There was a knock on Allan's door, even though it was open. Allan Kidman looked up from his handheld gaming device and saw his brother Edward, standing silently with the screen of his smartphone turned toward Allan so that he could see it. The look on Edward's face already told Allan everything he needed to know before the screen even caught his eye.
"They've announced another concert, haven't they?"
Edward nodded.
"When and where?!" Allan demanded
"I haven't seen yet. I didn't even finish reading. I just came straight to you when I saw it."
Allan and Edward wrestled for a view of the cell phone, and eventually settled their faces side by side. Edward held the phone while Allan scrolled and the two of them read the article in chorus:
"… a fourth concert to be held on the third of November 2016… in… Tokyo."
Their faces fell as though it was one person standing next to a mirror, and they walked into the TV room where they each sat down on a couch. They were silent for a while and Allan spoke up.
"Look at us." He said.
"Which part in particular?" Edward moped
"All of this!" Was Allan's answer. "Everything! When was the last time we were as excited about anything as we were not half a minute ago?"
Edward inhaled and opened his mouth to speak, but remained silent as he suddenly realised he didn't know what he was going to say. He was quiet for a moment and then said "Not once remotely. Not since July."
"Exactly!" Allan said heatedly. "We are in dire need for things to change!"
"Do you think… we have a problem?" Edward ventured.
"Oh, we have a problem, alright!" Allan replied. "We have no lives, no family, no real friends to speak of, we hate our jobs… the only thing that keeps us going is our video games, and just a few months ago we learned one of them was real!"
"I think I know where you're going with this…" Edward began to brighten up.
"We get rid of everything…"
"… We give up our lives as we know it…"
"… We go to the Squid Sisters…"
"… And we start new lives!"
The Gladius Brigade's vessel materialized a few blocks away from the concert venue where they could disengage the cloaking mechanism without being seen. Although the saline ink mixture Dr Akkoro had invented protected the inklings' systems from the side effects of the matter conversion quite effectively, it didn't provide quite as much relief to the humans, whose outer surfaces were far less permeable. Wolfram was slouching uncontrollably, unable to stand without steadying himself on someone or something, and Clarity, who normally seemed to almost float instead of walk, now seemed overwhelmingly human and devoid of all poise. She could not speak without punctuating every third or fourth word with a small gagging noise. This went on for a few minutes until the effects wore off.
The five surveyed the location of their mission, a bustling throng swirling with people headed everywhere from everywhere. Here and there were patches of calm with uncrowded doorways, but they were sectioned off with barricading and guarded by event staff.
"In order for us to get around and search the place more easily, we're going to need a few passes. " Wolfram said before disappearing into the crowd. He made his way into a restroom and entered a stall which he locked behind him. Wolfram jumped into a reality where there was no event scheduled for the venue. He found the place deserted and locked on the outside, with himself moving around freely inside. The reality jumper made his way to a spot parallel to where he recalled seeing a "Staff Only" sign barring the way and when he peeked back into the reality in which his father and uncle were missing, sure enough he saw a box on a table containing staff pass lanyards. He swiped a handful of them before returning to the toilet cubicle from whence he'd disappeared and returned to his party with the words "You're welcome!"
The party was making its way around the outer edge of the crowd inside the concert hall, keeping an eye out for two tall figures with brown hair. The show had not yet begun and everywhere conversations were buzzing with anticipation.
"Everyone, stay together." Candie cautioned. "I'm sure we have more than enough time to find these guys but let's not go losing each other in the proc-… where's Madie?"
Candie looked back and scanned the crowds, and spotted Madie's green and grey tentacles. Her disguise had somehow fallen off in the crowd and she was standing with, and talking to…
"Is that another inkling?" Candie yelled in disbelief.
Clarity shut her eyes and the faintest hint of a frown flashed on her forehead for a split second as she focused. "I sense no inking abilities, so that's obviously a human boy in a very convincing costume."
Candie sighed and stomped toward her second cousin, but as more people poured into the hall, the crowd grew denser and moving through it became a tougher challenge by the minute.
"You look great!" The apparent inkling boy called over the hum of thousands of voices.
"Oh my, thank you!" Madie blushed as she misunderstood the compliment and turned around. "Hey, you're… one of us!" She exclaimed when she saw the stranger who had randomly complimented her appearance. Madie realised her costume had fallen off, but she wasn't fazed as there was another of her kind less than two feet away from her.
"I sure am!" He said and raised a Splattershot he was carrying with him for some reason. "I just love Splatoon!"
"How did you get all the way out here?" The real inkling enquired
"I saved up my allowance and did a paper route until I could afford coach!" The boy straightened his hair and made a weird pose with his weapon. "You can call me… Inknatius!"
"Madie." She returned the courtesy. "How come I haven't seen you in the Turf Wars?"
"My mom only lets me online on weekends! So, Team Callie or Team Marie?" Inknatius asked.
"Marie's my mom!" Madie replied.
"I think I know what you mean!" The cosplayer said dreamily. "Like a role model! I'm more of a Callie fan myself!"
"No, I'm really her daughter!" Madie clarified
"Well, I guess you're not a true fan unless your OC has some crazy backstory, right?" Inknatius took Madie by the arm, gently like someone who didn't want to scare off a new acquaintance, but somehow at the same time firmly, like he was afraid she would disappear if he let her out of his sight for one moment "C'mon! I have to show my friends your costume! They need to see you! This way…"
"Actually I really have to get…" Madie began
"Don't you worry!" Inknatius interrupted her. "We've still got a couple of minutes before the show starts! Now come on!"
He dragged her through the mass, her protests being swallowed up by the surrounding noise. Not a moment after they emerged in a clearing, Candie caught up to them and tackled Inknatius to the floor.
"Take your paws off my cousin, Bonehead!" she growled at him before turning to Madie. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"I couldn't do anything!" Madie pleaded. "He wouldn't let go!"
"Whoa, what's your problem, Lady?" A dazed Inknatius asked as he looked up at Candie, whose disguise had come off in the impact.
"You don't know how much you could be costing us!" Candie hissed at him. "We're on a mission across time and alternate realities to find…"
"Okay, back up." The American interrupted. "You people take this roleplay thing way too seriously."
"That's it!" Candie's eyes flared up and the next moment Inknatius had a pink-purple squid on his face, wildly flailing its tentacles at his head. Seeing someone shapeshift into a brightly coloured cephalopod did not astound him nearly as much as learning there were true inklings in his midst, and as soon as he got his breath back, Inknatius apologised to Candie and Madie and let them back in.
By the time the brigade was finally reassembled about a quarter of the turnout had already entered the hall. Candie eyed Madie angrily as the rest of the throng slowly funneled its way through the gates.
"I hope you're happy," she hissed at her second cousin. "If you hadn't dallied with your boyfriend over there we would have been inside by now."
"I'm sorry, okay? I was just being polite," she defended.
Where their corridor opened up into the auditorium they were notably high above the stage, and they had a good view of the whole venue.
"What do you see, Clarity?" Asked Wolfram.
His cousin scanned the whole venue from left to right using her gift. "No one with powers matching theirs. Either they're not here, or they don't have their powers in this reality," she answered.
"They have to be here," Wolfram said defiantly. "We'll just have to do this the old fashioned way. Everybody start scanning faces."
"But we don't know what we're looking for," Candie protested.
"Of course," Wolfram said taking out his wallet. He opened it and took out an old photograph of his father and uncle and handed it to the Inklings. "They might look a bit younger than this," he said as they took turns looking at the picture and passing it around.
Scanning a place the size of the Makuhari Messe concert hall was no small feat, and it wasn't until well into the show before the group's efforts finally paid off.
"I see them!" Wolfram called out above the bustle and pointed to the side of the hall. Sure enough, Allan and Edward had made their way to the backstage entrance and were talking to the guard. The guard looked around nervously then leaned toward them and said something close to their ears. They handed him some money and he opened the door, letting them through.
"We need to get down there," Clarity said and they started pushing through the crowd to try and pursue the people they have crossed time and oceans to find.
Understandably the closer they came to the stage the more densely packed the crowd became and the more they pushed back. It wasn't long until the team felt nervous and claustrophobic, or as if they were mere seconds away from being squashed or trampled by the overwhelming crowd. Madie's usual cheery mood fizzled out and she began to tremble.
"Madie, what's wrong? That's the Squid Sisters up there! You should be enjoying yourself!" Somehow the group had happened upon Inknatius. Having paid for a VIP ticket he was allowed access to the auditorium through a door closer to the stage and he was enjoying every moment of it.
Madie could only manage a faint whimper.
"Is the crowd getting too much for you? Looks like this is your first concert. Let me teach you a little trick: If you're nervous and you need some air but you can't get past all the people, just do this." Inknatius clambered onto a pair of concert goers next to him, who lifted him up and passed him to the people behind them, who in turn passed him on further. "It's called crowd surfing!" he called to Madie as he glided effortlessly past her head.
Madie desperately pushed herself up by the shoulders of a nearby Callie fan who kindly obliged her and passed her along in the direction she wanted to go.
"You guys have to try this!" Madie said gleefully as she overtook the entire group in a fraction of a second.
"You heard her!" Wolfram said. "Everybody, climb."
Soon the entire Gladius Brigade was swimming in a sea of glow sticks, and thanks to the boy who called himself Inknatius a nervous situation was quickly diffused and for the first time the team of allies were doing something surprisingly close to having fun.
The Brigade was set down safely in front of the door leading backstage. They flashed their passes and the doorman let them through.
"Not bad, eh?" Madie gloated jokingly. "Looks like my 'boyfriend' actually came in handy."
"If you hadn't had your little 'wardrobe malfunction' none of that would have been necessary." Candie snapped.
"Well if you hadn't pulled your little space-time eraser stunt none of this would have happened." Madie retorted.
"I couldn't pull my little my little 'space-time-eraser stunt' thanks to you. If you just left me alone to get it over with-" Candie began.
"Is that what you want? To be left alone so you can remove yourself from the lives of everyone you love?" Madie ranted.
"YES!" Candie shouted. "That's exactly what I want! I want everyone to leave me alone so I can stop messing up their lives! I don't belong! My own father didn't even want me! My mother is a living calamari steak because of me! She can barely make a plate of food! My mere existence is a curse! I've been ruining lives since before I was born! I'm a weed in the garden of life and I can't even pull myself up!" she started running out of words. "I just… don't want to… be anymore! I wish I never was!" she wailed as she sank to her hands and knees, screaming and sobbing uncontrollably as she folded up faced down on the floor.
Madie felt terrible. Wolfram and Clarity were unsure what to do. They felt somewhat awkward watching the tragic inkling girl shake bitterly as her heart had finally broken open. Mo stooped to his knees and raised Candie's head by her chin so her gaze met his.
"It's all right," he said gently. "Everything will be OK. You'll see. We've come this far, keep your chin up. We're almost there. It's just a little farther."
Candie sniffed and brushed the back of her fist across her nose. She slowly came to her feet, feeling not quite better but strangely cleansed. "We should keep going," she said in a creaky voice and the Gladius Brigade continued down the hallway at an increased pace.
"I think I hear our moms' voices!" Madie said as they pounded down the corridor leading to the various backstage rooms. Sure enough, Callie and Marie were faintly audible as they engaged in some pleasant post-concert banter.
"That's where our dads will be heading. We should follow the sound." Clarity said.
The Squid Sisters' voices were joined by a third, male voice.
"Gramps!" they chorused.
"You girls were great. Are you ready to go?"
The three continued their chatter as they left the concert hall and made their way back to the site where Inkopolis Plaza would one day exist, silently followed by the Kidman twins who in turn were followed by the Gladius Brigade. Once their past-version of Akkoro's time machine was set up and they were inside the Kidmans snuck on board as well. The team arrived just in time to witness all this happening.
"We're about to lose them!" Mo said desperately.
Wolfram took a chance. "Wait!" he called, but this only caused the time pilot cousins to panic and they rushed through the process to jump forward in time as quickly as they could. As a result they failed to notice their stowaways until they arrived in Inkopolis.
"There they go." Candie said hopelessly. "Now what?"
"Now we follow them," Mo said with a grin. "Or have you forgotten that we came here with our own time machine?"
He speedily took the time machine from his backpack and set it up in front of them. Once they were all inside their next plan needed to be clarified.
"So, to what year are we headed this time?" Candie asked. We don't know how far forward they've gone."
"Then why don't we go and ask them?" Wolfram suggested. "Set it for the time you came from originally. We'll seek out your parents and ask them when they came back."
"Good idea," Madie said.
"And if we're lucky," Wolfram added, "you may get your end of the bargain sooner than we thought, Candie."