Inkley shifted awkwardly on the train seat, careful to not knock over his bag, which contained not only two changes of clothes and hygiene items, but also his shooter and its tank. Many of those items also happened to still have splotches of green on them. Jet had taken him back to her apartment to wash up and pack his things, and then they had boarded the train. Of course, she teased him for inking all over. But, despite it all, today had been a great day, and he thoroughly enjoyed the weekend he had spent with Jet. Inkley would have been wearing a dumb grin, were it not for the crumpled note in his pocket. It felt like a brick sat in his stomach.

What could she possibly want? Why me? Should I actually go? These questions and more flew through Inkley's head as the train rode on. This car was practically empty compared to the one they had taken to the plaza, giving both Jet and Inkley their own seats. Jet sat across from Inkley, busily tapping away at her phone, undoubtedly texting Zoom or Synthia. Inkley was, for once, very thankful that Jet was seemingly addicted to her phone, or else she might actually notice how distressed Inkley was.

The quiet ride, at the very least, gave Inkley time to think. He gaze out the window, watching the cityscape of Inkopolis rush by as the train went on, only absent holding his bag from toppling onto the floor. The ride went by much faster than Inkley would have expected, and before he realized, Jet gave him a slap on the shoulder to stir him.

"Hey, Squirt." Jet said. "C'mon. We're here."

Jet and Inkley exited the train, and walked away from the station at a casual pace. The sun was sinking on the horizon now, mostly hidden by the tall buildings of Inkopolis. Inkley finally recognized the area they were in now; they were fairly close his neighborhood. It was just a short walk to his street, in fact. But Jet was in no rush, walking with her hands stuffed into her pockets, looking around absently. Inkley would be lying to himself if he said he was eager to get home. When he got home, he knew time would pass quickly. And then it would be tomorrow, and he would have a choice to make.

Just a few minutes later, however, they were on Inkley's street. For nearly all his life, this street was all Inkley had ever known. Jet led the way down the street, while Inkley followed close behind her, still lugging his heavy bag. A small squid squirmed about in a small kiddie-pool full of ink, and splashed happily as Inkley passed. The squid's father smiled and nodded. Inkley waved at the little squid, who spat a gout of ink and made a delighted noise.

And suddenly, Inkley was home. He slowed down to look at his home. His house wasn't very special. It was a plain, two-story building, with mint-green siding and an black-shingled roof. Jet had the door open by the time Inkley had caught up to her, and he realized that the door wasn't locked. Mom must be home.

"Kids?" A voice called.

"Hi mom!" Both Jet and Inkley called back.

A moment later, a figure familiar to both inklings appeared through the doorway to the left that led to the kitchen. Distinctly feminine, with what one might call a "motherly" build, this inkling was barely an inch shorter than Jet. Her tentacles, tied behind her head and cascading down onto her back, were a deep blue, while her eyes, a striking amber, watched Jet and Inkley welcomingly. She wore an azure, long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of black pants, much baggier than the kind most younger inklings wore. Her feet were bare.

"Hey, kids." Their mother said, a small smile on her face. She looked at Inkley and crossed her arms. "Did you have fun? You're all full up on adventure now, right?" She shifted a hand to her hip. "You're going to spend the rest of your life letting your dear mother take care of you, aren't you?"

Inkley felt heat rise in his cheeks. "It was fun. I can't wait to spend more time at Jet's."

His mother's smile only grew. "After your fifteenth birthday, right?"

"Moooom…."

Both Jet and their mother laughed as Inkley huffed crossed his arms. Both of them always pushed his buttons… Jet gave Inkley a pat on the shoulder, and pushed him towards the stairs on the right side of the hallway.

"Go put your stuff away." She told him.

Inkley sighed, but did as he was told, trotting up the stairs with his bag slung over a shoulder.

"And bring down your dirty clothes!" His mother called after him.

Inkley followed the hall to the end, ignoring the doors on both sides - the bathroom on the left and Jet's old room, now empty, on the right - and opened the door at the end of the hall, on the left side. His room wasn't too big, but it was set up to be as comfy for a boy his age as possible. His bed was to his immediate right, tucked into the corner. Beside it, against the wall, was his desk, with his computer on top of it, and beside that, was a small trash can. The computer was, undoubtedly, the nicest thing Inkley could call his own, and was a joint gift from most of his relatives for his birthday. Tucked into the far right corner was a black dresser, nearly as tall as Inkley with four drawers. On the far side of the room was a window that looked out onto the street. A few feet away from the window, on the left wall, was his closet, with one of its sliding doors open, completely empty, excluding the shelf, which had a single shoebox on it. Next to the closet was a clothes hamper, filled with dirty shirts and shorts. The walls were a muted gray-blue, and relatively clean.

Inkley recalled that, not more than a month ago, the walls were white, unpainted so that his messes as a squid wouldn't stain anything. The room was redecorated in anticipation of his birthday. Speaking of his birthday… Inkley paused to close the door behind him, and, like usual, felt his heart race a bit. Tacked to the inside of his door was a poster of the Squid Sisters. Of course, this was no ordinary poster. The Squid sisters were both wearing bikinis, and in rather risque poses. Inkley had been gifted this, on the side, by an uncle who tried very hard to stay fresh. At the same time, the poster made him want to throw up and excited him. With a familiar knot in his stomach, Inkley was suddenly reminded of Luma…

Very aware of the flutter of his heart and the heat in his cheeks, Inkley shook the thoughts from his head and walked to his closet. He pulled all of the ink-stained clothes from his bag, haphazardly tossing them behind him, but left his shooter in, and set the bag in the closet. He was sure his mother wouldn't go looking through his things. Sliding the door closed, he turned away and remembered he was supposed to bring his clothes down. And they were all still covered in ink. Inkley suddenly panicked, scooped up his dirty clothes, and hurriedly jammed them into the bottom of his clothes hamper. Grunting as he wrapped one arm around the hamper, he opened the door and went to the stairs.

But stopped dead in his tracks when he heard Jet and their mother talking.

"-nothing too hard on him, right?" His mother said.

"No, mom. All we did was hang out. We went to lunch with Zoom and Synthia. Oh! I took him to see the Booyah Base, too."

"The Booyah Base? Jet, there were a bunch of hooligans there today!"

"Could have fooled me. Looked totally normal."

"Oh, come on Jet. I watch the news. I'm not that out of touch."

"Excuse me, for trying to break him out of his shell." If Inkley had to guess, Jet's arms would have been crossed as she delivered this line.

"There's a difference between getting him out of his shell, and overwhelming him."

"Give him more credit than that, mom. You know what happened today? Inkley checked out a girl. I'm pretty sure it's the first time he's ever done that. He even-"

Inkley, deciding this conversation had gone on long enough, moved towards the stairs. "Mom!"

There was a moment of silence. "Yes, dear?"

"Where do you want my clothes?"

"The laundry room, dear."

Inkley didn't even care that his asking made him look like an idiot. He didn't like where the conversation was going. Both Jet and his mother looked somewhat distressed, though Jet tried to dismiss Inkley's curious look by huffing and stuffing her hands into her pockets.

Indeed, Inkley was so focused on trying to read his sister that he missed the bottom step and stumbled. His arms windmilled, and the laundry hamper went flying, spilling dirty clothes all over the hall. Inkley barely managed to catch himself on the wall, but was helpless to watch as his dirty clothes - including his ink-splotched clothes - went on to litter the hall.

"Inkley, are you alright, dear?" His mother asked, passing Jet to move towards him.

"Y-yeah, fine." Inkley replied, hurrying to collect his clothing. And his mother joined him. For a scarce few moments, Inkley thought that maybe she wouldn't notice.

"Inkley… Why are some of these… inked?" His mother asked quietly.

Inkley knew he was blushing. "Um… I-I... " He looked past his mother to see Jet, a horrified look on her face. "I kind of… had an accident at Jet's…" He said, looking away and scratching his arm sheepishly. "I… had the dream again…" He added quietly, his blush only deepening.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Inkley…" She gave a maternal smile, and at once, Inkley felt better. "You clean this up, and I'll go finish dinner." She winked. "We're having spaghetti!" With a peck on the top of Inkley's head, she was gone.

Jet slid up beside Inkley as he cleaned up his mess. "You're the best, you know that?"

Inkley smiled up at her. "Yeah. I know."

Jet snorted with laughter and slapped her brother's shoulder. "Conceited much?" Her tone dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "So, what's this dream?"

"None of your business!" Inkley hissed, his blush returning with a vengeance.

"Oh, was it… that kind of dream?" Jet asked, looking at Inkley expectantly. When she got no answer, she crossed her arms and leaned in with a smirk. "Was it about, I don't know… The Squid Sisters?"

Inkley paused, blinking suddenly. His tentacles went from green to pink in an instant, but he was determined not to give in. "Wh-what..?"

"Oh, come on, Squirt." Jet whispered. "Everyone has a crush on Callie and Marie." She shrugged, and almost offhandedly added "Plus, I saw the poster on your door, when I came to pick you up. Zoom had one, too. I made him get rid of it." She grinned at Inkley. "Mom doesn't know about it, does she?"

Inkley huffed indignantly. "Leave me alone, Jet!" He hissed.

Jet stepped away from Inkley and sighed. "Yeah… You did cover for me.." She chuckled and shrugged again. "I guess I can let you slide."

Inkley turned away from Jet, and continued to pick up his loose clothing. Jet put a hand on his shoulder and pointed to the small table near the front door. Inkley realized a pair of his boxers were on the table, and he hurried to snatch them up before the inevitable teasing ensued. With all his clothes gathered, Inkley shuffled off towards the back of the house, turning to the left at the very end of the hall, into the laundry room.

The washer was on the right side, the dryer on the left. In the far right corner of the room was the door that led to the backyard. The room itself was very bland, with a white wall, white tiles on the floor, and no decoration whatsoever. With a shrug, Inkley set the hamper down and hurried back to the kitchen.

The kitchen was modestly sized, with just enough room for two to stand shoulder-to-shoulder across, but having much more space lengthwise. The walls were plain white and undecorated save for the cabinets on the right, and a single sign on the left that read "Home is where the food is", hanging neatly beside a plain, if broad, wooden cabinet, which Inkley knew was full of canned and other packaged foods. On the right wall was the counter, complete with alcoves for the stove, which was black with a rather shiny finish, and the dishwasher, which was gray with a matte finish. Cabinets hung above the counter, and left plenty of space below it as well. The sink filled the space between the stove and the dishwasher. On the far edge of the counter was the sleek white microwave that Inkley had, until just recently, been barred from touching. Just beside the microwave, tucked next to the counter, was the fridge, shiny-gray, with the refrigerator and freezer splitting the whole thing down the middle. At the far end of the kitchen was a square table, pushed up against the wall, right below the only window in the kitchen. The table was big enough to seat five, with all chairs filled.

Jet was already there, busily routing through the fridge. Their mother multi-tasked, switching between stirring a pot and a saucepan every few seconds. Judging from the smell, dinner was almost ready.

"Inkley, dear, set the table, would you?"

Inkley nodded absently, and went to the cabinet where he knew the plates were kept.

But he paused as he reached up to open it. "Two plates, or three?"

His mother hesitated. "Jet, you're staying for dinner, aren't you?"

Jet shrugged absently as she removed a plastic bottle filled with fizzy brown liquid from the fridge. "Huh? Free food? Yeah."

Inkley's tongue stuck out from the corner of as he concentrated on fishing three plates from the upper cabinet. He set his free hand on the laminated counter-top to balance himself, and after a moment, grinned at his own success as he closed the cabinet and moved to set the plates down on the table. The silverware followed, and Inkley put his fists on his hips and allowed himself to be satisfied.

And not five minutes later, they were sitting around the table, eating. Inkley sat against the right wall, while his mother sat across from him, and Jet sat to his left.

"So, what did you and Jet do over the weekend?" His mother asked, attempting to sound as off-handed as possible.

Inkley took a moment to slurp up the noodles hanging on his chin before answering through a half-full mouth. "We watched a bunch of TV, moshtly." He slurred. After chewing and swallowing, he added "Jet took me to see the Booyah Base, too. That was fun."

Jet grinned, and despite having food in her mouth, chimed in. "Told ya. We had a great time."

Their mother huffed. "Can't you two finish what's in your mouths before you talk?"

Jet's grin only widened. "Oh, come on, mom! We love your cooking, what else can we say?"

Inkley could do little but nod as he continued to eat. He found himself eventually forced out of the conversation as his mother and sister made idle chatter, mostly relating to work and money. They always talk about that. Inkley didn't pay much attention as they talked, and instead finished his food. Suddenly, with a clean plate, he stood.

"May I be excused?" He asked. When his mother gave him a nod, Inkley hurried to the sink, rinsed his plate, set it down, and hurried off towards his room.

As he left, he heard Jet's chair scrape back as she stood. "I should probably get going, actually. I told Zoom I'd…" Her voice trailed off as Inkley went up the stairs.

As Inkley entered his room, he immediately went to his computer and turned it on. After a moment, the screen lit up, and Inkley realized he had a message.

And it was from Brine. "You home yet?"

With just a cursory glance, Inkley could tell the message was a few hours old. Inkley seated himself at his desk, opened the messenger, and typed out a response.

"Yeah. What's up?"

Fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Inkley rested his cheek on his fist, absently watching the monitor.

Ding. "So what happened?"

Inkley blinked at the screen. He straightened his posture. "Jet gave me a Splattershot." He didn't have the heart to add Junior to that.

"Sweet. Can I come over tomorrow and see it?"

Inkley had to think about it. Chances were, his mother would be working tomorrow, but of course, he had plenty to deal with already. "Sorry, I'm busy tomorrow. Maybe the day after?"

"Alright, cool. Talk to you later."

Inkley would have replied, but he knew that Brine was already off doing something else. He spent some time on the web, and after realizing that it had finally gotten dark out, turned off the computer, flipped off the light, and crawled into bed.

He spent a long while simply staring at the ceiling, and, though he scolded himself every time, occasionally stealing a furtive glance at the poster on his door. Eventually, sleep took him.

At length, Inkley woke. He spent a few minutes sprawled out on his bed, staring at the ceiling. With a groan, he sat up, stretching lazily. After a moment, he exhaled and rose from his bed, disrobing and tossing his dirty clothes near where his hamper should have been without a second thought. Approaching his dresser, he opened the top drawer and withdrew a gray shirt. From the second drawer, a pair of black boxers, and the third, black shorts. In just another minute, he was fully dressed and ready to take on the day. Sending a cursory glance out the window, Inkley saw that it was fairly cloudy out. I bet my gills it's gonna rain today.

Inkley yawned as he went downstairs. Shuffling into the kitchen, he saw his mother sitting at the table, sipping from a mug of what he presumed to be tea. She looked up at him and smiled as he entered.

"Good morning, dear." She told him.

"Morning mom." Inkley replied absently, routing through the cabinet for a box of cereal. He poured himself a bowl quickly, dumped a copious amount of milk into it, and fetched himself a spoon.

"You know I'm working today." His mother told him.

Inkley looked to her and nodded, grunting in response as he chewed a spoonful of cereal.

"Alright, sweetie." After a moment, she stood, taking her mug with her. "I'll be going soon."

"'Kay," Inkley said, swallowing his mouthful. "Have a nice day."

His mother smiled down at him. "You too, dear." She leaned down and kissed the top of his head.

Inkley sat down as his mother left the room. He finished his breakfast a few minutes later, and as he exited the kitchen, his mother was at the front door, a messenger bag slung over her shoulder.

"I'm going now. Be safe, have a good day sweetie!"

Inkley waved as she left. He waited several moments after the door closed, and exhaled. He hadn't realized he was holding his breath. He went back up to his room, flopped down on his bed, and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

Time eventually passed. It started raining at noon, and kept going all day. Even half past ten, it still poured. Inkley's mother came home at half past seven. Nothing else had happened. Inkley didn't get any messages. The day was utterly dull, but still, Inkley couldn't help but be excited. As the given time drew near, he got the jitters. Just as Inkley was working up the courage to sneak out, he heard a knock on the door.

"Yes?" He called nervously.

"Inkley, dear, isn't it past your bedtime?" His mother returned, cracking the door to poke her head through.

Inkley swallowed. "Y-yeah, mom. I was just…. I dunno." He gave her a half-hearted smile. "I'll go to sleep now."

"Good night, sweetie."

"Good night…"

And then the door closed again. For a moment, Inkley considered actually going to sleep. Then, Luma appeared in his mind, her confident posture, her expectant stare, her body… Inkley shook the thought from his head, and with a heavy sigh, stood from his bed. He took his bag from the closet, checked to make sure his shooter was still in there, and went to his dresser. Sliding open the second drawer, he dug through his boxers, and fished out the coins he had been told to bring. Looking out the window, he realized it was still pouring. Closing the drawer, he opened the very bottom one, and pulled out a black hoodie. Slipping it on over his head, he flipped the light off and moved towards the window, before realizing something.

He collected his dirty clothes, save for the boxers, wadded them up, and shoved them under his sheets, in hopes that, at a glance, it would look like he was sleeping. Satisfied, he went back to the window, opened it, and looked out. Rain pattered against his tentacles, and he suddenly realized how far up his room was. He pondered for several moments, before deciding the best course of action. He lowered his bag out as far as he could, and tossed it towards the grass. It hit the ground with a hefty splat, but Inkley dearly hoped no one heard it.

Next was Inkley. His heart pounded in his ears as he lowered himself out of the window, and with all his might, pushed off, aiming for the grass beside his bag. In the excitement, Inkley almost forgot to change into a squid to cushion the blow. That would have hurt. The landing still took all the air from him, but just a few seconds after landing, Inkley was up, back in his humanoid form. He shrugged his bag on, pulled his hood up, and cast a furtive glance around. All the lights are off…

With that thought, Inkley took a deep breath and began his first ever rebellion.

The trip to Inkopolis Plaza was nerve-wracking, but uneventful. Inkley could make his way to train station on his own, and the fare was free. He, of course, got a few odd looks, but no one seemed to want to say anything. Though it seemed like forever, Inkley eventually saw the outline of Inkopolis Tower in the night sky. And not long after, the train came to a halt.

Inkley got off the train, the only occupant of the desolate train to get off on this particular stop. He wandered for a bit, following the signs, and found himself staring at the Booyah Base. But the plaza was just as empty as the train. Inkley felt his guts wrench. Where was she? Maybe she was just playing a cruel trick?

"You're late."

Inkley jumped, and quickly spun around. Luma was there, a bag very similar to his thrown over one shoulder. She looked at him, an eyebrow raised, that same expectant look he remembered. She was wearing a dark red hoodie, but her hood was down.

Luma frowned suddenly. "Well?" She asked, putting a fist on her hip. "Why're you late?"

Inkley found that he couldn't meet her eyes. "I-I,uh… had to figure out how to sneak… out."

Luma just shrugged. One of her fingers stabbed towards Inkley's bag. "You bring everything?"

"Yeah." He replied. "Wh-what're we gonna do? Why'd I need money?"

Luma laughed, and Inkley suddenly decided that he liked her laugh very much. "The money's for snacks. Duh. And, what else would you use a shooter for?" Shaking her head, she snatched Inkley's hand, and pulled him towards an alley. "C'mon, we're already late."

Inkley wanted to say something, but found he couldn't. He didn't dare open his mouth for fear of throwing up. He let himself be led into the alley, and after a moment, Luma stopped, and pointed at an open sewer grate.

"This is where we're going." She said.

Inkley blinked. "Wh-what? Why?"

She just grinned at him. "You'll see." She didn't wait for a response, but instead crouched and dug hastily through her bag. She removed a rather plain, but obviously well-cared-for, Splattershot, as well as its tank. She strapped the tank onto her back, and tossed her bag into a nearby dumpster. "Don't worry about your stuff. We all keep our things in there while we're down below."

Inkley was hesitant, but with nothing more than Luma's expectant stare, he found himself following her lead. He tossed his now-empty bag into the dumpster, and looked to her for guidance.

"Now…" Luma gave Inkley a sudden look, one that was flirtatious, excited, even predatory, all at once. "Catch me if you can." And she fell backwards, suddenly transforming into a squid.

Inkley shouted as she fell, but she slipped right through the grate like it wasn't there. He was terrified and thrilled at the same time. After a moment's hesitation, he followed her, reverting to squid form to pass through the grate.

Wind rushed past him as he fell into the darkness. He heard a collection of voices, all excited. And then her's.

"Come on, Inkley…" It was softer than the other voices, but it was one of the most clear things he had ever heard in his life.

With his heart pounding, Inkley fell towards the siren's song.

I want to make this quick. Thank you, everyone who's reading this. This story hit 1,700 views not too long ago. I never expected this to become so popular, so thanks again for reading.