Going home had been awkward for Cal.
Ma hadn't been worried or angry, his returning briefly earlier today saw to that.
She had been curious.
She knows Cal, knows that despite being very independent he always tries to keep her updated.
So as soon as she saw him with that tired expression despite being mostly alright physically, she wanted to know what could've happened that made him not text her at least once.
Now, Cuttlefish hadn't said anything about not telling people. Whether he thought it was just common sense or it slipped his mind is anyone's guess.
It's also a moot point because, as far as Cal is concerned, it is common sense.
He knows that there probably aren't any octoling spies in the city. He's the only person other than Cuttlefish and the sisters that knows what one looks like, even if he hasn't seen any in the flesh yet.
He knows that stealing the Great Zapfish plus a lot of minis is quite different, logistically, then kidnapping someone; especially for a civilization that's way below the poverty line and is likely prioritizing power over everything else.
Lastly, he's only gotten back one mini-zapfish. Cal doesn't think the octarians are gonna escalate that hard yet.
But these are all rationalizations.
Cal doesn't want to risk his Ma, simple as that.
But that means he had to lie to her.
Hiding something from her was easy; he's been doing that his entire life.
Actively lying would've been difficult.
So he didn't.
At first he was quiet. Then, little by little he let her pry a story out of him, helped along by a very filling dinner.
The story contained a lot of facts and not a single lie: starting with him noticing something interesting in an alleyway after getting breakfast and ending with him not injured, but expecting a lot of injuries in the near future.
He more or less knows, as the story's winding down, what conclusions she's coming to. They're very plausible and supported by the fact that when does get involved in something, that something tends to be less than legal.
Cal didn't care about much. But when other inklings pestered him enough or he got bored, his nights ended in improvised turf wars or massive house parties or straight up fistfights (sometimes all three in quick succession).
The picture he painted wasn't business as usual for him, but it was close.
So Ma's reaction was an especially long-suffering sigh, a tight hug and making him promise to be careful, her brown eyes pinning him in place as she asked.
Cal promised.
/
It was barely six in the morning when he found himself in Octo Valley, again in full Hero gear.
Cuttlefish greeted him, frustratingly not looking tired at all and munching on some crab cakes.
Being old had some silver linings, apparently.
"So! Since the octos know that someone is stealing back the zapfishes, they'll have fortified everything to the teeth by now. They don't know which of the domes we'll find first, so that means increased security everywhere. You know what that means, Agent 3?"
The agent had an idea.
"I'm going to get splatted a whole lot?"
The Cap'n gave an approving thumbs up, somehow managing to lean on his cane with his elbow while holding the plate of cakes with his other hand.
"BINGO! They can't afford to lose those fish, so don't expect it to be like yesterday. Fortunately you youngsters have spawn points so it isn't do or die like before, but even then you'll only have so many chances before you actually give up the ghost. Is that clear?
"Crystal."
/
Even with all that, it took him nearly being splatted within a minute of spawning for it to properly sink in. And by basic octotroopers no less.
There had been five or six of them, and they started shooting the instant he showed up. He'd taken hits before he was even off the spawn point, and being disoriented he didn't think to do anything except blindly shoot back those first few seconds. He doesn't know exactly how he managed to get out of it, but he does know that if there had been just one more or if they had shields, he would've been stuck there.
Later, after reaching a lull in the fighting (a portion with just the one octoball that he blew up from range), Cal sits down for a minute and lets Cuttlefish give him suggestions for the next time he runs into that sort of situation: turn into a squid, you'll be a smaller target even if you move slower, throw a bomb while shooting, they might stop shooting for a second…
Of course, both know those wouldn't have worked for this, not in such a small space. But next time he won't get blindsided.