"Purdie, it's delicious! I've never tasted anything like it!"

"Haha, you're just not used to wholesome cooking. Fancy foods might be technically better made but sometimes simple and filling really is best."

"Oh, I am sure you are right! Please teach me the recipe some time."

"Of course! But I'll need to teach you the proper style of cooking that you need. It might sound silly but you do have to approach the food differently."

Three sat quietly while her iya and girlfriend chatted, preferring to use her mouth for chewing rather than talking. Given all that had happened in the past week, she considered it a blessing that her parents had no issue allowing Eight into their home. While the majority of Inkopolis' citizens had expressed open gratitude for the Octarians efforts and sacrifice, many were still keeping them at arm's length, if only due to the century-old anti-octarian sentiments from certain people.

Three had spent the last week either conversing with Security on both the city and national level; and dealing with the Bodyguard Association. In the latter case, she had several meetings with the contract officer, going over the terms of her contract and then going over the tenets of the Association itself in regards to a bodyguard's responsibilities and duties. Today she met with the President of the Association himself.

They'd discovered that there was a lot of leeway and wriggle room in both the terminology of Three's contract and the Association tenets that Three's role in the Xapheerell Liberation was found not to technically violate any of the Associations principles. What's more, the same interpretation of her contract required it of her; thus, the Association was forced to uphold her decisions that night, which meant she couldn't legally be held responsible for actions taken in the interest of her employers: Callie and Marie.

"Cortina?"

Three looked up, her iya was looking at her with a frown. "What's the matter? I thought you'd be happy being exonerated. It's the main reason we're all here celebrating."

Her green mantle added bright yellows and dark blues, indicating her conflicted feelings. "But the Association suspended my contract until further notice, which means I can't work for Callie and Marie until this is cleared up. The President even told me they could probably get me released from my contract if I wanted. They think Callie and Marie abused it."

"Well, don't you?"

Three frowned. "'Don't I' what?"

Her father pulsed blue and set his fork down. "Cortina, we let you become their bodyguard because we thought the worst you'd run into were overzealous fans or photographers. We didn't expect you to end up fighting an army of homicidal crabs!"

Three forced her mantle to remain under control, hiding the twinge of anxiety she felt. As a minor, she needed her parents permission to work, especially as a bodyguard. If they withdrew that, then it wouldn't matter what she wanted herself, she would lose her position and all the power that gave her to deal with threats to Callie and Marie.

"We did a good thing, Dad. We saved the city and gave Inkopolis Security the breathing room they needed to do their job. We also saved some hostages – two of them were my age."

"I'm not arguing that. You were very brave and we're proud of you. You're practically a hero in this city right now, but you probably shouldn't have gotten involved."

Three's mantle darkened. "I already explained why Security couldn't do it. We did what we had to do."

"No you didn't, you didn't have to do any of that. You could have left it all to someone else, you could have refused to listen to Callie and Marie and I'm sure the Association would have backed you. You could have done just the bare minimum your job required and keep yourself out of danger as much as possible, but you didn't. You deliberately put yourself in unnecessary danger. I don't pretend to know much about modern Octraians if what the press says about all of them being soldiers was right, then they could have handled things fine without you. You shouldn't be throwing yourself into situations like that where you don't know what you're doing. A fight like that isn't anything like being a bodyguard."

Small blotches of crimson spotted Three's mantle. Despite her father's stern gaze her own eyes didn't waver.

Eight gently grasped her arm and leaned in close to her. She was forcing a smile.

"Cortina can handle herself very well in any fight. She has the respect of every Octarian in Inkopolis. I know the reason she fought and got so involved was so she could protect you, her family, not just Inkopolis."

Her father was about to say something else but her iya cut him off.

"I'm sure she did. Cortina was always such a shy girl growing up I suppose it's just a bit of a shock."

"I am sure she did not want to worry you. She was only doing what she thought was best. I am sure this whole thing has been a shock to everyone."

Her iya handed her husband her empty plate, which was his cue to get up and get her another helping of everything. "Well, it's a good thing we didn't make it widely known that Cortina was Callie and Marie's bodyguard." She smiled mirthlessly. "But at the same time, I can't help but want to take credit as her parent. It's an odd feeling."

Three's father returned and placed a newly refilled plate in front of his wife. "I don't think we'll be able to keep it a secret for long. I'm surprised nobody's realised it already."

"It's mostly older families and couples around here. Not a whole lot of hardcore Squid Sisters fans. Still, nobody seems to be blaming her for anything so I don't think it will be too bad when people do find out, especially if her contract is suspended."

Icy claws gripped at Three's soul. Her parents were talking about the neighbours finding out what was publicly known about the incident, but the truth, the real truth, had yet to be revealed.

As far as most people knew, Three's role in the whole incident had been as a guide to one of the groups of Octarians that had liberated the ward. This was in spite of the fact that both the Xapheerell inklings and the Octarians had referred to Three as their leader. The press and even some in Security assumed this to mean that Three had been their guide through the ward and chalked up any discrepancies (such as when Three was referred to as their commander), to language difficulties and cultural differences. The only thing people noted aside from that was her participation in rescuing those trapped in the hardware store, the hostages, and fighting the giant crabs. The truth, of course, was far from it.

Three had not been acting as a bodyguard that night, she'd been commander of Gamma Company, she had gone to the rescue Four's Gamma-Three splatoon not out of bravery, as her parents assumed, but because those were her troops trapped in there, it had been her job, her duty, and she wasn't about to let Four, someone she had declared anu eelae – true family, a sister in every way but blood, to be mercilessly slaughtered. She dared not tell her parents these things though. If she did, they would eventually work out that their daughter had killed before, and the killing had been a topic they'd avoided bringing up all week. And that would expose all the other things she hadn't told them, all the lies she'd told…

"Cortina, do you want dessert?"

Three slowly looked up at her iya then peered down at her plate. She had nearly finished and she didn't feel like seconds. Dessert sounded good though, so she flashed green.

Her iya stood slowly to her feet, careful not to let her swollen middle bump into the table. Eight jumped up.

"Purdie, you should let me get it."

"Nonsense, Hachiko, you're our guest. I'm eggnant, not invalid."

"Being eggnant means you should be the one getting looked after."

This argument happened every time she brought Eight to her parents' house for lunch or dinner and Eight became bolder and more stubborn each time. Even now she was walking alongside Purdie as they retrieved the buttercream chocolate cake from the fridge. It was starting to feel a little surreal, Eight fitting in so well with the family. Should she bring her to the Christmas reunion after all?

After dessert was over, her iya took Eight upstairs to show her the new nursery converted from Three's old bedroom. Three waited downstairs with her father. She sat in front of the small family shrine, admiring the picture of her mother in the place of honour.

How did she feel right now? Could she see everything that she was doing from Heaven? Did she approve of her actions? She didn't know. She had only known her mother from the perspective of a child. Everything else was second-hand from others who had been close to her.

Her father guessed what she was thinking.

"I'm sure she'd be proud of you, Cortina, probably more than me or your iya would like. She was always worried about you not being able to stand up for yourself when you were little. I'm sure she'd be relieved to know how brave you have become."

That was reassuring, and she allowed her mantle to rippled with buttercup yellow to show her happiness at his comment. She turned her head around and looked at him over her shoulder.

"Am I more like her now?"

He pulsed grey and flipped his right hand palm up. "More than you used to be but I didn't know her when she was your age. Your age was when she ran away from home."

Three's jaw tightened and her happy yellow ripples were replaced with dark and light blue ones. Her father smiled.

"Leaving the house isn't the same as running." Then he paused as he realised, "Oh… are you still going to be able to live at their house?" He frowned and lightly grabbed his chin in thought, muttering, "even if you can, maybe it's better you don't."

She'd been afraid he would say that, but she absolutely could not allow it. Now, more than ever, Callie and Marie needed her there. Nobody knew, and she couldn't tell, what they were going through at the moment.

"If they let me, I'll stay there. They weren't just my employers, Dad; they're my friends." She hadn't told either of her parents that she was anu eelae with them. They had no idea just how genuinely close they were. They were the big sisters she'd never had. Over the last two and a half years the three of them had been through more together than most people did in their entire lifetimes.

"Well, I think you really need to think about your relationship with them, Cortina. It could affect your future."

Three's mantle darkened and red blotches appeared in it. She was about to argue when her iya returned with Eight, breaking their conversation. Eight was fascinated with the list of names her parents had come up with for their two upcoming arrivals. While the two chatted, Three and her father sat next to their respective significant others, silent except when asked a question. Three realised then just how much she took after her father.

Eventually it was time for them to go. Her iya handed both of them large baskets of goodies and formally invited Eight to the formal reveal of her children when the time came. Eight accepted enthusiastically and they left out the back door to the back lane.

Parked up against the garage and gleaming like a jewel in the light of the pale moon was Marie's beloved sports car. She had lent it to her for the week. Three had debated whether or not to take it to the lower-middle class neighbourhood her family lived in. A car that cost as much as any of the local houses was going to draw some attention. In the end, Three had decided that that was preferable to having Eight take the bus, especially in this cold weather.

Despite the cold, the car didn't struggle to start and they were soon on their way to Pearl and Marina's building where she would drop Eight off before heading back to Calamari Castle.

As they left the neighbourhood, Eight made an observation.

"You are upset."

"Not upset," Three sulked. "Just… some of what my parents said was hard to hear."

"But you believe they will eventually find out. Pearl was worried they might have already."

Three sighed. She and Eight knew each other well enough that there was no point denying it. "I guess I am. I just wish they could understand why I did it."

"You do not think they would?"

"What? That their scared, quiet little wallflower daughter is the Green Demon to the Octarian Army? That a bunch of the same Octarian refugees who saved us tried to kill me a few months ago and now have sworn a servitude to me? That I became Callie and Marie's bodyguard mostly as a cover for what I was really up to? THAT I'VE PERSONALLY KILLED MORE PEOPLE THAN ANY OTHER INKLING IN HISTORY?"

Three's emotions came spilling out like water from crumbling dam. At home, Three had normally been able to act as if nothing special had happened. Even on the day she'd defeated Octavio she'd returned home extremely elated, if exhausted, but her parents thought she'd had nothing more than an especially good day or that she was simply happy that the Great Zapfish had somehow returned. Now, after everything that had happened, they would second-guess everything, scrutinise every word she spoke. What had once been her sanctuary away from the responsibility of her duties was now just another place she had to keep her guard up.

Three stopped the car for a red light and squeezed the steering wheel tightly as her emotions continued to wash over her.

Eight, who had been silent for several long moments, reached over and put her hand on Three's shoulder.

"You're afraid they'll think you've become a monster."

Sorrow mixed with anger in Three's mantle, recalling the events that led to her and Eight starting to date, events where Three was forced to confront her own belief that she really was a monster. She had gotten over that – or thought she had, but her parents were another story. Three had always put up a kind of facade at home since becoming an agent, now that facade was crumbling and her parents were starting to see through the cracks.

"I don't know what they'll do when they find out." She was certain now that they eventually would. The investigation was still ongoing but sooner or later the real truth of everything that had happened would get out, and when it did, how would her parents react?

"I don't know either, but I do know that whatever they do, it will be because they love you. Do you know why you're doing all this?"

"Of course I do; I'm trying to protect Inkopolis, my family, and now I'm trying to create a better future for the Octarians too. After what I saw in the domes, how could I just go on with my life like nothing happened? What about all the lives lost in a pointless war? if I just ignored it and went on with my life while that kind of suffering was going on, then I really would be a monster."

The light turned green and they continued on. Eight smiled and lifted the bulb of Three's right tentacle to her lips, kissing it. "And I wouldn't love a monster either."

Three managed a smile of her own. "I guess not, but I bet a monster would still love you."

Eight laughed, despite the matter-of-fact way Three had said it. Whatever, if she could drop off her girlfriend happy, then she would consider the day a good one. The way things were going, she was going to take all the good she could get.

After a passionate kiss goodbye, Three dropped Eight off at home and then drove to Calamari Castles, the gated community in which Callie, Marie, and now her, lived.

The standard guards had been augmented by National Security Force troops. There were two guarding the main gate and one accompanied the regular guard as they approached the car to let her in, despite the fact she had a pass. It was just one of the new regulations imposed by the NSF as a result of Callie and Marie's protective custody.

As Three turned onto the driveway, she noted the positions of the guards around the house, all of them Enforcers, the elite of Calachora's national security forces. Their purpose was to handle complicated situations that usually required a more violent response. Hostage situations and abduction cases were among the most well known. Only in extreme cases would such skilled and valuable officers be used for anything like guard duty.

Three carefully parked the car in the garage, wary of the tall stacks of cardboard buckets occupying most of the space. They were full of a substance known as pligrei. Three hesitated to call it food. When she'd actually tried it, it tasted what she imagined eating socks would be like.

Returning the car key to its proper place, she then entered the kitchen where Silvie Sansea was preparing two large pots of stew – or what smelled like stew. It helped Callie and Marie get the pligrei down. They exchanged short greetings through their mantles, and then Three offered her something from the goodie bag her iya had given her. Silvie, strong though she was, had been pushed a little hard taking care of her niece and daughter over their recovery, and she gratefully accepted a small cupcake.

"Get them up for me," she said, and Three obeyed.

She crossed the kitchen to the sliding glass doors at the opposite corner of the living room, leading her into the pool room beyond.

The pool room went for the entire breadth of the bungalow with a separate, slanted, glass ceiling that provided the highest floor to ceiling space in the house. The pool itself had a broad, concrete walkway around it except for the end nearest the outer wall. The glass panels of the outer wall had been covered over on the inside with paper for the sake of privacy.

Three peered through the serenely calm surface of the water to the two sleeping bodies below. She grabbed the nearby pool skimmer and used the reverse end of it to gently prod Callie's shoulder.

Callie shifted slightly then her eyelids fluttered open, revealing bright golden orbs with gross-shaped pupils. They swivelled to face the surface and Three felt a sudden chill, feeling as though she had awoken a dangerous predator, which, upon reflection, she supposed was accurate, in a way.

Callie stretched her limbs out and yawned before prodding Marie. The angry glint when she opened her eyes would have made anyone shiver.

Three stepped back as Callie came to the surface. Water cascaded down her long tentacles and she let out a yawn. She tried to stretch her arms but the compulsion was quickly aborted as Callie's face twisted slightly with pain.

Three displayed a calming mix of serene blues and greens, as she watched Callie with concern. Callie managed a grimace.

"I'm okay. It doesn't hurt as much as it used to. Don't worry, I can climb out myself."

Callie swam over to the shallow end of the pool and supported herself on her hands and knees. She eyed the pool's edge like someone about to walk over shattered glass in bare feet.

Gritting her beak, Callie grasped the edge and hauled herself onto shore in a way reminiscent of an orca. Her face flushed with effort, her arms quivering as they struggled merely to hold her up. Three went over to help but Callie signalled for her to stay away.

Taking a few puffs of breath, Callie let out a loud grunt as she pulled the rest of herself onto shore, half crawling and half rolling to get her body out of the water.

"You don't want me to dry you off first?"

"No," Callie panted, her face blue from her efforts thus far. "I… I need to do it all myself. These muscles won't get back into shape if everyone does things for me."

Three thought about reminding her that the doctor warned them not to push themselves but knew it would go unheeded. She merely remained close to Callie as she tried to get to her feet.

Callie pulled herself to the wall and leaned on it, crawling up its flat, vertical surface with her hands. Her face turned dark blue and air hissed through her beak with each heavy breath as she strained and pushed. She managed to get one, frail-looking leg beneath her before she rested a moment.

Three found herself staring at the knee of Callie's planted leg, noting it was at her eye level now.

Calli let out a strained cry and pushed off with her planted leg to get the other, equally frail looking, leg beneath her. At last, she was standing.

"Hah, I did it," she wheezed, her face had turned such a dark blue that Three was amazed the skin hadn't broken. Three wasn't used to having to crane her neck to look at Callie's face. Callie was even looking at her eye level before she realised she needed to look down. This new reality was something they were all still adjusting to.

Three went over and handed Callie her large towel, using the pool skimmer to lift it up to her. It was probably the heaviest towel she had ever handled.

Callie accepted the towel gratefully and began the slow process of drying herself off, moving with slow, careful motions so as not to strain her weakened muscles – rather, her seemingly weakened muscles. In truth, Callie's muscles were more powerful than ever, just… they had more to move now.

Three turned as Marie's head breached the surface of the pool and they eyed Callie with disapproval. Through tuk'yan, she told Callie that she should not have pushed herself so hard, displaying patterns of purple, reds, and dark-greens. Callie responded that she shouldn't be afraid to push herself a little.

"Marie!"

The snap of Silvie's voice echoed through the pool room despite her still being in the kitchen. "Quit lazing around in the water and get out for dinner!"

Callie smirked and Marie could do little more than glare back. She floated over to the other side of the pool and started her own process of climbing out.

Unlike Callie, she allowed Three to help, but there was only so much she could do to help a girl who outmassed her by at least ten times.

During the last engagement against the crab gangs at Wharf 12 during the Xapheerell Liberation, the gangs had unleashed a pair of giant crabs that had been created using the golden Salmonid eggs. Callie and Marie had taken them down single-handedly by entering into a kind of berserker state that was, apparently, unique to them. After the two crabs had been felled, Callie and Marie had helped themselves to their prey, gorging on their bodies until little more than the empty shells were left.

According to their doctor, such a massive supply of nutrients, combined with their being in the midst of yun'brennen, (the final stage of development for an inkling female taking her into adulthood), had resulted in a massive increase in size. At least, it was the only explanation the doctor had been able to come up with so far. They were still investigating.

The change in their bodies was not limited to their height. Their formally lithe, athletic dancing figures had changed as well. Their neutriae, large glands on an inkyora's chest that supplied the special nutrients to their ink for eggs, had grown substantially, even in proportion to their new bodies. The same could be said for their hips, which were much broader, so much so that they struggled to fit through any door in their house, already one made for inklings of generous sizes, even if not quite for ones of their size. Such figures were typical for octolings, but not for the typically slim and sleek inklings.

Callie managed to get dried off and changed into her robe by the time Marie gained her feet. Three helped to dry her off and Marie was grateful for the assistance. By the time she was dried and dressed, Callie had already made it into the living room where a healthy supply of food buckets and pots of stew had been set up.

"Thank you, Mother," Marie said wearily. Her normally crystal clear voice sounded hoarse and gravelly, even more than Three's typically was.

"It's fine," Silvie said, handing Marie her first bucket. Marie looked at the contents with mild disgust before she hungrily began to gobble it all up.

Callie and Marie's large, still-developing bodies were demanding, both in terms of fuel and maintenance. With all the stretching they had undergone after such rapid growth, their muscles were still playing catch up, leaving them slow, relatively weak, and vulnerable.

"How did dinner go for you, Three?" Callie asked between hearty mouthfuls.

'Fine' Three signalled. "If Eight wasn't my girlfriend I think they'd want to adopt her."

Callie laughed. "Wish I had someone like that."

"Worry about dating after you get through this," Silvie chastened. "Besides, dating would mean focusing less on your careers at a time when you need to squeeze as much out of them as you can while you're young and foolish enough to expend the energy."

Callie laughed. "Aww, c'mon, Auntie Silvie, a lot of our friends manage their love lives and their careers just fine. It's not like Dad had to stop being an archaeologist when I hatched either."

"But your mother might have if she were one. Not everyone is able to manage their family and a career at the same time, Callie, so enjoy your single life and career while you can."

"Oh don't worry, I wouldn't give this up for anything. I mean, we finally achieved our dreams. We want to enjoy it while we can, and now that the Octarians are on their way to peace and we've taken care of the Consortium for now, we can probably get back to our careers and see how much further we can go." She looked down at herself and then laughed again. "I guess we might have to rethink some things though. The stages we usually go on would just collapse if we tried dancing on 'em."

"Amongst other issues," Silvie muttered, then she returned to the kitchen.

Callie flashed grey and looked at Marie. "Right, Marie? Once we're back in shape we'll get right back on the touring circuit right? Actually, this might be a chance for us to work on lyrics for some new songs. We haven't done any since our last album."

Marie responded with a simple green pulse of her mantle and buried her face into another bucket. Callie just laughed and resumed eating herself.

But as Three left the two girls to their meal, she wondered if things really could go back to the way they were. It was questionable if Three would ever be able to work for them again as their bodyguard. They might even face fines. On top of that, would their new size change people's perception of them? Greater size was considered an attractive feature for inkyora, but Callie and Marie were already as large as fully grown giant or colossal inkling varieties. Would that affect things somehow? Would their voices fully recover? Would the government actually criminally charge them for their role as the leaders of the Xapheerell Liberation along with Scylla?

Three didn't know. Everything was too uncertain. They hadn't heard from the Domes in a while either. With all the chaos happening in Inkopolis in the aftermath of the Liberation of Xapheerell, what consequences were the Octarians dealing with?

Author's Notes:

I have no doubt that many of you are confused as to what's happened to Callie and Marie. I have been planning this revelation almost since the beginning of the series and some of you, going back, might see the foreshadowing. I can't reveal too much without giving some future events in this story away though. I hope it won't dissuade anyone from reading.

Anyway, this is a short chapter so I'll be uploading 2 chapters this week instead of just one. Enjoy reading.