can't talk to you about that yet. But right now, we need you to tell us as much as possible so we can get to the bottom of this.

"And what about Jason? Will he get in trouble?" Thea trembled.

"That's what Detective O' Connor is figuring out right now, back at the hospital."

Thea was silent in thought for a moment. "Can…can you promise you won't send me back if I talk?"

Kimley's smile disappeared and he leaned back in his chair again. "I can't make that decision. I just do the investigating and ask the questions. But telling us why you don't want to go back would probably help your case."

"And what if I don't?" Thea asked hesitantly.

"Again, I can't promise anything." Kimley shrugged.

"Of course, he wouldn't tell me that." Thea thought. "He needs me to talk. Does that mean I might not get sent away if I don't talk? Cod, what do I do?!"

Thea sighed. It was all so much. She looked down at the golden ornament in her hands. She could still see Jason's face in it. The old visions of pain and suffering were faded in the corners but still threatened to collapse back. She thought about all the people she knew and didn't know, that were still stuck, underground without the light of hope. What about Jason? He was in a world of trouble at his own fault, but also because of her. Perhaps she could at least prove his innocence in his involvement.

Thea took a deep breath. "Ok. What do you want to know?"

Detective Kimley smiled. "Oh, lots." He turned on the recording device laying on his desk then turned to his computer to start typing. "First, can you tell us about your mother?"

Detective O' Connor took one more flip through his notebook, skimming the words he had just written down. Once satisfied, he slammed it closed.

Jason lay on his hospital bed, exhausted from re-telling the story for the second time that morning and answering the detective's extensive list of questions. A lot of them were about Thea and what she had told him about herself, and about Harry and what happened behind the diner. It had been nearly two hours since they started and Detective O' Connor had to sharpen his pencil multiple times.

"Do you have any more questions, sir?" Jason forced a smile, trying to sound polite.

"No, I think I have everything I need for now." O' Connor rubbed his eyes. "Do you have anything else to declare?"

"No."

"Alright," O' Connor grabbed his recording device from the small table. "I'll head back to the station now and compare notes with Detective Kimley. We'll contact you when we need more information or if we can share any information with you."

"Mhmm…" Jason nodded, not looking at the detective.

"Well," O' Conner stood up to leave. "Thank you for your cooperation. You've made my job a little easier. Good luck with your recovery." The detective bowed his head slightly and turned to leave the room.

"Wait!" Jason sat up straight.

The detective stopped and turned his head. "Hmm?"

"Uh, sorry." Jason said quieter, realizing his shout was uncalled for. "Umm…when can I see Thea again?"

O' Connor sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose, tired even in the morning hours. "I don't know, Jason. Based on what we know and what you've told me, this is a very serious and complicated case. There are a lot of people in high places involved. This is going to be…weeks, perhaps." Jason's face fell. "But, if Thea can confirm your story and give us even more critical information, that will help a lot. Maybe then, I could pull some strings and get you some time together."

Jason bit his lip, wondering how Thea was doing. "O-ok. Thanks, sir."

The detective nodded his head and turned to leave again.

"Oh, wait! One more thing!"

The detective groaned and turned around again. "Yeah?"

"Um, how's Harry?"

O' Connor smiled slightly at the question. "He's recovering. You really did a number on him, and that lady at the diner squeezed him half to death, but he'll be ok."

"Oh, that's good." Jason sighed, relieved. "It wouldn't be very good for our case if he was critically injured. Uh, speaking of the case, I know you can't really say much, but do you think we have any chance against him in court?"

Detective O' Connor smirked at that question. He, once again, started to walk out and called out over his shoulder. "I'll tell you this, Jason. With the things we're learning about Harry in this investigation, I think you'll have an easier time than you think."

Heyyyyyyy, I finished a chapter within a year!

...

Actually, wait. That's not impressive. NEVERMIND!

So this was a nice short chapter. Wasn't too stressful. I'm kind of proud of some of the metaphorical descriptions, but it might just be cheese and I don't see it yet.

Also, just two chapters to go, and then I can finally, finally move on! I don't expect them to be hard to write either, so I can probably have the next one done in a few weeks. I'm currently writing little bits between classes at the IT course I'm studying and it's working out ok, so far.

Thanks again for sticking around and reading my cheese coated story. A special thanks to my friend Muzz, and long time reader JreddSSBU for checking for beta reading for errors. If you'd like to chat with me and other TLD...fans(?) and get teasers and help beta read, shoot me a DM and I can send you an invite. Remember you follow the story to get notified when new chapters come out and you can leave a review to tell me how much I SUCK! (Or if you actually liked it for some reason.)

Until next time,

Dashanerocket.