Foame felt like she was living some kind of dream, or perhaps she had just woken up from it. She was sitting at their old café hangout, fairly typical, but it was a place they hadn't been to in about a week.

Foame's body still ached from all the work it had been forced to do as part of Work Detail's recent commitments in Xapheerell Ward. She almost couldn't believe all the work they had done. Clearing littered lots, tearing down half collapsed old houses and other small buildings; even helping Inkopolis' utility companies with fixing infrastructure. Looking back on it, it was oddly satisfying to see the improvements their work had made, making those parts of Xapheerell much cleaner and more pleasant just to look at. Of course, not everyone was so satisfied.

The octolings had no patience for those who refused to work, nor had the orphan kids who had been working with them for some time already. Those who refused to work or weren't working diligently, were sent away. Many complained, until a boy in a wheelchair showed up and started doing more work than they did. After that, people either left in shame or started working more diligently for the same reason. In any case, the wheat had certainly been separated from the chaff, leaving scarcely half of the people they'd started with. It was still several hundred, at least, but not exactly an army's worth.

Wren sat beside her, looking much more alert and awake than usual. Their recent schedule hadn't allowed her to stay up late. In fact, the only reason they were able to meet at all was that even the Octarians were encouraged to take Sunday's off. The same was apparently true of the militia, as Ferath sat across from them, telling them stories of his time in training.

"Less than half of us left," he was saying, virtually echoing Foame's own thoughts. "I could tell what he was doing, weeding out the weak ones first. Can't blame him, but it sure made the militia a lot smaller. Thing is, it wasn't even how tough the training was that made people leave, it was what they were making us do."

"What do you mean?"

He pulsed grey. "I dunno, some of the stuff is weird. Moving in units, something called 'bounding' where half the units move while the other provides cover." He shook his head. "Doesn't make sense; it's too slow. It's way better to move together and attack all at once. Moving that slow just makes your moves predictable and moving that slow gives your enemies time to react. Tactics have evolved since the war. Turf War proves it and there are enough pros left to show."

"You don't like your instructor?" Wren asked.

Fearath looked uncertain. "He's okay. He's some old squid from the war. Seems to know what he's doing, but a lot of the other instructors don't seem to like that he's in charge. Uh, Captain Cuttlefish, they call him."

Faome frowned. "Any relation to Callie?"

"No idea, and I wasn't about to ask, especially with what's going on now."

Foame flashed green. The news that had been broken on Inkopolis News by Pearl and Marina that Callie was, in fact, an Octarian noble, had been a real shock to everyone. Apparently, Callie herself hadn't known until the Octarian Ambassador came and demanded her release from custody. Later, Marina had explained that Callie's noble title was partly in acknowledgement of her efforts in the Octarian domes to improve the quality of life for all Octarians, using her knowledge of more modern techniques and science.

Needless to say, the fact that the Octarians were treating a hero of the liberation with more respect and appreciation than their own government didn't sit well with many people and vindicated Foame and the other kids's belief that supporting the Squid Sisters directly was the right move, which was bound to bolster their numbers.

"So what are you doing now?"

Ferath leaned back in his chair and stared up at the grey sky. "I think it's more classroom stuff tomorrow morning after callisthenics." He sighed. "I hate classroom stuff. All goes out the window on a battlefield anyway. Who cares about ranks and hierarchy and procedure and all that bureaucratic stuff. Doesn't matter in war."

"Because you're such an expert on war," Wren said sarcastically.

"I'm a turf war pro," he bit back. "I am an expert. The only real difference is that people actually die and the battlefields are bigger."

"And there are no referees or judges."

"Well, obviously. War's changed since a hundred years ago. We need to get with the times. I bet it's all us turf war pros that have the Octarians too scared to even try invading."

Foame doubted that but Wren scoffed openly.

"If you turf war pros are so special, what were you doing during the Liberation?"

Ferath stiffened. "Hey! Even IS and the NSF didn't know what was going on there. How were we supposed to know?"

"They knew," Wren said bluntly, surprising both Ferath and Foame. "They might not have known the Crab Gangs were going to actually attack Inkopolis, but they must have known they were responsible for those murders and they had to know they had links to the Consortium. They just couldn't do anything about it. That's why they let Callie, Marie, and the Octarians do what they did."

Ferath frowned. "Then why did they all but arrest them? Callie and Marie, I mean."

"Because they're scared of them," Foame answered.

"Huh?"

"Callie and Marie have a more powerful army than the government, at least on the outside. IS supports them more than the NSF because they feel the NSF hung them out to dry, and Xapheerell Ward was saved by them, not the government. All the things the government couldn't handle, they did; and they did it spending their own resources."

Ferath's frown deepened. "Okay, I guess I can understand why that might make 'em nervous, but I don't picture them taking over the government."

"Except that Callie and Marie are almost adults."

"So?"

"So, once you're an adult, you become eligible to become a matron, or even a matriarch."

Fearath stared at her. "Are you saying Callie and Marie might become matriarchs in… what, half a year?"

"They might, the way things are going, and they're bound to have a lot of matrons joining them if that happens, and Inkopolis has more matrons than almost the rest of the country combined."

"Plus Marie's grandma is a matriarch herself," Wren added. "Not likely they'll go against her, which means they'll be matriarchs loyal to her."

"And public opinion will force other matriarchs to join them."

Fearath held his head in his hands. "How or why do you even think of this stuff? You're both two years younger than me."

Foame grinned. "Well, that's why this stuff is usually left to us girls. It's our role in society, after all. That's why patrons and patriarchs are so rare."

"Not a whole lot of girls in the militia right now," Ferath said with a cocky grin. "Made up less than half the army during the war too."

But the majority of the people that took part in the Liberation were female, except for the Xapheerell inklings. But Foame kept that to herself; she didn't want to perpetuate tired arguments. Ferath had always been resentful of the notion that males were the weaker sex when they did most of the fighting and security work.

"Wait," he said. "Isn't this bad for your grandma?"

Foame hesitated. "N-no, not really. I'm sure if the Assembly actually managed to agree on something it would make things easier for everyone, it's just that a lot of people think Callie and Marie would be too extreme. Most of the Assembly is very moderate."

"Lukewarm, you mean," Wren muttered. "Lots of arguing but nothing happens. Callie and Marie actually make decisions; that's what scares them."

Ferath laughed. "I actually can't wait to see it."

"Yeah…" Foame trailed off. While she did have faith in Callie and Marie's abilities, they were still young, as her grandmother had warned her time and again. There were nuances they could easily miss. Plus, Callie and Marie might have no interest in becoming matrons or matriarchs at their age, Callie was already a noble now, and a legate (whatever that was). She supposed the really scary thing was that nobody, maybe not even Callie and Marie, knew what direction things would be going.

—-

The fact that something significant was happening couldn't have been concealed even if they'd wanted to. Avrika couldn't recall the inner domes ever bustling with so much activity. But then again, she had missed out on some of the more exciting events in recent years.

Everyone from soldiers to labourers to office workers seemed to be going out of their way just to get a passing glance at the hive of activity centred around a particular warehouse in one of the storage blocks.

Octarians wearing unfamiliar but high quality clothing worked feverishly around the building, breaking down walls, assembling plumbing, installing strange devices, and using fancy new equipment. More than that, they worked with an urgency and passion that Octarians in the domes had been lacking for some time. And of course, everyone who came and saw asked themselves and anyone else, "what has them working so energetically?"

The official statement of the government was that they were preparing a place for their newest kravah, who was coming home. By now, word was getting around that the kravah was the same person as their legate, the one appointed by Octavio. Avrika wasn't sure if that had been intentional on Octavia's part, maybe letting it spread without official confirmation was a way of testing the people's reaction. So far, it seemed positive, but there was a slight undercurrent of apprehension as well. Avrika could well understand why.

Lord Glittermine's propaganda was not outright defiant of the government but it was borderline and he was pushing it as far as he thought he could get away with. The Ministry of Culture's attempts to boost support for the government's peace efforts were abysmal and the ministry members were still clandestinely promoting Octavio's philosophies while discrediting those of the new government. Octavia couldn't do anything about it without spurring the Loyalists to action, something which they were unprepared for. They needed Callie's help before any of that could happen.

"Some trouble, Ambassador?"

Avrika turned her head to Lakshi Starfeller, the newly appointed captain of Callie's guard. She was in charge of security over the job site. They had spoken to each other little before this started but they'd gotten along surprisingly well.

"Just thinking about the future. Nothing wrong with the present at the moment. Although, I suppose that's bothering me too."

Lakshi nodded and they both switched their gazes to two particular figures on the job site.

Lord Bodov and Lord Hobber were both taking a keen interest in the construction and renovation efforts. Lord Hobber was fascinated by the instant cement while Lord Bodov watched intensely as a team assembled an extension to the warehouse from prefabricated sections brought from Inkopolis. Thus far, however, no members of the Loyalist faction amongst the Ravalda had appeared, nor had there been demonstrations from anyone else. A few lower-ranked loyalists had come poking around but hadn't caused any trouble.

"So far, no real troubles with the building," Lakshi said. "Just had to tear down a few of the added on bits but we're replacing those with the prefabricated sections. It's mostly the interior we have to refurbish."

Avrika was grateful they'd been able to find such a suitable building. Finding any building fitting Callie's requirements had not been easy. She needed a reasonably large structure that was also structurally sound and somewhat defensible. Finding a sound structure, even in the inner domes, was difficult on its own; finding one that wasn't already in use was practically impossible. And yet, she'd done it.

The warehouse had been used for food storage, but was nearly empty. Once she'd identified the building, all they'd had to do was move the food to other warehouses and then let the construction crew make a quick survey before they got to work.

"How soon?"

Laskhi shrugged. "Day after tomorrow for everything to be done but we can move Callie in tomorrow afternoon. We'll have all the utilities set up by then."

Avrika looked up at the one of the many pipes that went up to the surface, one of which was now linked to the warehouse. Callie had been insistent that her presence should not add to the Octarians' burden so she, her retinue, and her home were to be as self-sufficient as possible. The pipe linked up to the surface where the natural heat from the dome would melt the snow that collected in a trough on the surface. She'd noticed Lord Bodov looking at that earlier, probably wondering if it could be expanded on.

"She really is going out of her way," Avrika murmured.

"She's just trying her best. It also helps serve as proof of concept for ideas she may have to further improve life in the domes."

Lakshi gave her a smile and Avrika couldn't help but smile back. "And if it's good enough for the kravah it's good enough for everyone else."

"Let's just hope most people see that. I believe most people will be won to Callie's – and the Dictatrix's side with a little time, but it's also going to force the Loyalists to take action."

"A house divided against itself cannot stand," Avrika quoted from The Wisdoms. "Let's just hope there's enough still standing after all this that there's something left to renovate."

Lakshi grunted in agreement and the two of them continued to watch the kravah's new home take shape.

—-

"Your garments should be ready by tomorrow morning, work on your new accommodations won't be completed for a few days yet, but you should be able to move in tomorrow as planned. We have received confirmation emails from the press regarding the press conference, and Lakshi says that security measures are… 'within tolerance'."

Callie rubbed her forehead, trying to alleviate a mild headache. She hadn't worked her brain this hard in quite a while, not even during the liberation. It brought back hazy memories of her time under hypnosis and gave them slightly more clarity. Fortunately, these issues didn't stop her from comprehending everything her new secretary had just told her.

"Thank you, Lula. Clearly I picked the right girl for the job."

Lula beamed, her cherry-red tentacles spreading out in emulation of a curtsey as she bowed. "You honour me, My Lady."

Callie suppressed a grimace. She had never been overly fond of titles. She'd been scolded plenty of times growing up calling Reina "Nana" instead of "Matriarch" in certain situations. Now, she was on the other end of it all. It was easy to deal with if she were acting out a part, but she couldn't merely act like a kravah or a legate, she had to be one.

"Alright. I guess that leaves my attendants. Are they all good?"

Lula checked her tablet. "Yes, all their garments are prepared, all are accounted for, no issues that I can see; although, Tephilla still needs to work on her Octese."

"Well, that's expected. Girl had never heard an Octese word in her life up until a couple of months ago. It's remarkable she's learned as much as she has. She'll pick it up."

"Understood. Are you certain you do not wish to have them here to get you ready for tomorrow?"

"I'm sure. My family gets that honour. Until I leave this house, I'm not a kravah or legate, I'm just Callie."

She nodded, whether she understood the symbolism or not. "Of course. Is there anything else?"

"No, that should be everything. Make sure you get some rest, Lula. We'll all be extremely busy for the next while."

Lula gave her a knowing smile and then quickly left the room. Callie really did hope she got some proper rest. Octarians were workaholics at the best of times; when they were highly motivated and excited, work became an obsession. The product of living in a society with so little real hope, she suspected.

"All done?" Her mother came into the room, wearing a casual house dress. She looked at Callie with concern.

"Yeah, just finished. Sorry it took so long."

Her mother gave a small smile. "It's fine. I know you have a lot to get ready for. As for me, I've finished getting all the rooms ready. Go help Marie get dressed before your fathers get here."

Callie obeyed, forcing herself to stand up, leaning against the wall for support. She had gotten a lot stronger in the past week. She had to be able to walk all the way to the domes from where she was giving the press conference. Unfortunately, it was hard to build up walking endurance just in the space of their pool room.

Callie entered the pool room to find Marie swimming her laps. Of course, it wasn't easy to swim laps in a standard house in-ground pool when you were four metres tall.

Steadying herself against the wall, Callie called out to her. "Marie, time to get dressed!"

Marie reached the other end of the pool and stopped, using her tentacles to wipe the worst of the water off her face. "They here?"

"Soon. You don't want to hug your dad all wet after he just got in from the cold, do you?"

"I was more worried I might break him in half, but sure."

The mild bitterness in Marie's voice had almost become her regular tone. Marie was adapting… less well to the changes their bodies had undergone. Marie was stubbornly independent yet also somewhat lazy in the way she enjoyed convenience. She didn't like having to squeeze through every doorway, that conventional transportation (like her beloved sports car) no longer accommodated her, and she had to eat much more than before. She no longer fit into regular society.

Callie had always thought fitting in was overrated and the two of them had never fit in anyway. Callie suspected the root of her bitterness was rather deeper, to the extent that even Marie didn't know exactly where it came from.

She helped Marie out of the water and get dried off, all the while telling her of developments.

"So, everything's going to plan, so far. Nice for a change."

Callie smirked. "Don't jinx it, Marie." She turned around but Marie grabbed her shoulder and spun her back. She spoke to her very softly.

"Callie, are you okay?"

Callie frowned. "Funny thing to ask me now when we're about to have a party."

"It's because of that. I just… want to give you a chance to get anything off your chest."

Callie looked at Marie for a moment, into her matching eyes, the concern in them, the knowingness that came when you spent most of your life with someone.

Callie sighed. "Fine, I'm more than a little nervous about everything. I thought I wouldn't have to worry about it ever again, but I guess I was a little too popular for my own good. Never thought I would think that."

"You're too good at what you do," Marie said, a genuine smile spreading across her face. Marie had such a cute smile; Callie wished she would smile more often.

"I guess, but the duties of a legate sound more suited to you than me. I feel like you could do a better job."

To her surprise, Marie flashed red. "Not in this case I couldn't. The Octarians are very practical and pragmatic. I think your 'can do' attitude suits them much more than me. You know people have always accused me of having a silver spoon shoved up my funnel. I wouldn't be a good fit for them. They already love you for a reason."

"I guess, but they're expecting a lot from me."

"And I have no doubt you'll meet and even exceed those expectations. You've got a great team behind you, you've got us here to watch your back, and I'll be sure to run over there and kick you if you get outta' line."

Marie's eyes were glistening now and she could see pain in them, pain that ran deep.

"Marie, what–."

"We're here!" A familiar voice hollered from inside the house. "Callie, where are ya?"

Both girls sighed.

"Guess the party's here," Marie smiled.

"I guess so. Well, we'd better get out there before he starts tearing the house apart looking for us."

Calie's little brother, Malk Cuttlefish, bounced around the living room like a rubber ball on caffeine. Callie tried to tell herself that she hadn't been nearly as uncontrollable at eight-years-old as he was.

As he drew close during one of his frantic circuits of the living room and kitchen, Callie peeked out the door and took careful aim before snapping out one of her tentacles. It struck dead-on, her sucker latching onto his body and bringing him to an abrupt halt. He fell to the floor, stunned, until Callie lifted him up and turned him around.

Malk had the same yellow coloration as their father, with his tips just a little bit darker. His magenta eyes were from their mother.

"No running in the house, little brother," she said as she fully emerged through the door. He stared at her, eyes big and mouth wide.

"Mom! When'd Callie get big as a house?"

Callie frowned. "I'm not that big, Malk."

"Bigger than my treehouse! I bet you could carry it."

Still in the pool room, Marie called, "Hey, Ms. House, mind moving out of the doorway?"

Callie clicked her tongue and shuffled forward. It was not a dignified movement, but when you had to either crouch or crawl everywhere, dignity was never high on the priority list. She found her father amidst the small crowd assembling in the living room and gave him an awkward hug.

"Thanks for coming, Daddy."

He hugged her back, tightly. Callie was used to being taller than him, but he felt almost like a doll now. Her father who used to carry her on his shoulders, was now only as tall as her knee.

"Papa!"

Callie glanced over as Marie shook the whole house when she moved quickly forward to trap her own father in a powerful embrace, ignoring her mother's fierce scolding about remembering her size.

With his dark-blue eyes and mantle, Natam Sansea looked much like his father, Baron, but bore little resemblance to Marie, except in the shape of her tentacle clubs. Callie couldn't help but recall dark memories of Marie being thought of as an illegitimate child because of that lack of resemblance to him, but nobody could doubt the love between father and daughter.

Marie held that hug for a long time, as if clinging to her father like some kind of life preserver. She eventually released him when the door opened again and Baron and Reina came in, the latter in casual clothing.

Without the weight of her office, Reina seemed much more lively and cheerful, more like a typical grandmother, in a way.

More hugs were shared and even Marie's mother seemed to be in a better mood. Despite the large changes looming just within the next 24 hours, this felt like a genuine, happy, family reunion. Then, the door opened yet again, and the room fell silent as Craig Cuttlefish hobbled over the threshold.

"Gramps!" Oblivious to the tension in the room, Malk ran up to him. Gramps laughed and opened his arms to receive his grandson.

"There you are, Malk. How's my little trooper doing?"

"Great, Gramps! Look, look! Did you see? Callie and Marie got super huge!"

"I saw, I saw, but you probably don't need to rub it in."

No kidding, Callie thought. At least Gramps had said something to him.

Three and Four came in behind Gramps. Four looked a little intimidated by the number of people, her eyes surveying everyone in the room like the stereotypical country girl at a fancy dress party in the city.

Upon noticing Three, Malk quickly ran back to their mother and hid behind her. For some reason Callie couldn't fathom, he'd always been afraid of Three. He'd actually cried upon their first meeting, which hadn't done Three's sensitive soul any good either.

Four went to hug Marie while Three helped Gramps find a seat where he engaged in conversation with her father.

"How'd your dig go, Son?"

Gren Cuttlefish shrugged. "Oh, same old, Dad. Lots of tedious digging and cataloguing and recording. We found a whole Precursor tower buried in the earth, still partially preserved. Great find but worst food at a dig I've ever had. It's like they were trying to make me miss home as much as possible."

Callie's father was an archeologist, the profession responsible for uncovering the secrets of the Precursors, bringing their society into the information age thousands of years faster. Despite all the hardships of his childhood, he had become a full-fledged archaeologist around the time Callie turned eight.

Baron eventually moved up to also engage in conversation with Gramps, but Reina continued to regard him coldly. They'd never particularly gotten along, but the revelations of the past few weeks had added more ice between them.

They were all surprised when the door opened yet again, admitting three more people into the house.

"Party's here, family!" Declared a trendy, bright-pink inkling as she spun into the room. She was sharply contrasted by her sister, a navy-blue inkling dressed in a black dress and carrying a large box.

"And I'm carrying the box," she said with a sigh.

Bringing up the rear, was a casually dressed and laughing Floa Kelpgarden.

"Tandi, Raven!" Callie extended her arms as Tandi ran up to her and they hugged. Raven handed her package off to Natam before calmly walking up to Marie and doing the same.

Tandi then ran up to Three and picked her up in a tight hug, twirling around with her. "Hey, baby sister! You're not going to grow that big, are ya?"

Callie laughed at the display, and at Four's stunned reaction. There weren't many people that could or would dare spin Three around like that. She seemed even more surprised when Three returned the hug with equal vigour, which was worse for Tandi given Three's fitter body.

Raven settled for giving Three an affectionate rub on the head, but the affection she expressed through tuk'yan to her was no less meaningful and Three returned it.

Tandi and Raven Abbeloré were ring sisters, that is they shared a father but had different mothers, making it an epeso family, like Three's had originally been.

An epeso family was an inkling family where an inkyar married more than female. Since epeso families were rare these days, the three of them had bonded immediately over their shared commonality and they'd treated Three like the baby sister they'd never had. When they'd all become anu eelae together, that only cemented their relationship as sisters.

Tandi then went over to Four and started pinching her cheeks. "Ah! She's so adorable! I just want to eat her up!"

As Tandi and Four got acquainted, Callie asked Raven what was in the box.

"You're new dress," she said quietly. "Tandi thought it made more sense to bring it over now since we were coming here anyway. Means you can try it on first thing tomorrow and it gives time to make alterations."

"Ah, right. That's good." Callie had gotten so absorbed in the joyousness of so many reunions that she'd forgotten the looming future.

Floa patted her knee reassuringly. "Don't worry, everything will turn out okay. I've got some good news for Marie too, later."

"I'll believe that when I hear it," Marie said with a sardonic smile. Floa just laughed.

From there, their little get together turned into a genuine party. Callie and Marie nearly burst into tears being able to eat real food for the first time in a while, even if it only amounted to a small portion of their actual meal. Malk tried to comment on their appetites but went silent when he caught Three looking at him.

Callie's mother asked Tandi about her work and she happily described the process of making some of Callie's new garments, and the interesting ideas her octoling interns had incorporating a mix of old Octarian fashion with modern sensibilities.

Tandi had designed most of the Squid Sister's merchandise, even their stage outfits. One of the unspoken heroines behind the scenes who was as responsible for the Squid Sister's success as themselves.

Despite the subject matter relating back to tomorrow's events, Callie felt reassured listening to Tandi describe how inspired the whole team was working on these new projects and all the new ideas they'd come up with. Callie sometimes forgot just how many people worked for her and Marie.

As the party wound down, Callie started to feel the weariness of the day and nod off. Noticing, her mother quieted everyone down and had her and Marie shuffle back to the pool room. Both their mothers, and Three and Four came to help. Floa managed to squeeze herself in as well.

"Take it easy," her mother said gently. "You don't want to pull a muscle before your big day."

"If I'm going to be pulling any muscles it's going to be tomorrow. It's a long walk from the border to the domes."

"The weather is supposed to be better than average," Aunt Silvie said as she helped Marie out of her robes. "You should be able to stay warm if your coat is ready."

Foame chuckled. "A wind whisperer told me the weather's going to be even warmer than people think. The snow will even melt a little."

"Even better news," Callie said, finally stripped and then she carefully lowered herself into the water.

"Speaking of," Marie said, "Care to share what this good news of yours is? Might actually help me sleep."

"It's why I'm here," Floa said with a grin. "Marie, how would you like to move to the Vasilika?"

Marie stopped and stared at her, mantle rippling with surprise. "Seriously?"

"Serious enough that the Archon herself extended the invitation. It's just finished renovations, so there's no problem."

Marie shared a look with her mother then looked back at Floa, confusion and a little wariness showing in her mantle.

"What about my protective custody?"

Floa laughed. "Right, like that's mattered over the last couple of days. Arch-Priestess Tanal went to the Monarch and told her that the Ecclesiarchy would take responsibility for you. How we handle you is none of the government's business at that point."

Marie smirked. "So, basically, we're too much trouble and with Callie leaving, they're handing me off to the Ecclesiarchy to make it seem like they were letting us go anyway, instead of actually giving in to the demands of the Octarians."

Floa pulsed grey. "Does it really matter why if it gives you a home you can actually stand up in?"

Marie considered. "I guess it would be nice, but won't my presence be disruptive?"

"You'll mostly be keeping to the old palace rather than the main temple area. It's nice and big, and not much more than a bit of administrative work happens there. Don't worry about your needs, we've already taken care of it."

Marie frowned, then a yawn forced its way through. "Fine, I would be happy to accept. Give Mother and Nana the details."

Floa flashed green. "I'll do that. I hope it's good enough news for you to rest a little easier. Good night."

Floa left the pool room with Three and Four close behind.

"Make sure you run a few laps to get the kinks out of your bodies before setting down," Aunt Silvie said. "It'll help you sleep."

Taking her advice, they hugged their mothers goodnight then began swimming their laps.

Callie couldn't help but think about tomorrow, but at least she didn't feel as anxious as she did before. Meeting with her family, seeing them all get along well enough to avoid yelling at each other, she felt better about leaving them, even if it wouldn't make her miss them any less.

After they finished their laps, she and Marie rested against the wall, waiting for their bodies to calm down for rest.

"Feeling any better?" Marie asked.

"Yeah, a lot better. Nice that we got to introduce Four to the rest of the family. Seems like Malk's gotten a little bigger too."

"No more mature though," Marie said with a smirk. "You've matured a lot though."

She chuckled. "Me? I just have a lot more responsibilities now than I used to."

"Isn't that all growing up is? You're still the same kid, just buried under more and more responsibilities. After that, your age is just a number. It doesn't determine whether you're a real adult or not, other than physically."

Callie smirked. "And this is the part where you tell me that your mom hasn't been a kid since she was nine."

Marie smiled and pulsed grey. "Well, it's true. I always feel bad for mom that she never got to have a full childhood. Sure, we didn't exactly either, but that was by choice, we were pursuing a dream, not being forced to take on more and more things until…"

Callie frowned, concern appearing in little blotches of dark yellows and oranges in her mantle. "Marie?"

"Nothing, just tired, is all."

Callie grabbed onto both of Marie's arms and forced her to face her. "Marie, I'm leaving tomorrow and I don't know when I'll be able to see you again. If you care about me, if you want me to go as reassured as you can make me, you'll spill, right now, what's bothering you."

Marie's eyes wavered, and Callie saw… shame, regret, even anger before she looked away.

When Marie spoke again, it was in such a quiet and minor voice that Callie could barely hear her. "Don't you think it's enough?"

"What's enough?"

"What we've done, everything we've done. We saved Inkopolis from Octavio, twice; helped the Octarians feel at home in Inkopolis as much as we can, stopped Octavio from getting away a third time, started a dialogue of peace between inklings and octolings, saved the city from a horde of crabs and exposed a conspiracy threatening the whole nation." She flared her tentacles in frustration. "What more do people want from us? How much more do we have to give before people start doing things for themselves?"

Callie frowned. "Marie?"

Her cousin tore herself from her grasp and floated a short distance away. Her mantle glowed dark-red with large blotches of maroon.

"Don't you think we've done more than our fair share? That we've given and sacrificed more? Of solving all these big problems people our age should have no business dealing with? Why are we having to solve all these problems for people when all we got for a reward is suspicion and disrespect?"

She gripped the edge of the pool tightly. "Why can't we get a break? Why can't we just be allowed to live our lives without having to solve a crisis? Why does it always have to be us who has to fix things? I just want to go back to how things were before, worried about our next album, not the next foriegn invasion.

"And what about Three and Four? Four's been estranged from her family, too busy to just enjoy being a teenager; and even though Three has a girlfriend now, she and Eight are both too busy dealing with the same crises we are to have time to date or spend much time together.

"And now you're being forced to go away because even after all the work we did setting up a chance for peace, it falls apart without us. I just don't think I can take it anymore, Callie, I just…"

Callie came up behind her and hugged her. "Shhh, it's okay, Marie, it's going to be okay."

Marie started to sniffle, and Callie could feel her trembling against her. "I just… I just don't think I can handle it without you, Calie. You were always the one pulling us forward through everything. You were the one who wanted to be a pop star, you wanted to sing and dance, to make other people happy."

"And I couldn't have done it without you, Marie." Callie rested her chin in the crook of Marie's neck and nuzzled her. "You were the one who got us out of that toxic agency, you were the one who started our company, and you were the one to always tell me that we could do anything if we could just find a way. Besides, it's not like you didn't love singing, dancing, and acting, Ms. Best New Actress."

"In a movie I was technically too young to be in," Marie reminded her, but there was a hint of wry amusement in her voice now. "Don't think there'll be a sequel now."

"Sure there will, they'll just call it Temptress 2: Supersized."

Marie spun in Callie's grasp and hugged her, slowly wrapping her arms around her and Callie did the same, their enlarged bodies pressing against each other.

"I just don't want you to go," Marie whispered. "It feels like I just got you back."

"I know. I don't want to go either, but I have to."

"But you've already done so much."

"I don't see that as a bad thing." She gently pushed cupped Marie's face in her hands, wiping away the tears with her thumbs. "After all, it's better than feeling powerless in a situation, isn't it? At least this way, we can make a difference, and that's always been your dream, hasn't it, Marie? To make a difference?"

Marie sniffled and flashed green. "But I don't want to give up what we have. We've been so happy up until now; we made so many others happy."

"And we have to keep doing that, but if I can do more, then I will. You're the one who always pushed me to be all I can be. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, Marie."

Marie hiccuped. "Since when did you sound more mature than me?"

Callie giggled and gave Marie a kiss on the cheek. "We all have our moments. Just promise me you'll remember what I said and you won't give me reason to worry about you."

"It's you I'm worried about," Marie grumbled. "You're the one going right into danger."

"I'll be fine. It's no more dangerous than here, really. Just remember that nothing can ever truly separate the Squid Sisters."

Marie nodded. "Never."

"So we'll always be with each other."

Marie gripped her hands, tightly. "Always."

Author's Notes:

Is this the end of the Squid Sisters? That's the question occupying the minds of our heroines too.

This is more of a transition chapter but it's here because it's important to see what's going through the minds of Callie and Marie here and what they're going through mentally and in terms of their relationship. We also get to see more of their family and some of the relationships at play there. Also, I think this is the first time Callie and Marie's fathers appear.