Hello friends, quick update: I'm sorry for not uploading all summer- my parents took away my laptop, so I was only able to write on my phone, which is hard to do. Now that I am back in school, I will try to update once a month, like I promised before. Thank you, and enjoy!
"So, how long is the Captain going to be sitting in the bush for?" Three asked as she took a sip of her coffee.
"Hell if I know," Marie answered, taking a bite of her toast. "She seems paranoid."
It seemed that every three days a new letter from Four would arrive. Since it was the third day since the most recent letter, the Captain had taken extra precautions to see who was really sending the letters. She had taken to hiding in a bush outside the front door to see who would drop off the letter, if there even was going to be a letter.
The other four agents sat around the kitchen table, eating their breakfasts. Three was eating her eggs and toast, Eight had eaten a protein bar, and the Squid Sisters both had a bowl of oatmeal. There wasn't much chatter at the table, as the past few days had been a bore.
That all changed when a letter flew in through the open fireplace in the living room.
With the kitchen adjacent to the living room, the letter flew through the house and landed on the floor, just short of the table. Marie stood up and looked out the window to check and see if Captain was still in the bush. And sure enough, she was.
Three leaned over and picked up the letter off the floor. She unfolded the letter and quickly scanned the contents.
"It's another letter, from Four," she whispered to the rest of the table. "Should we tell the Captain?"
"Absolutely not." Marie whispered firmly. "Read it out loud. Quietly, please."
"Okay."
Three cleared her throat and started to whisper the contents of the letter.
"Dear Squidbeak,
My birthday wish came true! As I am writing this, I am currently sitting in a jail cell, awaiting execution. Turns out you should probably disclose the fact that you are an inkling before taking a nap with a high-ranking female octoling.
Sincerely, Four.
P.S: She was gorgeous, though."
All four girls looked at each other with their mouths agape. Nobody said a word until Eight spoke up.
"Should we, uh, check on Four?" She inquired.
"I think we should, honestly. I'll contact my associates in Terdemais to set up a super jump. That way we can get in and out, hopefully, without the Captain finding out." Marie stated firmly.
"You have associates that can set up illegal super jumps?" Three asked, puzzled.
"I'm Marie of the Squid Sisters," she shrugged. "I have contacts everywhere."
Three mouthed an 'okay' before returning to the eggs on her plate. As Marie pulled out her phone and began dialing, they heard a knock on the door. Callie answered the door, which happened to be the Captain, who was covered in dirt and leaves.
"Yes, Captain?" The purple Squid Sister asked.
"Just wanted to make sure no letters came in through other methods. Anything in there?" Captain asked.
"Nope. Nothing."
"Alright, I'm going back into the bush. Let me know if a letter gets in somehow." The Captain dove back into the bush as she changed into her squid form.
Callie said and reentered the house.
"Good news," Marie said to Callie, trying to remain inconspicuous. "Our, ah, thing, is ready. Whenever we are able, we can do it."
"Then let's do it now," Three exclaimed, before quickly quieting down. "I'm sick of being cooped up in this house."
"How do you think I feel? Come on, let's do it in the backyard."
The four girls went into the backyard and prepared to super jump. They transformed into their squid or octoling forms, and one by one, took off into the sky. The Captain thought she heard a noise, but upon realizing there was nobody around, focused her attention elsewhere.
The super jump lasted less than two minutes. Callie, Marie, and Eight all landed gracefully on the platform, but Three landed in a heap.
"Ooh, rough luck, Three. I always forget you're new to this." Marie said to the downed inkling.
Eight helped pull Three off the ground as the Squid Sisters thanked their associate and began walking away.
In the hills of Terdemais, the four girls scoured the area for any sign of their friend. The only person with knowledge of where Four's hideout is was Four himself, and they had no way of contacting him.
"He is in Terdemais, right?" Eight asked. "Like, we're searching in the right place?"
"Yeah, the Captain told him to go to some specific spot in the "hills outside of Terdemais," those were the Captain's words." Marie answered.
"There's millions of hills outside of Terdemais, we're gonna be here for years!" Three complained.
"Alright, look, we'll split up and search for anything that looks like it could be an entrance to Octo Valley. If you do see something, try to contact us in any way possible. Alright?"
Eight and Three looked at each other confusedly. "How are we supposed to contact you?" Three asked. "There isn't any service out here. Are we supposed to use smoke signals, or something?"
"I don't know, just get in contact with us, any way you can think of! Now go! Go!"
The two young girls scampered off into a cornfield in the distance. Callie and Marie split up and went different directions, attempting to cover more ground. If someone were to come across the group, one might think that they are blind hide and seek players, trying to search an open area. However, none of them are blind, just a bit disillusioned.
They searched for over three hours, finding no leads on the whereabouts of their friend. The four agents reconvened where they started, dead tired and without Agent Four. Marie looked at her fellow agents with tiredness in her eyes.
"Well, this was a total failure," she said, rubbing her eyes. "Let's go back."
"What, you only just now realized that this isn't going to work?" Three complained. "If Four doesn't want to be found, he won't be found!"
Marie rolled her eyes as she began walking back towards the city. Callie, Marie, and Eight quickly followed behind her in silence. Nobody said a word as they approached the city, all of them inwardly upset about their failure.
Some of the locals looked at the four girls with suspicion, as they were all covered in dirt and grime. Marie shot dirty looks at anyone who looked their way, which prevented any nasty comments.
Their contact in the city didn't say a word as Marie handed him a check for an amount that was unknown to the rest of the Squidbeak. As they waited for their time to super jump back to Inkopolis, Callie spoke up.
"At least we had some fun with this adventure," she said with a smile. "It was nice to get out of the house a bit, ya know?"
"I guess, but Captain is gonna be mad when she finds out we were gone." Three said.
"She won't know we were ever gone," Marie piped up. "Provided she's still in the bushes. Anyway, our jump is ready, so we'll find out regardless."
The four girls launched out of Terdemais and flew over the Inkopolis skyline. They landed in their backyard safely, with Three managing to have a perfect landing.
With slight hesitation, the girls entered their house into the kitchen. As they entered, Captain was entering through the front door. Both parties were covered in dirt and grime.
"Where have you lot been!?" Captain demanded.
"We were just outside, Captain. In the forest." Eight answered calmly.
"Well, you ladies better clean up, you look like you just ran through a waterfall of mud!"
"You know, Captain, I think there's a word for that."
"Shut up and shower, dammit!"