The train swayed gently side to side as it click-clacked down old tracks, passing hills of dried grasses and barren trees. Telephone poles were like fence posts separating the rails and the road that ran alongside. Four's eyes followed the cables up and down as they went by.
Four had spent Saturday collecting herself mentally, trying to contact her parents through ordinary phone means, and mentally preparing herself for what she might encounter once she arrived in her hometown of Little Reef. Her phone calls had gone unanswered and her texts were returned with only vague reassurances. She had a hard time imagining what could have possibly happened to cause this situation, except that it was somehow her fault.
Four wouldn't apologize for the Harvest Moon ball. She'd come in, wore a beautiful dress, and had a wonderful time. She had not done so with any malicious intent, and she would definitely have felt worse had she not worn the dress Callie and Marie had gifted her. Still, she wasn't sure what kind of rippling effects that had actually caused since she had left so abruptly and could only hope that things wouldn't be as bad as she feared.
Four turned around in her seat and checked her phone. Once again, there were no messages.
Four leaned back, letting herself slouch. There were only a handful of people on the railbus, most of them headed to Brunstone, a town past Little Reef known for its hot springs, a popular Sunday destination after congregations. It was still morning, however, and most people wouldn't travel until after lunch.
If things went well at home, she planned to spend the night. If things went poorly, she would leave on the next train, which would return to Inkopolis on time to pick up the first wave of hot springs goers.
Staring at her phone again, Four frowned as it indicated "no connection." Cell reception tended to be spotty in rural Calachora. The area around the train station was the only place in Little Reef where one could reliably get a wireless internet connection.
She put the phone away and stared back out the window, noting the views passing outside were more familiar to her now. She wasn't far.
The interior bell on the railbus rang and the driver called out that they were approaching Little Reef station. Four stood and shouldered her backpack, moving to the door and holding onto one of the poles to hold her stable as the train went around a gentle bend and began to slow.
Little Reef station was little more than a roof over a concrete platform. One had to buy their train ticks at the adjacent post office and the local postman would always be there at the platform to greet the train in case any mail was on board to be delivered. Sure enough, Four could see old postman Genrai waiting, looking noticeably older than the last time Four had seen him not so long ago.
The railbus hissed to a stop and Four disembarked the second the doors opened. Genrai spotted her, his mantle rippling with surprise.
"Tani Highwater! Didn't expect to see you back in town so soon."
Four tried to remain friendly. Genrai had always been one of the nicer people to her. "Was the fallout from the ball that bad?"
Genrai frowned. "The Harvest Ball?" His mantle changed to show concern and confusion. "Ah, 'scuse me, I gotta' get the mail."
His slightly hunched posture straightened and he stepped lively towards the train, picking up the small bag of mail from the railbus driver who gave him a quick salute then closed the railbus' doors before ringing the bell and rolling away. Four was still standing there when he returned. Genrai scratched and let out a reluctant sigh.
"Look, I don't know what's been going on exactly, I've just heard your name and your family's name thrown around a lot lately. I don't really gossip, but a postman hears things."
Four frowned. Hearing her name being thrown around didn't surprise her. It would be stranger if she didn't hear rumors being spread with her involved, but for the other members of the family, that was unusual. Other than Dana, they tended to keep a low profile.
"Thanks, Genrai. See you soon."
"Good luck, kid. Watch yourself, ya' hear?"
"Yeah, I got it."
Four walked away from the platform, checking her corners by instinct as if expecting an ambush. Honestly, the habit didn't seem quite as silly as she might have thought mere moments ago.
The station and post office were at the top of a T-shaped intersection, with the top of the "T" being the connecting road between towns, and the other part forming Main Street. All along both was a mix of houses and small businesses with the latter concentrated in the centre of town.
The largest business in town was the general store, which sold everything from food to hardware for everyone in the County and a little beyond. Four remembered going there frequently where they offered free cookies for children under twelve, usually brightly coloured and in fun shapes. Her house was in the direction she had just come, along the connecting road and then onto a side road.
Although the connecting road was paved, it was bumpy, broken, and full of cracks. It was actually smoother to drive on some of the local gravel roads. Fortunately, walking along it wasn't too bad. It was only a forty-five-minute walk from the station to home. In fact, she could see it once she reached the edge of town.
When her father had proposed to her mother, he promised to build a house for her and he'd made good on that promise, buying the property and then building the house atop the hill, mostly by himself (with a little help from a few close friends), in about the span of a year. This proved himself as an inkyar more than capable of providing for his new mate and the young they would produce together. Needless to say, any boy trying to win the affections of the Highwater daughters had a lot to live up to in terms of masculine prowess.
The house was two stories, with the kitchen, living room, laundry room, and one of the bathrooms on the main floor, with the second bathroom and the bedrooms on the second floor. Just a dozen or so meters away from the house was the detached garage, again built by their father, and behind the house was his workshop, a building completed not too long after she and her twin sister had hatched. That was where her father spent most of his free time, usually fixing things for friends and neighbours, sometimes to earn a little extra money. Yes, Rond Highwater was a quintessential example of the traditional inkyar. To a fault.
Four forced herself to remain calm as she started the walk up the winding driveway, her hearts disobediently beating faster. Would her family be alright? Would she still be welcome? Would her family even still be together? All these questions, and more, plagued her mind as she walked up to the door and, cautiously, walked inside.
She didn't hear a sound. Normally, the lightest footfall would generate a loud creak from the old floorboards. Four distinctly remembered often being caught getting up in the middle of the night, either due to midnight munchies or the call of nature.
Those familiar creeks sounded beneath her feet as she walked cautiously from the front porch into the corridor between the kitchen and living room. Her mother loved cooking and baking so she could often be found there. Her phone and the clock over the kitchen sink both indicated it was 9 O'clock. Her family was generally one of early risers (by inkling standards), so everyone should be up and about.
Four removed her backpack and gently tossed it onto the couch as she walked to the large window facing the backyard. The door to the workshop was slightly ajar, which meant her father was most likely in there, working. Even at this time of year he often had the pedestrian door slightly open to allow some airflow.
So, Pa's here. Where is–.
She heard creaks and the sounds of someone coming down the stairs back in the porch area. Placing herself behind one of the couches, she crouched and waited.
"Ma? You back already?"
Four tensed. She recognized that voice. And so she stood from her crouch as her twin sister, Dana, emerged from the porch area.
Dana wore her tentacles much longer than Four, who had almost always kept hers short. They were pink blending to a darker pink near the tips, giving her a gentler appearance. Her crystal blue eyes hardened as they locked onto Four's own, but Four didn't avert her gaze.
"What are you doing here?" She asked in a low voice, her mantle darkening to red.
"I can't come home?" Four challenged.
"Ma told you to stay away."
"I was worried."
Four heard the back door open in the porch area. Perhaps her father had come in from the workshop.
Scoffing, Dana said. "Typical. You always do your own thing instead of thinking about the family."
Four didn't get a chance to retort as Dana left the living room in a huff, going back to the porch area. That was when her brother came in, staggering out of the way as Dana pushed past him and he uttered a gentle curse.
"Rot, Dana, what's with you this time –, Tani?"
Jezza was the eldest child in the family at sixteen. His eyes were purple while his mantle shared some of the same yellow as her own, but his blended to almost black near the tips of his short tentacles, tied up behind his head in the most popular style.
"Yes, it's me. Ma' was sending me weird messages and wouldn't return my calls so I thought something had happened."
Jezza bit his lower lip, his mantle showing clear signs of apprehension. "Well… I guess you're right to be worried. Things have been kinda'... not great around here."
Four put a hand on her hip, her own mantle rippling with burgundy. "Don't dodge the issue. Just tell me what's been going on. I know it has something to do with what happened at the Harvest Ball."
Jezza averted his gaze, his mantle displaying… pain? That wasn't what Four would have expected. Why would he feel pained?
"Well, only kind of. Um, you haven't gotten into any trouble in Inkopolis, have you?"
Four hesitated. There was the incident with the crabs but that was just this past week. Besides, her family didn't even know she was involved in that.
"No, not really. I mean, you run into things in the big city but that's about it."
"Run into things like… rich stars?"
Four tensed up immediately, unable to prevent her mantle from darkening. Did he mean the Squid Sisters? Did they know she hung out with them outside of the work she did for her cover story?
"I mean… yeah, some do come into the studio, but I don't really deal with them as much since I'm mostly just an errand girl and I'm hardly in the actual studio at all."
"Right…"
Four crossed her arms. "What's going on?"
Before Jezza could answer, the front door opened and Four heard two pairs of footsteps. She had a good guess as to who they belonged to.
Jezza hurried out of the way as her mother emerged from the porch area, a somewhat frantic look in her eyes. Della Highwater had the same blue eyes and pink mantle as Dana, but at the moment, her mantle was full of frenetic patterns and excited colours.
Swallowing a fresh wave of anxiety, Four simply said, "I'm home, Ma."
Her mother dropped the bag of groceries she was carrying and ran to her, trapping Four in a loving hug. For the first time since Four had arrived in Little Reef, she felt a measure of safety, security and welcoming. Those caring arms, which had held her since she'd first emerged into the world, enveloped her, filling her with warmth.
"Welcome home," her mother said softly. It sounded like she really meant it.
"Jezza," she said. "Go get your father. We need to have a family meeting."
Jezza pulsed blue and then headed back to the porch, still grimacing.
Dana picked up the groceries, taking them to the kitchen and starting to put them away. The dark shading of her mantle indicated she was anything but happy. She must have run into their mother on the way out and been forced to come back.
"When did you get here?" Her mother asked.
"Got to the station an hour ago. Old Genrai was givin' me weird looks."
Four felt her mother's mood change through the hug. Her body became stiff and her heart cycle sped up.
"We'll discuss that in a little while. Let's sit down. I made some cookies the other day."
Her mother's baking was always excellent so Four wasn't going to say no. Not long after, Jezza returned with her father, who also gave her a hug. Despite clear apprehensions her parents were at least glad to see her.
As they sat at the kitchen table enjoying cookies, her mother unofficially began the family meeting.
"Tani, why did you come back home? I told you it would be best to stay away."
"Ma', you can't send a weird message like that and expect me not to worry. I had to find out what was going on and nobody was returning my calls, so I came here myself to see what was going on."
Dana flashed maroon. "If we wanted you here we would have said so. Just you being here causes trouble."
"How exactly? Nobody's giving me a straight answer."
A heavy silence hung over the table. Whatever it was, nobody seemed willing to be the first one to say it. Even her mother, the head of the family, seemed reluctant.
"Where did you get that dress?" She asked.
Four crossed her arms and flashed burgundy. "Really? All this is over a dress?"
"That was no ordinary dress, Tani."
"You weren't complaining when I first showed it to you. You weren't complaining when I got home after the ball was over and told you I had a great time. But some people get jealous and it suddenly becomes a problem?"
"That's not the problem!" Her mother's mantle was rippling badly, indicating a high level of distress. Her father and brother had anxious expressions while Dana's was one of contempt.
"Then what is the problem?
"Where did you get that dress?"
"I told you before, it was a gift."
"From who?"
Four hesitated. "That's a secret. I'm not allowed to tell you."
"Tani, I'm your mother."
"I know that, Ma', but I promised to keep it a secret."
Dana mantle flashed with derision. "Yeah, I bet you did. Wouldn't want to implicate your rich squeeze."
"Dana!" Her mother snapped. "Don't use such language."
Four frowned, not understanding. "I mean… yeah, obviously the person who gave me the dress was rich but… it was just a present."
Her mother eyed her and then gently placed her hand on hers. "Sweetie, what worries me is that sometimes gifts, especially expensive gifts, come with strings attached."
Ah, so that's what it is. They think that someone's trying to trap me into some kind of favour. She'd seen it in movies and stuff before where one party granted another gifts and help, making them feel obligated and indebted to them.
"There are no strings attached," she assured them, finally feeling like she could relax a little. "We're friends, we've been friends for a while. She just did it to thank me for the work I did and for my friendship."
"Yeah right," Dana scoffed. "You call yourselves friends? What about the friends you have here?"
Four blinked. "I mean… it's not like I'd just abandon everyone else because I have a friend that's rich –."
"Get a clue, you idiot! You don't have any friends here! You never did!"
Four reeled back from Dana's sudden outburst and her mother gave her a sharp rebuke.
"Dana, do not shout at the table."
"I'm telling her the truth, Ma. You could have avoided a lot of problems if you'd just told her the truth."
Four's hands curled into fists as she fought to keep herself as calm as possible, noting that her mother hadn't actually contradicted Dana's statement. "What truth?"
"That you have no friends," Dana spat. "You never did. You called the people you hung out with your friends but that wasn't true. They are my friends and the only reason they played or talked to you was because I had to drag you around with me wherever I went."
Dana was standing up now, her mantle turning to a royal purple. "I had good grades in school, I was popular, responsible, respected, I made our family look good." Her glare intensified. "You aren't any of those things. Nobody liked you, you barely got passing grades, you've always been irresponsible, not to mention naive and impressionable. Do you really think the person who got you that dress is your friend?"
Four felt as if a dozen knives had been stabbed into her. She had already known that the people in Little Reef she had called friends hadn't really been her friends. It had been made all too clear over the past couple of months. But hearing that coming from Dana seriously hurt. Worse, Dana wasn't speaking to her like a sister, more like a lifelong enemy.
"Nobody seemed to remember that during the Harvest Ball," Jezza said, grinning across the table at Dana.
She glared back at him. "You be quiet. Boys shouldn't talk about things they don't know anything about."
Jezza glared back at her briefly but quickly wilted, his confidence deflating like a bad balloon, but it gave Four the chance to recompose herself and get her emotions under control.
"I've changed," Four said. "Maybe I'm not very smart, maybe I'm not super popular, but I do have friends in Inkopolis, and not just the rich ones. I'd trust them with my life."
Dana, again, flashed a plumb purple with derision. "You really think that you can trust people you've known for, what, a few months, that much? You're still a naive idiot."
"Dana, that's enough," her mother's sharp rebuke finally silenced, bringing her down from her pedestal at last and causing her to sit back down.
Her mother rubbed her hands over her face and addressed Four again. "Tani, we've been hearing things from Inkopolis, and I'm worried about the things you might be getting into. I've heard things that happen to young kids that get involved with celebrities."
Four frowned. "I'm not super involved with the celebrity side, Ma.' They try to save me from all that stuff. That's one of the reasons I have to keep their identity a secret. I just help them with some stuff outside of work and hang out."
"Hang out where?"
"I dunno, sometimes I go to their house, sometimes we go to a new restaurant, sometimes we just go out whenever."
"You sleep over at their house sometimes?" Dana asked. It seemed like an innocent enough question to Four but she wasn't blind to the sudden spike in tension from everyone in the room.
"Sometimes…" she answered cautiously. "Sometimes we lose track of time and I stay in one of the guest rooms because they don't want me trying to go home when it's really late."
"Bet that happens often," Dana mumbled, earning a harsh glare from their mother but no verbal rebuke. Just what was Dana insinuating?
"I don't know what you think is goin' on, but –."
"Aren't you more than just 'friends'." Dana asked. "Pretty sure 'friends' don't buy each other super expensive dresses."
Four's lips pressed together. It was true that they were more than friends, they were anu eelae, true family, but she wasn't about to reveal something that significant to them in this situation. There was no way they would believe its legitimacy. And anyway, what right did Dana have to judge her friends?
"My friends don't care about living up to your standards, Dana. You've no right to judge."
"Oh, defensive all of a sudden? We getting close to the truth?"
"What truth!" Four shouted. "You all keep dodging around what's actually been going on here. Why did you want me to stay away? Why is everyone acting funny around me?"
"Tani!" Her mother snapped. "I just said, no shouting at the table."
Four scowled and her mantle darkened, but she settled down, waiting for what she hoped would be a straight answer.
"It's just…" Her mother hesitated. "It's just that a lot of rumors have started since the Harvest Ball. We just wanted you to stay in Inkopolis until they wore themselves out. That's all."
"More than just rumors," Dana countered. "They're being treated like facts. Honestly, it doesn't sound like they're too far off to me."
"Dana!"
"Well it's true, isn't it?" Dana shouted. "How much longer am I going to have to drag this anchor around with me!" She pointed an accusing finger at Four. "I've had to put up with her being annoying to my friends, about her embarrassing antics, and now I have to deal with my own twin sister being a slag."
"Dana!"
Four blinked, her mantle rippling with a new burst of confusion. All her thoughts were suddenly blown away like dry leaves in a gale. That was what had happened? Rumors started going around about her… selling herself? "What?" Her voice was breathless. It was the only thing she could manage to say with her brain still recovering from shock.
"It's just a rumor," her mother insisted hastily. "You often hear such things happening to country girls who go to the city. It's just imaginations going wild."
"It's not just that," Dana argued. "Someone as unpopular as her, how else could she get that fancy dress in such a short time. There's no other possible way it could have happened."
"Dana!"
Dana flashed a reddish-purple with defiance and stormed out of the kitchen to the porch.
"Dana, come back here!" But Dana ignored their mother's calls and just seconds later, the front door opened and slammed shut.
Four felt like she had been stabbed with an icicle. There was a terrible pain in her chest, all the warmth in her body seemed to have left her, swept away by feelings of shock, anguish, and betrayal. Her own sister believed such terrible rumors, and basically hated her.
Her father, after staying silent all this time, finally spoke. "Tani, we know you've done no such thing. Your reaction should have told Dana the same thing, but she's been carrying a lot of resentment."
"No kidding," Jezza quipped. Their father ignored his remark and continued.
"Your mother and I wanted you to stay in Inkopolis because we didn't want you to hear these things. We didn't want you to be hurt."
Four nodded absently, still reeling from the absolute battering her soul had taken. Her parent's support meant the world to her, but for her own twin sister to turn her back on her, the sister who had brought her along on countless little adventures during their childhood, to realize beyond a doubt that the closeness she thought they had shared was nothing but a lie… it was more than she could bare.
"The next train should arrive in about an hour," her mother said softly. "I think you should go on it." Her gaze fell, her mantle full of regret and sorrow. "I'm sorry."
They were willing to be rid of her so quickly? They didn't even want her help in dispelling these ugly rumors? And what about her mother never answering her calls?
Four felt her spirit sink, and suddenly, she didn't want her mother's hug, she wanted Callie's loving hug, Marie's soothing voice, and Three's reassuring presence, the three people she had come to call family.
Four nodded slowly. "Yeah… I'll go."
It had been a long time since Sevram had seen the offices of the Ministry of Trade so busy. The hallways were lined with boxes of old records and administrators and clerks knelt on the floor sorting countless stacks of data cards. This kind of energy was something the Octarian Empire had been sorely lacking for so long. Now it was the Ministry of Trade, not the army, that was on the frontlines. The additional guards posted in front of Hobber's door seemed to emphasize that as well.
"You can both go right in," one of the black-tentacled guards said, nodding to Dalia.
This was surprising. Traditionally, the bodyguard would be left outside, not officially privy to the sorts of private conversations the members of the Ravalda Imperium tended to have. This seemed like a good omen.
Dalia went ahead of him, gently opening the door. They found Hobber behind his desk, looking sleepless and haggard. His bodyguard, Chana, was massaging his shoulders.
"Your appearance is quite the contrast to what I saw outside the door," Sevram said as he approached the desk. It was perhaps a bit messier than usual but, other than that, things were oddly status quo in the actual office of the Lord of Trade.
Hobber gestured for him to sit down. "We've been working hard. We're going through records and taking inventory. I guess the urgency and necessity of it helps, but the main motivation seems to be us suddenly being at the head of the line. Everyone feels like they're making a difference, and with the army not needing as much administration with the scaling back of operations, we've got a few more hands to help.
"I'm glad to hear things are going well." Sevram brought his voice down. "They are going well, aren't they?"
Hobber sighed and shrugged his tentacles. "I suppose they are going better than they were. We managed to avoid angering the inklings –, in fact they blame themselves for the issue. I assume you already read the report."
"The official one, yes, but I want to know more. Resistance from the old Army faction is intensifying. I hear they're going to start calling themselves 'loyalists' now."
Hobber snorted. "Loyal to who? Octavio? If they were loyal to the Empire, to the people, then they'd be on our side."
Sevram hummed. "I seem to remember one of the Wisdoms saying, 'it's dangerous to believe your own propaganda'. Apparently, the danger isn't just to the individual."
"Noone is more aware of that than my ministry. I've already had one of my takenam clerks physically attacked. Octavia is ordering the army to switch from protecting the border to security in the inner and core domes. They've shut down all but a few outposts." He gave a little half-hearted smile. "I'm actually glad they put all the time, effort, and resources into that surface outpost. It's probably the most valuable asset we have right now, especially with that communications device the inklings gave us."
"I saw that in the report. I think Ida mentioned sending a few technicians to learn what they could from it."
"I'm more interested in the restaurant. I tried to offer an olive branch to Glittermine to discuss this 'Octarian restaurant' the inklings are talking about." He smiled ruefully face. "He blew me off. I hope Octavia can get rid of him."
"Not without possibly radicalizing the rest of his like. Plus, the army might have officially pulled out of the Ravalda, but this new faction will still have plenty of sympathizers and informants among them. She has to move carefully. She has a lot of other things to worry about."
Hobber's expression clouded and he gently pushed Chama's hands away with his tentacles. Sevram felt the tension in the room rise at the same time.
"I have another thing for her to worry about," he said gravely, "something I just told Betanuss but haven't told Octavia yet: the Salmonids are giving us fewer power eggs, barely half what they were before."
Sevram frowned. "Why is that?"
"No idea. Their representative didn't want to tell me. Of course, it's hard to have any kind of conversation with them, but they didn't seem concerned when I told them that with fewer power eggs we wouldn't be able to meet their quota for equipment."
Sevram crossed his arms, frowning deeply. "Why would they be sending us fewer power eggs? Could their own supplies be running low?"
"No, I don't think so. Salmonids are bad at hiding emotions. They'd have shown some urgency or sense of panic, but they seemed business as usual; although, maybe a little more dismissive of us."
Sevram grimaced. "That's not good. We need those power eggs, don't we?"
"We can get by with half now that Octavia has permanently shut down the Octotrooper procurement program. Can't say I'm sorry about that."
"I doubt the High Mother is either. But what if they cut us off entirely?"
"That's something we'd have to ask Bodov about. We'd have to find out if our other infrastructure would be enough without it. We do have reserves but not a lot. Power eggs don't exactly keep for very long. Our food supply will also be reduced but not as bad as it's been in the past."
Sevram shuddered. "I hate the fact that we have to eat those things, even if it's only a very small amount."
Hobber huffed. "I'd like to get us off the stuff entirely so we can eventually weed out the abundance of mutations and barren takenam it causes. If we can get back to working on the surface, we can start farming again. There was that vertical farm idea that came from somewhere in the army, but we don't have the resources to pull it off."
"No arguments there, but if the Salmonids aren't running low and they don't feel an urgent need for our equipment, then what's going on? Historically, they're aren't ones to let up."
"I agree, so I can only assume they're giving the other half of the power eggs to someone else."
Sevram swallowed hard, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. "To who?"
Hobber shook his head and turned his hands up helplessly. "I have no idea. That's what's most frightening. The inklings don't need them."
Sevram stared down at his hands and squeezed his fingers. "Could someone from these 'loyalists' have worked out a separate deal?"
"Unlikely. They'd still have to pick up the power eggs at the same spot. Honestly, I think it's someone else from the outside world, but we can't have any idea who that is because we're stuck down here. It's clear our little bubble of safety isn't going to last much longer, even less than we thought.
"I've given Betanuss instructions to learn about the world beyond Calachora and try to learn more about the geopolitical situation." His tentacles curled. "But I barely understand that, so I'm not sure what I can expect from her. She'll do her best though. Even in the Empire's hayday, foreign relations were never a strong suite."
"Then we'll have to change that. We also have to make sure this new loyalist faction doesn't try to sabotage what we're doing. The inklings are out of patience and maybe the Salmonids are too. Time is running out, and if it does, then even the loyalists will have to choose between submission and death."
Four packed the last of her belongings into the black plastic bag and surveyed her now former bedroom, the room she had shared with Dana for almost her entire life. The bunk beds to the left of the door, the two dressers, the small closet, and the glowing star-shaped stickers that still clung to the ceiling after more than a decade. As far as Four was aware, they still glowed at night.
"Got everything?" Jezza's voice came from the hallway, soft and frail, the voice of someone who felt helpless to change unpleasant events or circumstances around them.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I do. Unless Dana stole some of my stuff again. Eh, whatever, probably not important." She spun the bag as she held it up, about to tie it up.
"Hold up! Ma' and Pa' have some stuff they want to give you before you go."
Four stopped. "Oh… okay."
She shouldered the bag and headed downstairs, back to the kitchen, where her parents were waiting. The smell of fresh baking filled her nostrils, once a scent welcoming her home, now it was the scent of a place she wasn't sure she would ever return to.
Her father handed a small, cylindrical object out to her. "It's a multi-tool," he said. "You can use it around your apartment. They're very handy when you don't have room for a proper tool box."
Four forced a smile and accepted the tool. "Thanks, Pa." She gave him a hug and kissed his cheek. She was nearly as big as he was now. When they met in person again, would she be taller?
She crossed into the kitchen where her mother placed a whole batch of freshly baked cookies into a colourful tin with an envelope taped to the lid. Her mother would often tape things together so that she remembered them. Four frowned when she noticed it.
"What's that, Ma'?"
"It's a letter I want you to give to a matron or a priestess you trust. It explains what we're doing. I'm hoping they will be able to offer you some counseling and advice since you won't be able to see us."
"But I can still call you, right?"
Her mother pushed the tin aside and knelt to wrap her into a hug, her long tentacles draping over her protectively.
"Of course you can, little joy. Call whenever you like."
"Preferably when Dana isn't here," Jezza quipped.
"Don't have to tell me," Four replied with a scowl. Now she could call? What was up with that?
She placed the tool and the tin of cookies into the bag, but she took the letter off and put it into her backpack instead. Only then did she tie up the bag.
"I guess I've got everything." Tears threatened to come out of her eyes but she managed to keep them at bay. "I'll let you know when I get to Inkopolis. Don't worry. I've got some really… really good friends. They'll make sure I'm okay."
Her mother gently caressed her face. "I'm glad you have people you trust. Now, you better get going. You need to get there before the train."
Four flashed green and headed into the porch area.
"Jezza," her father said, "go with her."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," he sighed, and he joined her.
The weather had worsened. The sky above was starting to cloud over, almost a quarter of it turning a light grey, with small patches of dark grey. Rather prophetic. Her worst case scenario had her leaving by the time the next train arrived and now that was what she was doing, but it seemed even worse than what she imagined.
Her parents weren't upset with her; they apparently trusted her. She wanted to tell them so many things about her life in Inkopolis. Even if some things were secret, there was much she could tell. But she'd never had the time. She had come back to Little Reef long enough to learn the situation and say hello, before having to leave again. It all felt like a big waste of time. Regardless of what her parents said, she felt like she was being cut off, and maybe she was.
"So," Jezza spoke up, "are any of your friends cute girls?"
For the first time since she had arrived, the efforts of a genuine smile tugged at the edges of Four's mouth.
"They're all good looking," Four said. "And way out of your league, big brother."
Jezza sulked. "Hey, I know I'm not as handy as Pa', but I don't need you reminding me about that too."
Four felt remorseful, especially as she realized Dana probably called out his inferiority on a daily basis without her there to take most of the abuse.
"Sorry, I was just trying to tease." Her mantle rippled as she tried to think of something else to say. "But even if you're not as handy as Pa', that doesn't mean you don't have any special skills or talents a girl wouldn't like."
His colour brightened and he showed interest. "Like?"
She pulsed blue. "I dunno'. You were good at sports and stuff in school. Pretty hard to stand out with just that I guess."
Jezza's mantle rippled with melancholy. "I know Pa's trying to teach me stuff but I'm just not real good at being a handyman. I don't know what I'm good at. People tell me I'm a hard worker, and that's good, but it hasn't really gotten me anything."
Four understood. Little Reef was a small town and it effectively existed only to serve its existing population and some of the local farmers. Some retired people were moving back to the area from the city but that didn't help Jezza's situation.
"I know a place looking for hard workers," she said. "If you're looking for a job, I might be able to get you in."
Jezza frowned. "You mean, live with you in Inkopolis?"
Four pulsed blue again. "I dunno. It's a possibility. I doubt Pa' would be opposed to you going out and getting a job at your age. Heck, he'd probably be proud of you."
Jezza looked uncertain. "I don't want to move to Inkopolis for just any job."
"It's not any job. Work Detail is a place where you can find out the things you're good at. It might take some time to find it but once you do, you'll know better what direction you want to go in."
He met her eyes again. "You work for them?"
"No, I still work at the studio, but I know people who work for them and I've done... a few odd jobs for them too, but the point is that it's an opportunity and I might be able to get you in. Plus, it would get you away from Dana."
Jezza hummed and stared ahead, thoughtful. He seemed to be considering it seriously. "I'll think about it."
They reached the train station and Jezza held onto Four's plastic bag as she went into the post office to buy her ticket. She found Genrai already behind the counter, sorting out some mail to be sent back to Inkopolis.
"Goin' back already?" He didn't sound surprised.
"Yeah," she replied, trying not to sound spiteful.
"Hmmm, well, I won't ask. Not a good thing when someone comes all this way home and then has to leave right away."
"No," she agreed, accepting her ticket. "You really didn't know?"
He pulsed grey with small spots of melancholy blue. "I try to turn my otoliths off to bad rumors. More often than not, they're either not true or blown out of proportion. So little happens in a town like this that people like to exaggerate."
"They're doing more than exaggerating this time," Four muttered. "Thanks."
"Take care of yourself, youngin'. At least with you being young, you've got plenty of time to turn your life around even if you do get on a bad road."
"I get it. Thanks." Some people just don't get the hint when they should stop talking.
When she came out of the post office she found Jezza on the station platform, staring in the direction of Main Street. There was a small crowd of people approaching them. She recognized them as the kids she used to hang out with. Her former "friends," with Dana in the lead.
Four grimaced. The station was a popular hangout spot because of the internet access and the infrequency of trains. It was her misfortune that they chose now of all times to gather.
"I guess Dana wants to make sure you stay away," Jezza said with a scowl.
"Maybe. She just seemed happy for me to go the first time." Four glanced at the clock mounted on the station platform's roof. The train wouldn't arrive before the mob reached them.
"So?"
Jezza looked at her, confused.
"What are you going to do?"
"Me?"
"Pa' told you to protect me."
"He never said that. He just told me to go with you."
"You know what he meant."
He grimaced and stared back at the mob. "I can't do much against Dana when she's got that many people. Besides, she's a girl so…"
"So what?"
He grunted and looked sideways at her. "So, since she's a girl, I can't exactly talk her out of something, even though I'm older. You ever see Pa; win an argument against Ma'? The mother is the head of the house and Dana sees herself as, like, MiniMa'."
Four sighed, her mantle turning blue with spots of darker blue. "Big brother, I love you, but you're a weenie." He leaned away from her, wide eyed, while she shook her head in disappointment.
"I know that, traditionally, the inkyora is the head of the household and we're bigger and stronger, and that family matters and matters regarding the kids are supposed to be left up to us, but do you think any girl you'd actually want to be with would be the type to want a guy with a rubber band for a back? Some of my friends are the type to pick guys like that out of gaps in their beak." She grabbed his arm and pulled him a little close. "You can do better, you know you can. Don't 'settle,' okay? Otherwise you'll end up like Pa'."
He blinked at her, surprised at her words. Maybe he wasn't used to getting positive reinforcement. She probably didn't expect him to criticize their father either, who was usually praised as the ideal inkyar, but back in Inkopolis, Gyari Trailmaker was considered the epitome of masculinity, and he was the head of his household, with five wives to boot.
She slipped her backpack off and handed it to him. "Hold onto this for a bit."
He accepted the bag and gave her a worried look. "What you gonna' do?"
"Hopefully, I won't have to do anything. Dana's all bark, after all. She's just here to try and get the last word in."
"Don't bet on it," he mumbled.
Dana didn't look any happier to see her than she did. Nor did anyone else in her group for that matter.
"What are you doing here?" Dana demanded.
"Leaving. This is where the train comes. Why? Did you want a good-bye kiss?"
Dana stopped at the base of the ramp and crossed her arms. "You shouldn't have come back in the first place."
Four's mantle turned dark-orange and met Dana's gaze levelly. "A mistake I'm correcting now."
Dana scoffed. "Too bad you can't correct all the other mistakes you made."
Four gritted her beak behind her lips. "I know I made mistakes in the past, Dana, and I know I wasn't the easiest person to have as a sister, but was I really that bad?"
The incredulity on Dana's face and those of many of the others in the group was unmistakable.
"Were you really that bad?" Dana's crystal-blue eyes blazed with fire, her mantle turning dark-red. "Tani, you played with toys that weren't yours, you broke two other kid's bikes that Pa' had to work extra hours to pay to replace, I had to deal with all kinds of teasing from the older kids about having you for a sister, and Ma' always had to deal with the complaints and mockings from the other parents and people in town, calling her an incompetent mother! You want to fix your mistakes? Go back and time and smash your own egg!"
Each point of Dana's argument was a hammerblow to Four's already battered soul. Each one chipped more of her core away, leaving it bleeding shame and regret out into the depths of her being. Had she really been, as bad as she said? If so, then looking back, it was obvious why Dana hated her so much, the way she always kept her at arm's length and did anything she could to get away from her. Four only remembered being excited any time she had a chance to play with someone else that she never noticed everyone's contempt. How could that person and her be the same? How, why had anyone in Inkopolis liked her then? She knew Marie didn't have the highest impression of her at first but –.
Then, a spark lit up inside her, a clash of mind and soul. True, Marie hadn't been particularly impressed at first, but she gave her a chance to prove herself anyway, and seeing her potential, she taught her. Marie, even now, was leagues ahead of her in virtually every category, but never once had she belittled her. If anything, Marie told her how much she needed her and she wanted her to succeed so she trained her, hard. It may have been motivated by her desire to free Callie, but she had cared for Four too. Taking countless hours of her precious free time to instruct her, make her home cooked meals, she even sang her to sleep a few times. Marie had acted like… like a sister, even before they became anu eelae.
And that's when some dead circuit in her brain opened, and the spark from before lit it up as things suddenly became clear. She arrived in Inkopolis as Tani Highwater, a country bumpkin from Little Reef. But she wasn't that same girl anymore, she was Agent 4 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon.
Four's mantle turned to magma, black with brighter spots of very dark red, and she fixed Dana with a furious glare. Everyone seemed startled by her sudden hostile colouring. Tani Highwater would have wilted and run home crying. Agent 4 would not.
"You think you're so perfect, don't you, Dana? I bet Ma' and Pa' always told you that. You always acted different at home than you did when they weren't looking. You say I'm horrible, but despite being in the role of the 'big sister' you never once did anything about it, did you?"
Dana frowned, a little taken aback but stubbornly refusing to be intimidated. "What are you talking about? That was never my job, it was Ma' and Pa's job. Don't try to blame me for –."
"I'm not talking about people's jobs! If I was so bad that I embarrassed you all the time, then why didn't you tell me to behave myself. If I did something wrong, why didn't you tell me how I was wrong, why didn't you try to teach me, try to make me better? I should have memories of you yelling at me for the things that I did wrong and telling me what I should have done instead. But I don't. I have memories of you yelling at me alright, calling me names, but never once – not once, did you ever teach me to do anything else other than what I was doing."
Dana glared back at her, her fortitude somewhat shaken but still standing. "If you were actually smart enough to learn anything, then I might have bothered."
"Oh, I'm smart enough alright." Four's voice was low and rough, not unlike Three's now. "In fact, I'm smart enough to have realized that you never corrected me because you liked the way I was. Gullible, easily manipulated. You loved having someone you could talk into doing just about anything, mostly so you could amuse your friends and let them talk me into doing stupid things for their amusement. You know the two bikes I broke? You never once spoke up to stop me from doing that stupid and dangerous stunt. Both times when we got home and had to explain to Ma' and Pa' why we had to buy someone a new bike, you blamed it all on me, saying you'd gone to the bathroom, even though you were right there." Four let out an ugly growl. "And after I hurt myself from those stunts, you never did anything to try and help me either. You just let me lie there in pain. You didn't care about me at all. And while I was grounded for a month, you were off with your friends, laughing about it the whole time."
Dana's composure broke for a moment, making her look vulnerable for the first time in Four's eyes. She glanced around her, gauging the reactions of her associates before she was able to reign herself back in.
"Don't try to blame that on me because you were too stupid to realize what was going on."
"Oh, I agree. I was stupid, and ignorant and didn't realize what was going on. I didn't realize that my own twin sister was using me as a tool to ensure her popularity, keeping me ignorant so that she would always stand out as the superior sibling. The worse I looked, the better you looked. You didn't care if it badly affected the family, as long as you could shine in spite of that, make yourself look like a hero overcoming bad circumstances."
Four stepped closer, walking down the ramp until she was less than a meter from Dana, who took a nervous step back.
"I bet you were pretty nervous when you found out I decided, on my own, to go to Inkopolis. Honestly, looking back on it now, I'm surprised Ma' and Pa' let me, but maybe they were hoping that Inkopolis would teach me something."
She took another step closer, but Dana, already almost against the crowd, had nowhere to go.
"So I can imagine the kinds of things going through your head when I showed up at the Harvest Moon ball. I bet you expected an amusing show with stupid little Tani at the ball. Instead, you got shown up."
Tani's lips twisted in a cruel smile. "How angry were you, Dana? That you got outshined by the sister you shunned and used." Another step closer. "How scared were you that I'd break this illusion you'd spent your whole life putting together?"
Dana scowled back at her, anger overriding her fear and she shifted forward until their foreheads were almost touching and the two sisters glared into each other's eyes.
"Do you really think I'm as fragile as that? That I'd cave so easily? I knew – we all knew that there was no way to get a dress like that on your own, short of stealing it."
"Or maybe having a rich person using me like you did?" Four's eyes narrowed dangerously, her smile replaced with snarl.
"You're the one responsible for the rumor about me slagging myself out to the rich people who came to the studio I work at. Even if you didn't make it up yourself, you did everything you could to spread it. You didn't care how it made Ma' and Pa' feel, didn't care about how it would affect me, you just wanted to bring me back down beneath your level, because you couldn't stand the idea of looking up at me."
The flash of white mixed with dark orange and dirty yellow in Dana's mantle, along with her wince, told Four all she needed to know. It had been a bluff, albeit with some reasoning behind it, but she had no proof. But the guilty looks on the people behind her gave her all she needed.
"Dana...," Jezza's voice was full of shock and disbelief. "I can't believe it. Even you would go that low?"
Dana's eyes widened, as if she only now remembered that Jezza was there. "Don't believe her! She's making it up! I'm the one who made our family look good. If it wasn't worth it, then Ma' would have stopped me. Don't you think it made her happy when people praised me, said good things about her star child? The only reason she let this slag go to Inkopolis was because she hoped she could finally get rid of her!"
Four gave Dana a firm shove, sending her into the gaggle of gawkers behind her, who managed to catch her. Dana stared back at her, incredulous, not believing that she of all people could have, would have pushed her, and then glared lances at her.
Tani Highwater would have wilted under that stare, not able to bear the thought of doing something to upset her peers, displeasing her sister, who was so amazing and who had accomplished many things, and brought so much recognition to their family. But Agent 4 saw only a petty little tyrant, whose illusion of strength, power, and greatness had been shattered beyond hope, and was no sister of hers.
Dana brought herself back to her feet and stepped closer to her. "You seriously pushed me? Do you actually want to fight me, little sister?"
Four did, she wanted more than anything in the world right then to unleash the pent up storm of emotions whirling within her and turn Dana into a swollen ball of discoloured meat, but she couldn't. That would be against what her true sisters, her elvi'anu, taught her. She wouldn't be like her, she wouldn't be petty and get revenge like that. As Marie had once taught her: 'often, the hardest you can hit someone doesn't involve so much as lifting a finger.'
Four forced herself to calm down, turning her mantle back to its natural yellow-orange and putting on the most neutral expression she could manage. Her eyes, however, remained utterly contemptible. The words that next came out of her mouth were words very few inklings ever uttered, and few would even conceive of saying them. Four met Dana's glare and said, "You're no sister to me, elvi-yan.
There was a long pause as everyone repossessed what they just heard, certainly they hadn't heard correctly, but they had. Horrified gasps came from the crowd, while Dana's mantle and face paled, losing all colour.
"What? Y-you can't. No I… you can't mean that. You can't!"
Was this the first time she had ever heard Dana sound so desperate and helpless? It was as far as Four could remember. It tickled a dark, rarely felt place deep in her soul. Seeing her like that, the helplesses in her fragile voice and horrified face, it felt good.
"You know that declaring someone elvi-yan isn't something that can be said so lightly," Four said sternly. "You haven't been a sister to me since we hatched. As far as I'm concerned, it's just ending the whole…" she searched for the right word, "farce. Blood is the only thing that makes us sisters." She narrowed her eyes. "And that just isn't enough for me anymore."
There was a series of quick rings, indicating the approach of the railbus. At last, she could leave this place. It wasn't home anymore.
Four gave Dana one last glare and then turned around, starting to walk up the ramp.
"Y-you can't," Dana stammered. "You can't do this to me you, you slag!"
Four could sense what was about to happen before Dana took her first step after her.
Well, now it's self-defense.
Already knowing the distance between them, she waited until she heard Dana's second step before she spun around, bending slightly at the knees. Her left hand out, she deflected Dana's punch to the side. Continuing the spin, she brought up her right fist and delivered a right hook to the side of Dana's face, sending her sprawling off the ramp and onto the grassy incline.
"There's your good-bye kiss, Dana. Enjoy it, because it's the only one you'll ever get from me."
She stalked away, reaching the top of the small ramp as the railbus squeaked to a halt. Jezza stood utterly bewildered and numb-looking, but he did hold Four's bags out to her.
"Thanks," she said. "You better run home as soon as I leave."
"Run… home?"
"Before Dana gets there first and tells her version of what happened."
His mantle flashed a bright orange. "R-right. I'll do that. Um… but Tani–,"
"It is what it is. I'm not taking it back. Maybe this will force Dana to become a better person."
As old Genrai left the railbus with the mail, Four stepped on.
"Good luck, big brother. I'll text when I get to Inkopolis."
The doors hissed closed and the railbus' bell rang again as it slowly departed the platform.
Four put her bags down on one of the bench seats, suddenly feeling exhausted, and looked out the window. She saw the crowd of people, who hadn't even participated in what just happened. It seemed like everything was a show to them. A few were helping Dana up but none were pursuing Jezza as he ran along the road back home. He even kept up with the railbus briefly until it picked up speed.
Four slumped onto the seat and slowly curled into a ball, the dam holding back the torrent of emotions finally let go, hitting her like a flood. She sat quietly sobbing quietly to herself the whole way back to Inkopolis.