Marie rubbed her temples, her mantle unusually expressive as she dealt with a new headache. Callie couldn't help but grin a little. She wasn't entirely sure why but she felt giddy. Maybe because it was a sign of recovery, things settling into a new normal.

"We're not a security force for hire," she said. "What do they expect us to do?"

"Something," Three's voice answered from the phone's speaker. "They aren't sure what to do but they are at least trying to be proactive. Who else can they go to?"

Marie's mantle turned red. "The only way we could get enough people to cover their communities would be to hire from the domes again, and there's no way that's going to happen."

"I can't just turn them away."

Marie groaned and held her head in her hands. "Why is everyone coming to us with all their problems all of a sudden."

"That's what happens when you can get things done and nobody else can," Aunt Silvie answered from the kitchen. "If you were still a child, I wouldn't trust IS or the NSF with your safety in the same circumstances."

Callie's mantle flashed with an idea. "What if, instead of trying to protect the kids directly, we made the kids able to protect themselves. If we used some of the Work Detail girls as instructors, they could probably train the kids well enough to at least put up a fight."

Marie's expression morphed from frustration to that blank, calculating look she had when she was working through a hard problem. Callie could practically see her looking through all the scenarios her mind came up with through the subtle movements of her eyes.

"It's a possibility, but that could go wrong several ways. They might get cocky and do something stupid, creating a situation that would go out of control, fast."

"Marie, you and Callie are not responsible for other people's poor decisions. They are asking you for a solution. If you offer one and they accept the risks, then what happens is their own fault."

Marie pulsed blue. "It's not that cut and dry for us, Mother; Callie and I are celebrities, people look up to us and take their cues from what we do. The Assembly was already blaming us for some of the 'problems with today's youth'. If we arrange to have these kids trained and they start causing problems or get themselves into trouble, we'll be called a bad influence, putting it mildly, and held responsible."

Callie sighed inwardly. Marie tended to be a glass half-full kind of girl, always imagining the worst consequences and she had inherited some of Aunt Silvie's cynicism. That point of view had helped Marie come up with songs that had touched the souls of many but Callie had found it also stopped her from going for the obvious solutions.

"Have a little faith in our fans, Marie. I'm sure things wouldn't be as bad as that. Three, ask the parents there if they would be okay with their kids learning to protect themselves as a possible solution. If they're willing and if their kids are driven enough, maybe we can work something out, but we'll have to talk things over with Pearl, Marina… and probably Scylla too. I don't want to do anything without her input."

Marie flashed green. "Agreed. It'll give them something to mull over and discuss on their own while we figure things out ourselves, but I don't want a repeat of what happened today–." Marie nearly cut herself off as her head turned towards the front of the house. Callie too heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Who could that be?

"I think we have to go. Wrap things up there as best you can Three."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Three hung up and Marie reached out to the phone to turn it off, struggling with the delicate action as her muscles strained to hold up her outstretched arm. Despite her much larger hand, she managed to press the power off button on her old phone. The bright waves in her mantle highlighted her feeling of accomplishment, only for them to vanish the second the door opened, as it lost all colour.

Matriarch Reina Sansea stepped over the threshold, the byzantine robes of her office swirling about her. Normally, her arrival would be a joyous occasion. She was the only grandmother Callie had ever known, but the stern expression on her face and the lack of any bright colours in her mantle indicated this was no social visit. Callie's own mantle lost what colour still remained in it when her own mother stepped in behind her, the scarf of a matron wrapped around her neck, the same colour as Reina's robes.

There was a moment of stunned silence on both sides, and just for a moment, Reina's normally unflappable mantle flared with shock, as did that of her mother. In fact, her mother looked almost horrified at seeing them… at seeing her.

Callie experienced a sudden feeling of self loathing at seeing her mother's reaction and had to fight to stop herself from scrambling back to the pool room to hide away. Security had barred her mother from seeing her in the hospital and the issues in the Assembly had kept her busy after her release. This was the first time Mora Cuttlefish was witnessing her daughter's transformation first-hand."

"N-Nana!" Marie stammered.

Reina recovered, her brows furrowing deeper as she put her hands on her hips. "Don't 'Nana' me, Marie! What have you girls been up to?"

Marie and Callie shared a brief look. "Um… can you be more specific?"

"I'm talking about the Octarians, Marie, and how you managed to get an army of them to risk their lives to save Inkopolis! Where did they all come from? How did you get involved in–."

"Stop it!"

Her mother ignored the surprised look from her matriarch and ran up to Callie, coming beside her and awkwardly hugging her tightly. Callie, very slowly and carefully, wrapped her own arms around her mother, and a horrible feeling came over her.

Her mother felt so small, so frail. That wasn't right, that wasn't how it was supposed to be. Callie still carried distant memories, sensations of being carried in her mother's arms as a small child. To feel her mother feel so small, so weak compared to her, when Callie had always seen her as a pillar of strength, it felt… wrong, it wasn't right, it wasn't.

Tears started streaming down Callie's cheeks before she even realised she was crying. Her mother started whispering to her, telling her she was alright, that everything was going to be okay. But it wasn't going to be okay, Mommy couldn't make things okay anymore, she couldn't protect her from the world anymore and she couldn't make things go back to the way they used to be.

—-

It had been a while since Reina had felt like such a failure of a matriarch, a failure of a grandmother. She had gone into Marie and Callie's house angry and frustrated. She hadn't been thinking of what poor Mora had to be feeling.

She knew about the changes the girls had gone through from Silvie, but seeing it first hand was something else. She was used to looking down at Marie, not looking up at her while she was sitting down! It had been a shock to realise just how big the girls had gotten, which only seemed to add fuel to the emotions she was already fighting to control.

She shouldn't have blown up the way she did. That was not how a grandmother should behave, nor was it the consideration expected of a matriarch visiting two young members of her shoal who had been through so much already. Mora had been right to admonish her.

After she'd given out the appropriate apologies, Silvie sent the girls to rest and digest their breakfast while the rest of them had morning tea.

Silvie broke down for them how the girls were handling their new bodies, the struggles they were going through trying to recover their strength, the agony they felt any time they were out of the water, and everything the doctors had been telling her.

The doctors had no explanation for the girl's tremendous surge of growth, other than it was probably related to devouring those giant crabs on Wharf 12. They hadn't realised the girls had actually started growing because they'd been so swollen at the time. Now, the girls were as tall as full grown giant or colossal squid inklings, and they were still growing! Again, the doctors were still desperately trying to figure out what was going on.

Three arrived near the end of Silvie's exposition with another young inkling. Reina knew of Four, of course; Marie had mentioned her several times over phone calls and emails, but this was her first time meeting her.

Four looked even younger than her actual age would suggest and Mora immediately took to fawning over her, even while she asked Three about her new girlfriend, causing the already rather withdrawn girl to shut up like a clam. Only her husband, Baron managed to get anything out of her at that point, asking her how she liked driving Marie's fancy car and how her parents were doing.

Not long after, Marie and Callie woke up from their nap. Save for Baron, they all joined them in the pool room, where the girls could be more comfortable. After apologising again, Reina continued with her purpose there, more calmly this time.

"The monarch asked me to learn from you girls just what has been going on. How did you manage to get the allegiance of so many Octarians when nobody's heard from them in a century? How is it you were able to lead so many Octarians in combat, and how is she," she pointed at Three, "so good at killing crabs? I know Silvie trained her, but knowing how to kill someone and actually killing someone are two very different things."

The guilty looks on the girls was telling. They'd been caught and they knew it. Reina could tell by the looks they were giving each other they were trying to figure out just how much they should reveal.

"Tell me everything," Reina said firmly. "Either you tell it to me or someone else will drag it from you. I don't want you to hold anything back."

The girls looked at each other once more and then Marie gave her a look she didn't like and asked, "[Are you sure]" through tuk'yan.

"Neither of us has any choice. Just let me have it." A little over two hours later, Reina found herself regretting those words.

Reina rubbed her temples, trying to come to terms with the mountain of information that had just been unloaded on her and their terrible implications.

"I tried to warn you," Marie said between buckets as she and Callie hungrily refuelled themselves. "You can never look at the world the same way again."

"Ignorance is bliss," Reina quoted, the old wisdom feeling very apt at the moment. "So what are the Octarians doing now?"

"Trying to figure out the next step," Callie answered. "They've never done this before, at least, nobody left alive has. The idea of using diplomacy for dealing with us is new to them."

"Wonderful," Reina grumbled. "I imagine these Loyalists you mentioned won't be terribly patient either."

"They're facing a ticking clock, Nana," Marie said. "If you were facing a slow decline into death, would you be terribly patient?"

"But why didn't you tell anyone?" Mora asked. "Why did you have to do this yourself? You were supposed to go to Inkopolis to be pop stars, not secret soldiers."

"It wasn't our idea, Aunt Mora. Gramps tried to tell people but nobody would listen. As Callie and I got busier, Gramps needed someone else to help keep the Octarians back. So he found Three."

Three shifted awkwardly, looking embarrassed. It was hard to believe that as shy and meek as Three seemed most of the time, she was capable of carrying out a campaign against an entire army by herself.

"And the Octarians in Inkopolis are all deserters?" Reina asked.

"More or less. None of them have any interest in fighting Calachora and all of them want peace. They fought the crabs to protect themselves, to get revenge, and to protect their new home. And now they have to endure certain people in the Assembly referring to them as the enemy."

"I understand, Marie, but to be fair to them, they don't know any more about this than I did. They might change their tune if they were to learn it."

"Or they might not. I know a lot of them will hang up on the fact the Octarians stole the zapfish, twice. They'll see that as the only justification they need. If that debate gains traction in the Assembly, it will only kick peace and reconciliation efforts further down the road and we can't afford that."

"Did you make any promises to the Octarians?"

"Not on behalf of the government," Marie strained. "But we did promise, as individuals, to do our best to bring peace and help them get out of the hole they are literally in."

"I think even that might have been a bit much. You two have a lot of influence as far as the public is concerned."

"We set things up so that the government should easily be able to take over," Callie said angrily. "We've set peace up for them on a silver platter! They have no reason to complain!"

"You don't determine foreign policy, Callie!" Reina snapped. "There's a lot more to consider than just people's feelings and right now, the situation is very tense with the Consortium and Bellchora. If we suddenly make peace with the Octarians, the Consortium might feel threatened enough to declare war and invade Bellchora."

"They're going to try and invade Bellchora anyway," Marie said blandly. "And regardless of war declarations, we're basically already at war with them."

Reina knew better than to try and argue with Marie about technicalities. Like her mother, she tended to aggressively grab the root of a problem without fussing over the various nuances surrounding it.

"Alright, then, since you seem like such an expert, how would you solve the issue with the Consortium?"

"Make peace with the Octarians, then work together to find the remnants of the Consortium's forces still hiding out in Inkopolis. Once their base is found, eliminate it, then figure out a plan to capture or eliminate the Consortium's Congress, forcing the Consortium to surrender or causing so much confusion and infighting that they're ineffective."

Reina reacted with a bland look of her own. "Well, it's as simple as that then, is it? I suppose I should get you an audience with the National Security Chief."

"Already did that."

Reina paused. "When?"

"Right before the Liberation took place. We needed the NSF and IS cooperating with us for the operation to succeed. Fortunately, both thought the safety of Inkopolis was more important than anyone's egos or even their own careers."

Reina's mantle turned burgundy. "You might be one to talk to about ego, Marie. I think both of you girls have developed heads too big for your hats."

Reina saw defiance flash in their eyes, that wasn't what she was used to seeing in them, not when looking at her, their mantles even rippled with challenging reds.

Mora stood up. "I think that's enough for now, Reina. I think we've gotten all the information we need for now and the girls are tired. They need to rest."

"A good idea," Silvie said, starting to gather up the food buckets. "Nobody's in the right state of mind for a discussion right now anyway."

Three and Four started to help her and Reina had to agree. Things were just going to turn into an argument and Reina had made enough mistakes today.

Mora lingered behind as the rest of them shuffled out of the pool room, hugging Callie once more and even giving Marie a loving rub on the head before she turned the lights off and joined the rest of them.

"They're going through yun'brennen, Reina," Silvie reminded her as she tossed the empty buckets into the garage. "And it's been particularly intense. It's best to avoid antagonising them too much or they'll do things they'll end up regretting."

"I'm not entirely convinced it was the yun'brennen talking, Silvie. I think those two have gotten a little too self-important. I think being forced to cool their funnels at home for a few weeks will be good for them in the long run."

She turned her attention to Three and Four. They appeared… conflicted. It wasn't hard to imagine why. Three idolised the girls, looked up to them as a younger sibling would and Four was probably the same way. Still, surely they couldn't have done what Callie and Marie claimed without being somewhat independent.

"What do you girls think?"

They frowned and looked at each other, then Three answered, "I think they're just scared. They've worked hard to try and achieve peace and they feel like the opportunity they made is slipping away. The whole reason the Octarians have an ambassador is because of them."

"And they're afraid of people turning on the Octarians just because of a few bad eggs," Four added. "All the ones in Inkopolis are good girls who've proven themselves. Uh, Ma'am."

Reina hummed thoughtfully. "Then maybe I should meet them myself."

Their mantles rippled and they glanced at each other again, showing some apprehension but not fear. "It should be fine, but the Octarians in Inkopolis and the Octarians from the domes are not exactly the same."

"I'll meet with both if I have to."

Mora crossed her arms, mantle displaying a lighthearted challenge. "Weren't you just telling the girls they were sticking their tentacles in places they shouldn't be?"

"I was asked by the Monarch herself to investigate so that's what I'm going to do."

"They would like to talk to you anyway," Three said abruptly. "Meeting with a matriarch would show them that things are progressing, even without Callie and Marie."

"And you can arrange this quickly?"

"Within a few days, probably, if your schedule is free."

Reina paused. "Well, I need to speak with Scylla Sunreader also since she was involved with the girls and the Octarians too."

Four pouted. "She's been tryin' to get recognized as a matron but because she's so politically controversial, or whatever, nobody's taking her on."

Reina narrowed her eyes but willed her mantle to remain its natural purple. "We'll see when I meet her. Can you arrange it for me?"

Four dropped her gaze and flashed a light green.

"We'll let you know when we have everything arranged," Three said, bowing respectfully and flashing white.

Good girl. Polite, respectful, and she didn't dither or blab stupidly trying to stall or deflect. Reina appreciated that. Four, it seemed, was only starting to pick up on those habits from the older girl. She must not have grown up with a matron.

But these two are still very young. She reminded herself. They might have broken laws and caused a lot of headaches for people, but it wasn't really their idea, they're just trying to do their best.

The thought of Craig Cuttlefish made her stomach churn with acid, and it brought several unanswered questions to the front of her mind, and now seemed an appropriate time to ask them.

Sitting in one of the chairs and bidding the two girls to sit on the couch. "Now, you two tell me how you got involved in all this in the first place." Her mantle darkened. "And I want the truth, because that's the only thing that might save Craig Cuttlefish from the wrath of the Hallar."

Both girls lost all colour in their mantles and she knew she had them. She felt a little bad for using their loyalty towards Craig against them like that, but it was the honest truth, because when the Ecclesiarchy learned of a pair of children being turned into cold-blooded killers, the last person anyone in Calachora would want to be was Craig Cuttlefish.

—-

Eight marvelled as she stared out the window at the nightlife of Inkopolis outside. Despite the late hour and the season, traffic seemed just as active, and although Inkopolis Square wasn't as busy as before, large crows still assembled within it, and all of this despite the shock of the Xapheerell Liberation still rippling through society. Such a contrast to where she grew up.

In the Octarian domes, significant events were always keenly felt. The death of a member of the Ravalda, the collapse of a dome, the first capture of Octavio, all these things had affected the rhythm of life in the domes, causing them all to come together and figure out solutions to new problems or to offer encouragement to each other. The majority of Inkopolis, however, seemed to be doing its best to continue the status quo, which had worried her, so she was relieved when she heard about this meeting.

"Okay, I got it working," Marina announced, shifting back from her laptop.

"Great work, 'Rina," Pearl said. "Come on over, Eight."

Eight regarded Pearl with mild disapproval. She was dressed in a simple t-shirt and pyjama pants, typical attire for her at this time of night, but tonight was far from typical.

Scylla sat on the other end of the couch from Pearl, wearing a business casual blouse and skirt, far more appropriate for an official meeting. Even Marina was wearing a tasteful black sweater and warm leggings, both of which complimented her figure admirably.

I wonder if Three would like me to dress like that…

Eight was still wearing her maid uniform. She had become so accustomed to wearing it that it felt as natural as any t-shirt.

"Can you hear us?" Callie's voice said through the home theatre speakers.

"We can hear ya'" Pearl answered. "Rina worked her usual magic."

"So she was a magician before she was an engineer?" Marie quipped.

Marina immediately placed a finger over Pearl's lips to silence her reply. Pearl grinned impishly but kept her peace.

Eight sat on the far couch next to Four, outside the view of the webcam. Four had escorted Scylla to the penthouse, wearing her full agent gear to ensure her safety. She sat in silence, watching the proceedings with anxious eyes.

Three made up the centre of the screen. Callie and Marie, although their presence was obvious, weren't actually visible. Eight wondered why.

"Sorry for the janky setup," Callie said. "It's just easier for us to talk while we're in the pool."

"S'all good. Anyway, we're all here. Where should we start?"

"Let's start with Scylla," Marie suggested. "Let her get some things off her chest right off. Scylla, I hear you've been dealing with a lot of people coming to you for help."

Scylla huffed, her mantle turning a darker shade of its natural volcanic red. "Nah kiddin'. People from across the bay been commin' tah me askin' about the crabs, about security, and about the Octarians. I'm seriously thinkin' 'bout investin' in an FAQ web page."

Pearl and Marina both smiled. "Welcome to our lives."

"I never wanted tah be a celebrity," Scylla grumbled. "Anyways, I'm seriously thinkin' we oughta' do something to spread proper info about the Octarians and what 'appened durin' the Liberation. 'Avin' the octos move to Xapheerell was a bright move though. 'Aven 'em around makes everyone feel safe, and if we trust 'em, leads everyone else to thinkin' they might not be as bad as some 'ave been sayin."

Eight frowned. She was having to focus hard to understand Scylla's words through her Xapheerell accent. Three had told her that most of the inklings in Xapheerell were descended from sailors, but their dialect got mixed up with the inner city dialects more common in other parts of Inkopolis, creating an odd mix that not even their progenitors could fully understand at times.

"Not a bad idea," Marie said. "Should help counter all the anti-Octarian rhetoric in the Assembly. We can probably get the more commonly asked questions answered, and we should think of things that people aren't asking to add too, but that's a topic for another day. Scylla, did you have any idea what happened at Work Detail today was likely?"

Her mantle flashed. "You ask me now, I'd say 'yeah' but not this mornin'. People were scared, sure, but they didn't seem to know what tah do. Not sure why they went to the Octarians like that. Sure way to scare anyone, but I guess they wanted to make a statement. Pretty aggressive one though."

"It can mean a lot of things. Coming with so many instead of just coming herself is a sign of humility while also showing the resolution and consensus of her shoal. I imagine in Xapheerell and to the Octarians, what they did might come across as aggressive."

"Often how a big brawl would start back in the old days."

"And now there's just one matron," Callie giggled. "Official title or not, they have to acknowledge you that much."

"Doesn't get our voice 'eard in the Assembly though."

"We'll get back to that," Marie said. "Let's just be glad that everything ended peacefully and has been, at least for now, deescalated. The main issue is that they have a legitimate concern about the safety of their children given the pattern of the Crab Gangs so far. If the Consortium takes a more direct role in guiding their remaining forces, they could pose a serious danger."

"I don't know what they think we can do," Marina said. "We can't have our girls just walking around the city, armed, even if we did have the numbers to do it. We're not security. That would be… um…."

"Vigilantism," Callie supplied helpfully. "Yeah, it would be, though I guess we'd kinda' be hypocrites to speak against that."

"Is there any way they could copy what our girls are doing?" Pearl asked. "We have them all living together, they all travel together, they work together. That shouldn't be too hard to do 'til we find these Consortium cronies."

"Won't help if they can't defend themselves," Callie pointed out. "Remember, the first time they attacked, they attacked a whole group of kids. They're not afraid of groups, it's groups that can fight back effectively that they're afraid of. Vella was able to hold them off, pretty much by herself, for a little while, but even after breaking a few legs they kept after them."

Eight frowned, remembering Vella had yet to return home. She pulled out her phone and decided to send her a message. She was supposed to be at Marsh's home. Perhaps she had been invited for dinner again and forgot to text her.

Marie said, "Three asked them what they thought of the kids being trained to defend themselves. The way I see it, it feels like the most viable option, unless they come up with something different. Given all the artificial tension Patriarch Keeper is creating, it might be a good way to help generate some income for the girls."

"And it would get people to trust 'em more," Pearl added. "And trust is worth its weight in gold right now."

"Agreed. Which brings me to another issue we all have to discuss. I don't know if anyone told you yet but my matriarch has been asked to clandestinely investigate the whole matter of the Octarians and how we managed to take out an army of crabs without direct assistance from IS or the NSF."

Pearl and Scylla's mantles lit up with bright colours, distress clearly visible in their facial features.

"Callie and I basically had to tell her everything on our end. It's not easy to hide things from your own grandmother, but she's thorough, so she won't be making any judgements until she has as many facts as she can get. We've already arranged for her to meet Ambassador Betanuss near the end of the week, and the weekend is basically her deadline to conduct her investigation."

"And lemme, guess, she's gonna' walk to talk to us because we were all involved." Pearl groaned and dragged her hands over her face. "I knew something like this was gonna' come eventually but…"

"I know, but better her than basically any other member of the Assembly. We'll have her visit work detail at some point before her meeting with the Ambassador.

"Scylla, she'll also be meeting with you. She'll probably want to know about your role in the Liberation and how or why you were able to trust the Octarians (or maybe even us), enough to help you. But this is also an opportunity for you. I know you've been trying to get officially recognised as a matron for your ward. You can feel free to ask her whatever questions you like."

"And what about us?" Marina asked. "What at Work Detail are we supposed to show her?"

Callie answered, "Show her what Work Detail is all about and why we needed to make it. It's a chance for us to show her sides of Octarian cultures nobody knows about. It might seem scary on the outside because it's so martial but when you get right down to it, it's about working together for everyone's benefit. One of the whole reasons we want peace is for some of Octarian culture to rub off on our own society and make it better."

"No arguments from me," Scylla muttered. "Our old ways nearly got us wiped out. Now, we're the envy of a good chunk of Inkopolis."

"Exactly, and that's something we need to show her, whether she visits Work Detail or Xapheerell. We have to break the illusion of the old stereotypes. That's how we're gonna' fight Keeper and his anti-octarianism. Nobody better for that than you, Marina. You're the most shining example we've got."

Marina flushed at the praise and Pearl grinned, giving Marina a playful poke in the cheek.

"We'll figure somethin' out. Don't worry 'bout us."

"Not worried," Callie said, "But we're all in this together. If we can't get people out of the mentality of the Octarians being our old enemies instead of our new friends, then people will get hung up on that when we should be worried more about the Consortium."

Everyone seemed to agree and Marie switched to some other topics, talking about developments in Xapheerell and new work that would be coming in for Work Detail, and the status of the injured.

Eight only half-listened. She couldn't stop thinking about how the Octarians had once viewed the inklings. She had been so welcomed in Inkopolis that she had forgotten how difficult it was to change your point of view on old prejudices. She hoped that convincing those in Inkopolis who were still hung up on those prejudices would not require as violent a solution.

Author's Notes:

Lots happened in this chapter. Writing Reina was one of the biggest challenges in writing this story. It's not easy writing someone wiser and smarter than you are. I also worked harder to make Pearl relevant to the story. Early drafts had her barely making an appearance but she'll be doing more in this version.

As always, critique is appreciated.