It wasn't until the 3rd city block she dashed into that Jade finally found a phone booth, and it was only after barging in and picking up the phone that Jade realized she had no cash on her person to actually make a call.

With an annoyed grunt she walked out. How was she supposed to let Lena and Khal know where she was? It wasn't as if she could find a random penny on the sidewalk to help her out, and she had neither the time, the energy or the tools to enter a game of turf war and gain some quick money that way.

As she walked, Jade glanced ahead and noticed a passerby— a sea turtle by the looks of it— approaching with a handbag. As she passed them by, Jade felt the tip of her left foot make contact with something, and a loud thud followed right after. When Jade glanced back, that same passerby was now suddenly on the floor. Their bag had even spilled some of its contents after being dropped.

Crap, had she tripped them up without realizing? A quick glance down at herself showed that the tip of her left foot had tilted outward ever so slightly. But Jade could not recall moving it in such a manner..

"Are you just gonna stand there, you jerk?!" The downed turtle yelled, snapping Jade out of her pondering. She uttered a quick apology and then knelt down to help them gather their things. As she put the items back in the bag, Jade noticed a few coins lying around on the pavement and quickly snatched them before they could be trampled or otherwise lost.

She returned them to the turtle, and after a bout of profuse apologizing, the turtle bid her goodbye and walked off. Yet as she resumed her own walk, Jade felt a small weight on her right hand. She was puzzled to see it closed, as if clutching something tightly. She opened her hand, and her green eyes widened at the sight.

She still had a few of the coins with her. But how? She was certain she gave them all back to that turtle!

Jade glanced around in search of the person, but it seemed like they've already left the area. She had no idea where they could've gone, either.

"Guess they're mine now…" Jade remarked as she stared down at the coins once more. Either she counted them wrong, her eyes played tricks on her, or…

Someone snatched a couple of them while she wasn't looking. Someone very nearby.

Jade spun on her heel and stomped over to the nearest puddle of water she could find. As she peered into it, she came face to face not with her own reflection, but with the mist-like apparition of the salmonling.

"You're welcome," the apparition remarked, its snout morphing into a devious smile.

Jade's eyes narrowed in disapproval. "You didn't have to do that," She replied in her mind before walking through the puddle.

At least now she could make the call she wanted to make earlier.

Jade made her way back to the phone booth and stepped inside, and after slotting the coins into the machine she dialed Khal's number. She pressed the phone to her cheek and listened attentively for it, her impatience growing with every beep until at last she heard a voice on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Khal. Listen, I—"

"There you are!" Khal yelled in relief. "Where did you go? You bailed on us so suddenly, I dunno if it was 'cause of something we did or what."

Jade sighed, her shame-filled gaze fixed on the floor. "Sorry about that. I forgot and.. I didn't think I'd be out for long…"

"You could've told us, at least. Mom would've understood."

But could she have helped? Jade doubted the woman knew enough about her condition—about this recent development— to offer anything more than short-lived comfort.

"I'll.. keep that in mind for next time," was Jade's half-hearted reply.

"You really, really should…" He urged her. The worried tone in which he spoke filled Jade with even more regret at her own behavior. She'd definitely have to make it up to him the first chance she got.

She told him of her current location and ended the call then and there. Not long after, a car skidded to a halt just outside the phone booth. The rear door glass slid down to reveal Khal, with drinks in each hand and flashing Jade a bashful smile as he nudged them at her.

It was enough to lift Jade's mood even a little, as she chuckled softly in response before entering the car and sitting next to Khal. She took one of the drinks in her hand and closed the door. Soon, the car sped off once more.

"So! Did you manage to clear your head?" Lena asked from the driver's seat, eyes fixed on the road as she maneuvered the car through busy streets.

Confusion passed over Jade for a moment before she remembered: That was the excuse she gave to Lena before running off. She hadn't thought much of it back then, and if she were to be honest, then…

"Not really.. but I did get a good nap in, if that helps?"

Lena gave a hum of acknowledgement. "It's a start. But whatever the case, it won't hurt to give me a heads up next time."

"Seriously, do it if you don't wanna see missing posters of you all over the neighborhood," Khal gossiped as he leaned in close. "She can be a bit much when she gets worried."

"Oh? I distinctly recall you acting very worried yourself, young man," Lena chimed in, sending an amused glance at the duo.

"W-well.. I didn't think anything bad happened to her! I-I was just curious about where she was, that's all!" Khal hastily deflected. Jade could tell he was merely trying to downplay his emotions, however.

The girl had been sipping her drink all the while, idly listening to the banter between mother and son. She took a brief pause to chime in, "I dunno, Khal. You didn't exactly sound 'curious' in our call."

"L-let's just say that we both care a lot about your wellbeing, okay?" Khal insisted in a flustered manner.

"Fair enough."

Jade shrugged. "Tell you what; I'll follow you two wherever you choose to go today to make up for earlier. Deal?"

"Very well," Lena accepted with a soft laugh. "I do need to go for groceries soon, and some helping hands will make the process a lot faster for me."

"Aww, do we have to go now?" Khal protested

"Now's as good a time as any. But if you're comfortable waiting another week to get your refill of Mister Munchy chips, then…"

"Nevermind, let's get there already!"

Lena chuckled playfully at that, while Jade could only side-eye the inkboy for how easily he fell for his mother's coercion.

The car turned another corner and continued to make its way through the streets, until eventually it arrived at the trio's destination.

MakoMart, Jade surmised, gave off a markedly serene vibe when not used as a staging ground for splat sports matches. More pleasant— if a bit dull. Something about the place just felt different despite boasting the same gray walls and rows of products she'd seen time and time again.

With no flying projectiles or opponent players to take up her attention, Jade could actually take note of more things that were outside the small arena she was used to navigating. The narrow yet spacious corridors that people could wade through easily, the neatly organized and colorful rows of goods of all kinds, and the white overhead lights casting a soft glow that reached every corner of the place, leaving nothing out of sight. Not unwelcome, but again..

A bit dull for her liking.

To honor her decision from earlier, Jade had taken to assisting Lena in whatever she needed for her shopping trip. She was in the midst of loading some canned food onto their shared shopping cart when she heard the woman softly call out to her. When she looked up to meet her gaze,

"What is it?" Jade wondered as she leaned in closer.

"When you were coming home with.. with that woman… Did something happen on the way? Did she say or do anything that upset Khal?" Lena asked in turn.

The girl didn't know how to answer. While he may not have reacted well to some of the things Nephrys talked about, none of them were aimed at him in particular. With no clear verdict, she settled for a vague, "Not really."

"It's just.. While we were out searching for you, sometimes he seemed.. troubled by something. And he's refused to tell me why every time I asked," Lena explained as she stared at Khal; he was sluggishly picking up various items from the shelf, lips set in a saddened frown.

"Weird. He seemed fine in the car," Jade recalled.

"You don't have to tell me everything that happened last night if you don't want to, but please talk to him," the mother requested, concern evident in her voice. "I don't know enough to help with whatever's been bothering him."

"I'll try to cheer him up," Jade assured her before she went to approach Khal.

The boy did not notice Jade as she came up behind him; whether it was due to feeling distracted or too focused on gathering groceries, she couldn't tell. Either way, a tap on his shoulder was enough to get his attention.

"What's up?" Khal asked as he quickly adopted a more relaxed expression. Far too quick to be considered genuine.

"Just wanted to check on you," Jade responded innocently. "Figured you might get bored around here with no one to talk to."

"Yeah, coming here can get pretty boring sometimes," Khal admitted in turn. "I thought going to a skating park or a go-kart track would've been better, but… can't say no to Mr. Munchy's."

"Pretty sure you can? No need to drop everything just for some chips, dude."

"They are not 'some chips'!" Khal defended, his voice growing more passionate as he continued to speak. "They're an invigorating essence carefully molded to provide the best experience one could ever have with a snack! Their smooth crunchy texture, the delicate mix of salts and spices that explode in your mouth with every bite..~Mmh-mm! Just thinking about 'em is gonna make my mouth water!"

"More like it's gonna light it on fire," Jade remarked, unimpressed with his description. "And make you fatter sooner than you'd realize."

"I'd have to eat whole bags at a time for that to happen, which I don't. Just eating a couple chips usually helps me feel better!"

"'Feel better', huh?" Jade echoed, her face suddenly gaining a pensive expression. "I can see why you'd be itching for some right now…"

He quirked a brow in confusion, but quickly realized what Jade had implied and tried to deflect. "What are you talking about? I'm fine."

"You get moody and sluggish as soon as me or Lena aren't nearby. That is not 'fine'."

"You don't have much room to talk, either," was his weak retort.

"I don't," Jade acknowledged with a sigh. "I guess we both need to be more honest with ourselves, huh?"

"And to take it easy," the boy added glumly. "Not sure how we could get started on either of those though…"

Such comments prompted the inkling girl to spare another glance at her surroundings, at the aisles both near and far and at Lena's cart. It was then that a wonderful idea sprang up in Jade's mind.

She left Khal's side for a moment, only to return with an additional shopping cart and a bag in one hand. She then briefly approached Lena and took a sheet of paper off her hands, splitting it in half before rejoining Khal once more. As she deposited one half of the sheet in his hands, Khal quickly glanced at what was written on it: A list of groceries they still had to acquire. Confused, he turned to Jade for clarification.

"First one to collect half the grocery list wins!" Was the only instruction she gave before rushing off to another aisle. It did little to clear things up for him.

It was only when his mother came up from behind and explained what Jade meant did he understand what was going on: She had challenged him to an impromptu race.

"Jade figured you could use something to lift your spirits. And I figured we could make this trip a little more interesting," Lena finished with an encouraging, yet playful smile. "I'll be cheering you on."

Khal couldn't help but smile back in turn. Hastily, he grabbed ahold of the shopping cart Jade brought, placed all the items he'd already gathered, then ran off to a different aisle. The race was on.

The two friends went about gathering the groceries as quickly and efficiently as they could, each using the methods they felt the most comfortable with; Khal rolled his cart around from aisle to aisle, weaving through crowds of people and picking things off the shelves along the way as he sped by through the corridors.

Jade, on the other hand, shifted into her squid form to slip into the gaps between shelves, then rummaged through the products on them to find what she needed. She would comb through several rows of items, working her way from the bottom shelf all the way to the top. Once she finished with a whole section of shelves, Jade would hop over to the next one nearby and begin the process anew from top to bottom and then back again.

The sight of a squid slithering about in the shelves brought great distress to the jellyfish stationed as security in the store, who scrambled to maintain order and chase after the slippery teen. Jade's antics also garnered annoyed glances from any customers who spotted her.

Khal's eyes constantly scanned the shelves flanking him in search of the groceries he was still missing, and couldn't pay much attention to his other surroundings as a result. As such, he was entirely unprepared for when his cart suddenly collided against something sturdy; the recoil was so great that he lost his balance and tumbled to the floor, bringing the small cart down with him and spilling its contents all around him.

"Gosh, are you OK?!" He heard a lively voice exclaim.

Khal soon found the source of the voice when he sat up: An inkling girl wearing a pink beanie over her head along with square sunglasses that hid her eyes from view. Khal had no idea why someone would wear shades inside a supermarket, but he wouldn't dare ask that aloud. That could come across as rude.

"Yeah. Sorry miss, I didn't look where I was going," Khal apologized.

"No worries! I didn't notice you either, so don't feel bad about it," The older girl reassured while offering a helping hand to Khal.

"That's because you usually don't have to look down," he grimaced. Moments like these made Khal self-conscious about his short stature, even compared to the average inkling.

Khal took the girl's hand to pull himself up, and at once he moved to gather the scattered items. He started with the ones that belonged to the older girl, then focused on the ones he'd taken during the race. He did not count on the older girl to assist him so eagerly, but he wasn't about to complain at a stranger's generosity.

Once he placed the last of the groceries back onto his cart, he wiped a bead of sweat from his brow and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You sure you'll be alright?" He heard her ask, and he gave her a nod before he began to push his cart once again.

"Thanks, miss! Have a good day!" Khal said loudly as he quickly departed toward another section of the store.

She bid him goodbye with a wave and a kind smile. As she resumed her own shopping, however, the girl was left with a nagging thought. "He called me 'Miss'... I don't look that old, do I?"

Jade hopped off a shelf, shifting to her bipedal form in midair before her feet touched the floor in a perfect landing. With a short exhale, she allowed her body to go slack, and gave herself a brief moment of rest. She'd rather not stroke her own ego, but Jade found this little stunt of hers to be a good work-out for her squid form. Maybe she could try it again some other time…

She looked down at the paper bag in her left hand and smiled. Snagging all of these groceries was too easy, even without having to check the aisle signs to ensure she wasn't lost. From here, she only needed to check back with Lena, and then victory would be hers.

As she walked through the aisles, however, noises of shouting reached her ears. She followed the noise until she arrived at an intersection and found Khal in the midst of a squabble with a large pufferfish. Both of them were holding onto a single box of sports bandages, and it seemed as if neither was willing to part with it.

"Sir, if you could just let me—"

"I ain't lettin' you do anythin'! That box is mine!" The pufferfish rudely interrupted.

"I-it's for my mom, she really needs it—"

"Why can't she get it herself, then? Too lazy?"

"Too busy, actually," Jade answered as she approached the pair. "What's going on?"

"There's only one box of this left and we, uh… haven't figured out what to do with it," Khal tried to explain as nicely as possible, though Jade could tell he was holding back any harsher comments.

"No, we have. It's just that this runt doesn't know when to quit," The rude pufferfish said and promptly yanked the box off Khal's hands with a strong tug.

"Hey, I grabbed it first!" Khal protested, but the rude puffer fish was having none of it.

"Tough luck kid," The rude puffer fish said dismissively as he started to move away, "Maybe you could've kept it if you used something other than those noodle arms."

He came to a halt when Jade suddenly grabbed onto his wrist, a stern glare staring back at him . "Give it back."

The pufferfish tried to pull away from her grip, but his eyes widened upon seeing Jade had not budged an inch. When he tried again, Jade pulled him closer, spun around to face him and grabbed the box with her other hand with the intent of prying it off his own.

The two were locked in a fierce tug o' war for the box, with neither willing to yield to the other. Jade pulled with all her might, fingers clinging so tightly and stiffly to the box that it felt as if they would snap off at any moment.

"Just let go already!" The puffer fish shouted in annoyance as he fought Jade's grip, tugging the box towards his side.

"Give it back to him!" Jade shot back in anger, pulling the box back towards her side.

The commotion attracted a few stares, and soon enough a small crowd of onlookers gathered, Lena included among them. The growing attention prompted Khal to glance nervously between the crowd and Jade.

Her grip on his wrist was also getting tighter with every second, to the point of eliciting grunts of discomfort from the puffer fish. His conviction remained stubborn, however, and he refused to let go of the box.

The girl was growing angrier and more annoyed in turn. She so badly wished to teach this fat wretch a lesson for harassing Khal, for acting as if he owned the store. He dared to treat the prize as his just because of so-called strength? She'd show him what true strength looked like.

"Give it back, you thief!"

Instantly and without realizing it, Jade clenched her fingers with such force that her nails punctured the puffer fish's wrist. She then pulled her hand out in one motion, her claws leaving behind deep gashes as they tore through his skin.

His pained yell was enough to snap Jade out of her anger-filled trance. She stared confusedly as he fell to his knees and clutched his injured wrist, the box of bandages having fallen to the floor.

But that wasn't Jade's biggest concern at that moment. It was the sight of her left hand— of the curved, sharp claws that had formed on each of her fingers. The claws of the salmonling.

Quickly, she balled her hand into a fist and put it close to her chest in an attempt to hide the claws. It was then she noticed the small crowd behind her, and among them the worried expressions of Khal and Lena. The stares, the murmurs, the realization of what she'd just done; it was all too much for Jade to stomach.

As tears began to form on her eyes, Jade sprinted away from the aisle, towards the entrance of the store.

Lena's expression grew more determined, and without hesitation she pushed through the bewildered crowd and approached the hurting pufferfish. With deft motions, she tore open the nearby box and pulled out one of the bandages within. Lena proceeded to wrap the cloth around the pufferfish's injured wrist, and pressed it tightly so as to slow down the spread of blood quickly pooling underneath.

She turned her attention toward Khal, and felt her hearts twist into knots at the sight of his distressed face. One she recognized all too well from the times he caused something he didn't mean to and had no idea how to make up for it.

She reached out to place a hand on his shoulder and gently pulled him close.

"Khal, I need you to go check on Jade. I'll tend to this man's wound," Lena ordered gently, hoping her touch and her voice would be enough to calm him.

"And give her a little earful from m—"

WHAM!

A sudden, hard kick in the jaw from Khal silenced the pufferfish then and there. Lena barely noticed the bitter glare he directed at them before he bolted out of the store, ignoring the shocked cries of onlookers as the pufferfish continued to writhe on the floor.

And hidden within the crowd, the girl in shades had bore witness to it all, brows raised and mouth slightly agape. She quietly slipped away from the crowd, and stealthily went after the pair of squid kids.

Jade rushed out the front doors, her legs carrying her as fast as they could. As soon as she entered an alleyway, she took a moment to rest and looked down at her hand. Curved claws were still present on each of her fingers, and for as much as she flexed and shook them and even tapped them against a concrete wall, they would not retract.

"Ugh, what's the matter with you?!" Jade asked frustratedly. This never happened before, it shouldn't have even happened at all. Jade struggled to understand what had come over her; The fish was acting like a jerk, sure, but that was still no excuse to attack him like that. All it took was a single second in which she wished him harm…

Whatever worries she had in the morning began to resurface. It was only her nails this time, but… what if the next sudden change was something more severe? She already caused trouble whenever she lost herself to the glowflies, she could not afford to lose control over her own transformations. Not unless she wanted an instant trip to Grizzco HQ…

"Jade, you okay?" She heard Khal yell from behind her.

When she looked over her shoulder, Jade spotted the approaching boy. Still fretting over her wellbeing as if he wasn't the vulnerable one. As for his question…

"No… but what else is new?"

As Khal approached, he took notice of Jade's clawed fingers before she could hide them once more, and quickly took them in his hands to get a closer look.

"Weird.. I thought you only had claws when you're a salmonling."

"Not anymore, apparently," Jade grumbled. "I don't even know why this happened."

"Well… you've gotten pretty mad because of the salmonid ink sometimes. Maybe this was just another, uh.. episode?" Khal speculated.

"But it's never happened like this. I don't trigger my transformations just by wishing hard about them," She clarified in turn, her voice lowered to a whisper so as to not attract unwanted attention.

"Really? I thought you could do it on command, like our squid forms," He whispered back. If only it were that convenient.

Jade shook her head in response, "Not at all. I need to either be in the light of the full moon or make contact with salmonid ink to go to my salmon form, same thing for when I wanna go back to being an inkling."

"Won't you get splatted by doing that?"

"If I'm hit with too much ink before my body can absorb it, sure. But small doses and a bit of time for it to really seep into my ink sac isn't harmful," she continued to explain. "Mostly."

"And you're worried because neither of those things happened for your claws to show up?" Khal asked once more, to which Jade confirmed with a nod.

Jade sighed tiredly, bringing up her hands to shield her eyes. "I'm sorry. I wanted to wipe the smug grin off that jerk's face, and instead I ended up causing a scene…"

"Jade, it's gonna be fine—"

"Is it? For all we know, this is just the beginning. Other parts of my body could start morphing out of control too, I-I could change without having to do anything, My 'episodes' could get more frequent, I—!"

Suddenly, she was snapped from her ramblings by a strong tug on her wrists. Jade hadn't realized her clawed hands had begun to tremble, or that her breathing sounded so strained. But more surprising was the oddly stern expression her friend now bore.

"Khal…?"

"Keep your hand steady where I'll place it. And don't let go until I say so," He commanded, his voice gentle yet firm. Jade raised a brow at this, but nevertheless allowed him to guide her right hand toward her chest. Right where her hearts were.

"Breathe slowly, over and over. While you do that, close your eyes and listen only to your heartbeat and my voice. Nothing else matters at this moment."

"But—"

"Nothing. Else."

"What's gotten into you?" Jade wondered in her mind even as she heeded his words. This authoritative demeanor, this severity was unlike anything she'd witnessed from the boy, and she could not place where he might've gained such an attitude. Still, she had to trust him on this if he appeared so certain about his current actions.

The girl filled her lungs with lots of air, felt it spread about within her before letting out a long exhale. She listened to the frantic pulsing of her hearts slowing bit by bit. It felt strangely soothing. As if it could subdue the storm of emotions and doubts raging within her, if only for a moment.

But in the back of her mind she could still feel it. The salmon specter looming over her soul, coiling around it, beckoning her toward savage impulses; and the storm raged once again. With a gasp, her body flinched and shuddered once more.

Khal must've noticed it, too, for she felt his other hand be placed upon hers in an attempt to steady it.

"What is it?!" She heard him ask. The answers to that were enough to fill a book, far too many to share all at once. But if she were to trim it down to one, then it would be…

"I don't want to be taken away," Jade whimpered. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I-I don't want to lose control and be stuck as some.. failure."

"But why would you... Is that what's scaring you?" Khal asked softly, to which Jade nodded profusely with her head.

She clung to him tightly even as the rest of her body was wracked with tremors.

"I don't know what to do, Khal. No matter what I try, it always ends the same. Maybe Nephrys was right—"

"Nephrys was stupid."

Her shock surged so suddenly that Jade pulled away from the hug and stared at Khal oddly.

"Being a salmonling doesn't make you a freak, or out of control, or a danger to people."

"But I have brought danger to others.."

"Only because there's always something provoking you!" He shouted in indignation. "Her and Grizzco act like they had a good excuse to capture you, but they don't! I won't let you blame yourself for things other people started!"

Speechless, Jade dared not to turn away from Khal. He was breathing heavily after his little outburst, and took a moment to calm himself before speaking once more.

"I know how it feels when you think you've made a horrible mistake. That guilt and shame eating away at you is suffocating. And even when you try to move on, there's always reminders staring you in the face," Khal continued, his pained gaze set upon Jade's own eyes.

For a moment, the girl wondered what her friend was referring to, but then she remembered

Hanging from the ledge of a ship, Khal's hand the one thing keeping her from falling. His grip, so tight that he unwittingly pulled her glove off and caused the very thing he wished to avoid. A school of salmonids swarming upon her, squared teeth biting down on her exposed wrist. And her life being changed forever because of that.

"You.. you're still hung up on that day, aren't you?" Jade wondered, to which Khal nodded gingerly. She did not need to hear any more words from him, for his shamed expression and slouched posture said enough.

"Khal, you know I don't blame you for what happened," Jade tried to comfort. "You— we had no idea it would come to this."

"Maybe. But no matter what you'd tell me, it wouldn't have changed how I felt back then. Not without some real evidence that what I believed about myself wasn't true," Khal recalled bitterly as he glanced away for a moment. "And I'm sure that whatever I say to comfort you now won't work."

Jade couldn't help but wince at such a declaration. He wasn't wrong, but..

"I mean.. I know I get hung up easily, but I'm not exactly stubborn about stuff."

"Then why are you so scared of proving yourself wrong?"

Jade could only tilt her head in confusion. 'Proving herself wrong?' What did that even mean? Why did he sound so upset by it all?

"Why buy into all those nagging worries that you'll lose and that you're a danger? Just tell them off! Do your best regardless of them, and let your deeds speak for you instead of your fear!"

Rattled, Jade turned her attention away from Khal as she soaked in his words. It sounded selfish, like brazen denial more than anything. As if she could simply pretend there was no risk of her own body rebelling against her. As if people wouldn't bear down on her or even run away the moment she reared her mongrel head—

No. Such reactions were out of her control. She couldn't expect them to look past their fear when she couldn't even let go of her own. The image that had surrounded her other half—Of the violent, ravenous half-breed who knew only destruction— only existed because she allowed outsiders to carve and force that role onto her. And that reputation would only fester if she let things continue as they were now. If she let her fear hold her back from even attempting to keep hold of her own impulses and use them toward something good.

And despite her own doubts about the future, Jade was tired of being afraid. Still…

"How can I be sure whatever I try won't bring any more harm?" She asked, once again looking toward Khal for guidance.

"I.. don't know," the boy answered, "No one's ever really sure of anything. But that doesn't mean we can't hope for the best."

His mouth had curled into a small smile by the time he finished, and Jade's eyes lit up in turn. To hope for the best... An attitude she'd been seriously lacking in recent months. But perhaps that was the key.

Do the best she could with the power she had, regardless of what the future held, and change the perceptions of others and herself in the process.

"If I'm gonna tell my own worries off.. then I want you to tell your blame off, too." Jade requested, lifting Khal's hands away from her own and guiding them toward his own chest, in a similar manner as to what he'd done mere moments ago.

"Huh?"

"You're not responsible for my condition. And you don't have to be ashamed, either."

Khal shook his head. "Jade, you really don't have to—"

"That's what you said, no?!" Jade asked with increased vigor as she gave Khal's hands a squeeze. "C'mon! The least you could do is follow your own advice!"

A series of stammers stumbled out of Khal's lips before Jade shouted once more, "Say it with me! You're not guilty!"

"I.. I'm not guilty! And you're not a danger!" Khal shouted back with a grin.

"I'M NOT A DANGER! AND WE'LL PROVE OURSELVES WRONG IF WE THINK OTHERWISE!"

"WE'LL PROVE ANYONE WRONG IF THEY SAY OTHERWISE!"

"THAT'S RIGHT!"

They continued with phrases and declarations like those for some time, psyching each other up, whooping and hollering, and screaming into the sky as many times as they could. All just to pour out their emotions one after another, and to beat into each other's mantles their respective declarations.

It looked like a strange and nonsensical shouting match to any spectator, but the pair of squid kids couldn't have cared less about who was watching at that moment.

So much shouting soon left them out of breath and gasping for air. While Jade's mouth had curled into a tired smile, Khal still managed to maintain his grin in return. The sight of it was enough to move Jade to tears of happiness, and once more she enveloped the boy in a tight hug.

"Don't ever leave me. Please."

"Never," he answered in a low tone, his fingers squeezing her back so tightly that small creases and wrinkes formed on her vest. Unspoken vows had been exchanged between them.

She would protect his smile with all she had.

And he would strike down anyone who dared to take away hers.

Neither of them realized that an outsider had been listening in on them this whole time.

Near the entrance to the alley, the girl with sunglasses had her back to a wall and stayed out of sight while the teens spoke. She peeked her head out and spared one last glance at the pair, before retreating behind it and slumping down to the ground.

She sighed. Though she was glad to see the boy succeed in comforting the other girl, some of the words exchanged between them gave her pause. How the girl spoke as if she were the strange monster from recent weeks, in particular. But that couldn't be right, inklings don't just suddenly become a whole other species overnight.

Then again, most inklings also aren't capable of, well, whatever happened just now.

Dark green claws had sprouted on the yellow girl's fingers seemingly out of thin air. And earlier, she swore her eyes shifted to a fiery red for a second or two…

"Hang on a second!"

Hastily, the older girl pulled out a small folder and opened it, then peeked at the contents within. There were several printed photos taken from security cams, all showing the salmonling in various angles and situations. In some she could clearly see similar sets of claws and eyes as the ones she saw on the yellow girl just now.

She gasped once the realization hit her.

At once, she whipped out a walkie talkie from her pocket and pressed a button before she spoke into it.

"A1 to Cabin, do you read me? I think I found out how our mystery salmonid's been laying low all this time!" Sunglasses whisper-shouted as she pressed the walkie talkie close to her cheek.

The entity on the other end responded, garbled gibberish blaring through the speaker and obscuring their words from any would-be prying ears. The small earbud on her right ear allowed her to listen to their true words, however. A pout quickly formed on the girl's face by the time they finished.

"Of course it's a good lead! Why would I call you if I didn't have one?" The girl retorted. More gibberish filtered out of the walkie-talkie, and the girl let out an exasperated groan at the other's response.

"Can't you trust me on this even once, 2? Pleeeeease?" The girl pleaded, even putting up a puppy-eyed expression despite how no one was looking.

A brief silence followed, no response coming from the device for several seconds.

A sigh came through the speaker, followed by more gibberish— private words of approval that only served to lift the girl's spirits as she listened.

"Got it! I'll be there in a bit!" She replied before shutting off the device. With nothing more left to do in the area, she shifted into a squid and proceeded to superjump away.

AN

Sorry for taking so long to upload new chapters. I'm not the best at handling my academics + other things at once, so the time waiting between chapters is much longer than the time I spent actually writing them.

This is a direct follow-up to the previous chapter, as they were initially meant to be one instead of two. As such, I believe it will make for a better experience reading them back to back.

I hope these latest chapters have been enjoyable, if nothing else. Goodbye for now, and I wish anyone who reads this a good day.