#meanwhile Telemachus finally made a friend

[zellybelly]

I can’t even imagine what was going through Ody’s head when he got on Calypso’s island.

He just killed what was left of his men, his brothers in arms, his actual brother (by law but I counts dammit) and his ship

All so he could be the one to make it home

And now he’s stuck on an island, no idea where he is, unable to leave, and no way of getting home even if he was able to

No wonder he sounded so broken at the end there

[iffeelscouldkill]

Adjusting [Part 3: Campbell]

A/N: It liiiives! Here is a long overdue Chapter 3. As compensation for the wait, this chapter is longer than the other two chapters put together :D

I originally drafted this chapter some time ago, but then once I started serialising the fic on AO3, decided that I wanted to rework the middle part. I wound up redrafting most of it over the past few months, and it was a bit of a slog at times, but I'm much, much happier with the final result. A big big thank you once again goes to my wonderfully encouraging beta @dragonsthough101, and to @whelvenwings for writing with me and listening to my Fic Woe and helping me fix That One Section that I was struggling with!

A heads up that this chapter contains some quite heavy conversations about wartime under an oppressive regime, loss and regret. There are no graphic descriptions of violence, just a lot of fairly grim introspection. It probably goes without saying, but I'm not a military veteran myself, so I based all of this on the podcast canon and my own imagination.

Please take care of yourselves, and I hope you all enjoy 💜

---

Summary: It turns out that there isn’t a blueprint for quitting your job, turning your back on the organisation that you’d built your life around, committing treason and abandoning your friends and family to go travel across the galaxy with a band of wanted criminals. Fortunately, RJ now knows some people who have been there.

Or: Five times that RJ McCabe shares a late-night drink with someone on the Iris 2.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Read on AO3

---

About three weeks on from the Iris’ flight from New Jupiter, Sana calls a crew meeting. It isn’t their first by any means, but until now, crew meetings have either been about the division of chores or about pooling information to convey to the resistance movement. This one is different.

“We’re making another stop-off,” she tells the crew once they’re all assembled, Arkady looking half-asleep and disgruntled at the earliness of the hour. “I’ve arranged to meet a… long-time contact of ours. I know that we need to be careful about who we trust outside of the crew on this ship and confirmed members of the anti-IGR resistance, but… he’s a friend. An old friend.”

RJ raises their hand. “Is it Ignatius Campbell?” they ask, feeling like they’re on a quiz show.

Arkady revives slightly and snorts. “Got it in one, kid.”

“Don’t call me that,” RJ shoots back automatically. This is old, well-worn banter between them at this point.

Sana blushes slightly. “Right. I forgot that of course… you and Park know exactly who Campbell is.” She gives them a sidelong look, and RJ suspects that she’s remembering her fractious exchange with Campbell after Elion, and thinking about exactly what they would have heard.

“If it’s any consolation, we’ve been trying to forget about the recordings, too,” Park offers, slightly abashed, as he always is when this subject comes up.

RJ finds it awkward, too, but doesn’t see any point in pretending that they weren’t at one point on very different sides. Or that listening to the recordings from the Rumor wasn’t literally their job. But Park is right – they have been doing their best to forget about those long days and nights spent cooped up in their tiny office, replaying audio over and over. Know thy enemy had practically been RJ’s motto back in those days, but the Rumor crew aren’t their enemies any more. And RJ wants to move on from the person they were back then.

“I’ve spoken to Campbell a couple of times since… Well, since Elion,” Sana continues. “Trying to smooth things over since we-”

“Accused him of backstabbing us?” Arkady volunteers drily.

“To be fair, we really didn’t have any other good theories about what was going on,” Brian puts in. “None of us would have ever jumped to ‘an invisible robot nanoswarm’ as the source of our leak.”

Sana nods. “I know, and Campbell understands that, too. That’s why he’s willing to meet with us, and help us out – with supplies, and with information about the situation on Telemachus as well as some of the other Regime planets.”

“What about payment?” Violet asks. “We’re pretty light on funds at the moment, and we don’t have any cargo to trade either.”

“Campbell has agreed to effectively give us the goods on credit, with the understanding that we’ll pay at a later date,” Sana replies. “We’re also trading a little information in exchange for what he knows. Nothing top-secret, just a bit about the Regime’s movements, to help him keep two steps ahead.”

“And did you ‘barter’ with him to get him to agree to that deal?” Arkady asks, raising her eyebrows in a significant way.

Sana reddens a little, but says with dignity, “I don’t know what you’re implying. But yes, we did haggle for a bit.”

“Nice to hear that you two are back on ‘bartering’ terms,” says Arkady with a smirk.

Krejjh, looking between Arkady and Sana, grins as if Ferin has come early.

Ignoring this, Sana continues, “It’s obviously too dangerous for us to land on any of the IGR planets, so I’ve arranged to meet Campbell on Halton Station, in the Neutral Zone.”

Brian instantly perks up. “Dude! We’re going to Neuzo? Wait, isn’t Halton Station-”

“Where Thasia and Emily Craddock grew up,” Krejjh finishes eagerly.

“Yeah. To be honest, I picked it half because I knew the name, but it happens to be in a particularly convenient location for us, too,” says Sana. “It’s also not that populated, so there’s less chance of us attracting unwanted attention.”

“Does this mean I’ll be able to go outside?” Krejjh asks, practically vibrating with excitement. “Oh, for the gentle caress of the wind! The touch of the ground beneath my feet!”

“I don’t see why not,” Sana says with a smile. “Just try to keep things, uh… low-key?”

Arkady snorts eloquently.

Later on, RJ is on joint kitchen cleaning duty with Violet, who is chatting aimlessly about the rendezvous with Campbell.

“…it’s just going to be Sana, Krejjh and Arkady going out to meet Campbell on Halton Station,” she says. “It’s still not safe for Brian to set foot on Neuzo, and having a huge group would definitely attract unwanted attention. So, I guess we won’t get a chance to meet Campbell this time, unless he comes back to the ship.”

“Is that likely?” asks RJ.

“If things go well between Sana and Campbell, I guess,” Violet says with a small smile. “At least, that’s what Arkady thinks.”

“So, are Sana and Campbell… a couple?” RJ clarifies. Violet laughs a little, moving a dishrag in slow circles over the countertop.

“Not that I know of? My impression from Arkady is that they’ve always been close, but never actually, uh… been romantically involved,” says Violet. “Then, after Elion… well. We didn’t really know who we could trust, and… Campbell was one of the only people who knew about our destination and had our new IDs. Or at least, so we thought.”

“Mmm,” RJ responds, which seems safer than ‘Sorry for being part of the evil government eavesdropping operation that made you paranoid and destroyed your friendships’.

“But now it seems they’re patching things up, so maybe…” Violet smiles brightly. “It would be great if they could make it work.”

“That’s true,” says RJ with as much enthusiasm as they can muster. Romance has never held much of an appeal for RJ – it’s nice for other people, but RJ realised some years ago that they just don’t feel the thing that people have devoted endless poems and novels and movies to, and trying to get invested in other people’s romances feels similarly awkward. But RJ likes Sana, and she deserves to be happy.

Violet, who is sensitive to that sort of thing, seems to pick up on RJ’s train of thought. “Sorry, I realise we might seem a bit… romance-obsessed on this ship sometimes,” she says with an embarrassed smile. “If it gets to be too much… feel free to tell us to knock it off any time, really.”

RJ thinks about working under the IGR, and the way that no-one ever felt safe being themselves. They’ve already started to take this new freedom for granted – but that doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten the way things used to be.

“It’s fine,” they say.

 ---

This time, it’s not unsettling dreams or racing thoughts that are keeping RJ awake. It’s just energy. It’s midnight, but they feel as tense and jittery as though they’ve just downed four mugs of that overbrewed sludge the IGR used to serve employees in the breakroom.

A lot happened during the day. A huge amount of planning went into the rendezvous with Campbell on Halton Station, and even though RJ wasn’t part of the group who went out to meet him, they were involved in every other part of the endeavour.

Halton Station might be in the Neutral Zone, but they’d already established that the IGR was willing to cross huge lines and even violate the Treaty in order to get what it wanted, and the crew of the Iris is wanted on every IGR planet. It’s impossible to be too careful. Park and RJ had advised Sana to the best of their knowledge on steps that the IGR might take to try and survey the area, on the resources that they might try to use.

Meanwhile, Brian and Krejjh – both over the moon at being back on Neuzo, where they first met – had taken it in turns to tell stories about Ryedell Station, where Brian once worked as a bartender alongside his friend Alvy Connors.

Inside the Republic, the Neutral Zone was referenced only sparingly, and always characterised as a den of vice and iniquity. RJ had hardly ever thought about it except to be glad that they’ve never had the misfortune to set foot on any of its stations. But hearing stories about a place where humans and Dwarnians co-existed alongside each other, talking, trading, bartering… It’s made RJ realise just how narrow their world was until recently. And it’s sobering.

Sure, they’ve been watching Dwarnian soap operas, which deal with a completely alien (literally) species and set of cultures – but those are overblown and feel removed from RJ’s day-to-day reality. This doesn't.

So, RJ processes by pottering around the kitchen, making a late-night cup of tea. The light in the kitchen is kind of busted and it only emits a very dim glow – Sana has been swearing that she’ll tackle it once they’ve got the supplies from Campbell, but RJ finds it soothing, particularly at this hour.

It does make them jump, however, when the door suddenly slides open to admit a tall, dark shape.

“Apologies,” says the man, in a rough voice accented with a slight drawl. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Ignatius Campbell,” says RJ in realisation. His voice, though RJ has only ever heard it over comms (and recorded comms at that), is pretty distinctive. Also, process of elimination dictates that there’s only one person this could be.

“The very same,” says Campbell, inclining his head forward. The door slides shut behind him. “And you must be RJ McCabe? I’ve heard a lot about you.”

RJ would like to say something witty like ‘The one and only’, but doesn’t really think they could pull it off. Instead, after a few dumb moments of deliberation, they manage, “You can call me RJ.”

Okay, so maybe they’re more tired than they realised.

Campbell raises his eyebrows a little. “Well, then, you can call me Ignatius.”

RJ doesn’t think so. Even Sana still calls him ‘Campbell’ – well, at least as far as RJ knows. Does his presence on the ship mean that the rendezvous has “gone well” like Violet and Arkady hoped?

The water comes to a boil, and RJ busies themself with pouring it out. “Would you, uh, like some tea?” they ask, mostly out of politeness – Campbell doesn’t really look like the tea type.

“Actually, I was planning on drinking something a bit stronger, if you don’t mind of course,” Campbell says, pulling out a battered metal flask from the pocket of his heavy brown coat. “It’s not moonshine,” he adds, at RJ’s slightly sceptical expression. “Just whiskey. You’re welcome to some, if you want.”

The opening notes of ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ immediately start up in RJ’s head, and they inwardly curse Violet, who has a habit of humming it when she’s nervous. And when she’s happy. And when she’s been spending time with Arkady.

“I’ll pass, but thanks,” says RJ, taking their tea and sitting down with it at the table. Campbell manages to locate a mug and pours his whiskey into it, but stays standing, drinking it slowly and staring into the middle distance. It puts RJ a little on edge, but they force themself to relax and remember that Campbell isn’t a threat.

It’s harder to resist the impulse to run through the collective intelligence that the Intergalactic Republic had on the man known as Ignatius Campbell. Known contact and long-time associate of the crew of the Rumor; expert forger; suspected aliases include Alexander Cole and Jonathan Johnson. Based in Telemachus, but with an extensive network of affiliates and possible connections across multiple galaxies.

As if picking up on their thoughts, Campbell suddenly asks, “You used to work for the IGR, right?”

RJ tenses. “Emphasis on ‘used to’,” they reply.

Campbell waves a hand. “Don’t worry, this isn’t me trying to accuse you of anything. God knows everyone on this ship has stuff in their past they’d rather not go back to – me included,” he says, a little darkly. “No, I was just wondering what kind of intel they might have on me up there. Any good rumours?”

“Most of it was inconclusive,” RJ tells him, but thinks back anyway. It already feels unnatural trying to access the headspace and knowledge that they had while working for the IGR, after going to such pains to put it behind them. “W- They suspected you might have links to the notorious pirate Kim Hoff and her Bald-Cat gang, potentially as a supplier of intel or documentation, but nothing was proven.”

Campbell gives a low chuckle of amusement. “Believe it or not, I’m not the one on this ship with links to Hoff,” he says. “Though I can’t say we’ve never crossed paths.”

In response to RJ’s look of confusion, he elaborates: “She was Brian Jeeter’s thesis advisor.”

“You’re kidding,” says RJ in disbelief.

Campbell lays a hand on his heart. “I swear – you can ask him about it. For all that he might seem mild-mannered and harmless, Brian Jeeter has some interesting connections.”

“I’ve heard about his run-ins with the Dwarnian mafia,” says RJ, partly to show that they aren’t completely uninformed.

“Yeah, that’s another good example,” says Campbell. “There’s a reason why I’ve kept doing business with the Rumor crew all these years: they have some damn good stories to tell.”

RJ snorts in acknowledgement. If it weren’t for the fact that they’ve listened to some of the Rumor crew’s insane exploits (and been present for one or two of them) they wouldn’t have believed half of the stories that they’ve heard since they came aboard the Iris.

Neither of them says anything for a while, and RJ contemplates taking their tea back to their room so that they can carry on thinking. But the prospect is dull and a little claustrophobic, and part of them wants to take this opportunity to find out more about this person who is obviously so important to their crewmates.

“So…” says RJ, and Campbell’s gaze flicks over to them from where he’d been contemplating the cupboards. “What’s got you up so late, drinking whiskey in the kitchen with a total stranger?”

One corner of Campbell’s mouth quirks up. “You’re not a total stranger,” he points out. RJ just raises an eyebrow, and Campbell relents.

“Not sure, really – Sana and I were talking, but then she wanted to crash, and I wasn’t quite ready to sleep yet. Got a bit too much going round in my head.”

RJ nods; in other words, a very similar reason to their own. “So I take it you’re staying the night?”

This immediately makes Campbell flustered, and RJ can’t make out his face very well but they imagine that he’s probably gone red. “I – I mean I am, but I promise that there’s nothing improper- It’s just for the one night. And we’re bunking in separate rooms,” he says in a rush.

RJ snorts and manages to keep from rolling their eyes – just about. “Calm down. I wasn’t trying to imply anything,” they tell Campbell. “I only asked because I’m on breakfast duty tomorrow morning, so I wanted to know how many people I’d be cooking for.”

“Oh.”

“Also, ‘improper’? What millennium is this, again?”

Campbell coughs, and says with the air of someone trying to pull the conversation back on track, “So – what about you? What has you up in the kitchen past midnight?”

RJ sips their tea, stalling for time as they try to decide how much to say about what has been keeping them awake. They settle on,

“I guess I’m… learning a lot about the universe that I never had the chance to before. Working for the… for the IGR, you’re told that only you have access to the real facts about everything – Dwarnians, the war, the upper limits of science and space exploration – and that anyone who tells you differently is lying or trying to confuse you. I prided myself,” they stress, bitterly, “on the thoroughness of my research. On having all the information. Now I realise just how little I really knew.”

Campbell nods, slowly. “All repressive governments control their people’s access to information,” he says. “The better to make sure that no-one gets any ideas of their own.”

“Yeah, I know,” says RJ, a little wearily. “I’m not under any illusions about what the IGR really is. Not anymore.”

“But you were,” Campbell points out. “Sure, maybe there were things you could’ve questioned and didn’t. There are also folks up at the top of the whole operation who have access to all the information and make a very different choice with it. At the end of the day, you still thought for yourself when it counted. You got out.”

RJ eyes Campbell warily. “I’m not fishing for reassurance here,” they tell him. “You don’t have to make me feel better.”

Campbell holds up his hands in apology. “I know,” he says. “It just sounded to me like maybe you were being a little harsh on yourself.”

RJ shakes their head and searches for the right words. “When I joined up with the Rumor crew on New Jupiter, it wasn’t some heroic stand,” they say eventually, quietly. “It was a strategic decision I made to survive. If I’d stayed where I was, I would have been killed on sight.”

“The crew of this ship knows a thing or two about survival,” Campbell tells them. “They’re not all on some grand moral crusade.”

RJ knows that Arkady worked as a guard for the IGR, that Violet used to be a government scientist, that Krejjh fought in the war on the Dwarnian side. But on nights like these, the gap between their experiences still feels vast.

The others, they all have this bond, a camaraderie forged from venturing out into the deepest parts of space, from facing near-death experiences and defying the Regime side by side. RJ might have tagged along at the end, but they don’t have that history. They haven’t earned that bond, yet.

RJ realises that Campbell is still watching them – considering, almost. Their first instinct is to break eye contact and look away, but instead they meet his gaze, raising their chin slightly. RJ thinks they see Campbell’s mouth twitch into a small smile.

“You know that I served in the military,” he says suddenly. It isn’t a question.

“Yes,” RJ replies cautiously.

“Do you want to know why I left?”

“Uh…”

RJ is well aware that Campbell fought in the war. They vividly recall the argument with Sana where Campbell angrily spoke about losing ninety percent of his first unit. RJ remembers listening to that exchange in their cramped office with Park, and looking over at him, wanting to ask for more information. But Park’s brow had been furrowed, his expression dark as he stared down at the wood of the desk, and the question died on RJ’s lips.

Park had fought in the war, too.

RJ doesn’t feel like they have a right to Campbell’s story any more than Park’s, but apparently, he's offering. “If you’re… okay with telling me,” they say uncertainly, pressing their mug between their palms until it’s a little painful. “I’m… sure it was nothing good.”

Campbell gives a short nod, his expression grim.

“I enlisted in the military in 2178, two years before the coup,” he says. “My first unit, they were… a really good group of people. Some of the best I’ve known. When the coup took place in 2180, we were excited. The old government had left the military drastically under-funded and over-stretched. The Regime promised better funding, better resources, more troops – of course, they accomplished that via the Mandate, but they made that seem like a great thing. A stable career path; an opportunity for everyone who was able to “serve the human race”. As they put it.”

RJ nods slowly. “I know. They’re pretty big on teaching that as part of the history of the Republic,” they say. “‘How the Intergalactic Republic transformed our military’.”

“Yeah, well, I experienced it first-hand. And for about a year, everything was as promised. But then my unit got word that we were being redeployed to the Dwarnian stronghold of Nreech-shlegga.”

RJ frowns. “As in… the Battle of Nreech-shlegga?”

“The very same,” Campbell confirmed. “But this was years before that battle. We were told that it was a small outpost, largely unmanned – an opportunity to score an early victory over the Dwarnians and make an incursion into their territory.”

RJ feels a sick sinking feeling, and unconsciously grips the edge of the table with one hand. “What happened?” they almost whisper, although they know the answer.

“On the basis of the briefing we were given, we stormed the stronghold,” Campbell says, and RJ suspects that he might not really have heard their question, lost in the memory. He’s not looking at them anymore, staring down at his mug, but he doesn’t drink from it. “Of course, Nreech-slegga was the exact opposite of what we'd been led to believe – it was an extremely well-defended military stronghold. My entire unit, barring myself and six others, was wiped out in less than an hour.”

Campbell is silent. RJ breathes out quietly, trying not to interrupt his thoughts by drawing attention to themself. Their throat is dry, but they’ve drunk all of their tea and daren’t move to make some more.

Several long minutes later, Campbell shakes himself a little, seeming to come back into the present. “Sorry,” he apologises gruffly, taking a swig of whiskey.

“Don’t apologise,” RJ says quickly, and then clamps their mouth shut, in case they sounded overly familiar. But Campbell nods, and they think they see his lips quirk upward slightly.

“What did you do… after?” RJ ventures, after another long moment of silence. They hate to pry, but they’re still not clear on why Campbell decided to tell them this in the first place. Maybe he’s not sure anymore either.

Campbell nods again, once, as if agreeing to something inside his head. He meets RJ’s eyes again. “Would you believe me if I told you that I defected from the military?”

“Of course,” RJ says immediately. “After what they did to your unit? Your superiors must have known the reality of the situation, but they withheld crucial intel. It cost the lives of dozens of good soldiers.”

“I notice you haven’t considered for a moment that the IGR might have had a good reason for giving those orders,” Campbell points out. He sounds amused.

“I—” RJ falters. “I mean. How could they have?”

People died needlessly, they want to say. But they know that while they were on the IGR’s payroll, they came across all kinds of evidence of similar incidents and found ways to rationalise them, to explain away the devastating loss of human life. Like the planet where the inhabitants were left to starve without aid after their food supply was consumed by ants – because of “improper paperwork” and “budgetary concerns”. Or the fate of the original Iris, in which an entire crew had been murdered in order to silence one man.

Why had it taken RJ so long to see the Regime for what it really was?

Because it’s easy to make excuses, to explain things away, when it’s not your life on the line, RJ’s brain supplies. When you’re not the one they’re coming for.

“If you see any of the Rumor crew, or Agents McCabe or Park, shoot to kill.”

Until you are.

“You’re right,” Campbell says, and RJ stares at him for a few seconds, having lost the thread of their conversation. Their head feels heavy and over-full, their mind whirling. “My superiors had perfect intel on the situation in Nreech-slegga and knew the full extent of its defences, but they lied to us because they wanted to test the Dwarnians’ response times on their own territory. We were just cannon fodder to them.”

The phrase rings a bell in RJ’s mind – they remember him using the same words to Sana in ‘Report 6: Parallel’. They nod mutely.

“But in the wake of The Nreech-Slegga Disaster, as it became known – though only among the troops, as official reports of the incident were largely suppressed – they told us that they’d been fed false intel by double agents working for the Dwarnian Federation. They even used it as an excuse to purge a few members of the rank and file who’d fallen out of favour.

“I could tell something was off about it all – if the Dwarnian counter-intelligence efforts were so effective, why tip their hand so obviously? Why waste them on eliminating a single ground unit? But at the time, I couldn’t envision a life for myself outside of the military. And I was afraid to follow that train of logic any further, for fear of where it might lead me. So I stayed enlisted – for three more years.”

“Three… years?” RJ echoes in shock. “But…”

“Why would I stay?” Campbell finishes for them. “It takes a lot of guts to choose a different path to the one you’re on, to leave behind everything you know. I didn’t have them, then.” He stares off into the middle distance, mug held loosely in one hand. “A lot of people who fought in the war didn’t really believe in the Regime’s cause. They had their own reasons, and I told myself I had mine.”

Campbell raises his mug to drink from it again, and then – evidently finding it empty – picks up his flask and drinks directly from there instead. “But I spent a hell of a lot of time regretting those three years.” His voice is a low, bitter growl, almost too low to hear.

A more profound silence descends this time, and RJ isn’t sure how to break it. Their instinctive response to hearing how Campbell lost his first unit had been to assume that he would have left the military and refused to serve under the regime that caused the deaths of his comrades – just as many people would question why RJ had stayed and continued to work for the IGR after Park was taken away. 

Like Campbell said, at the time, they thought they had their reasons. It's only in hindsight that those reasons become a lot harder to justify.

It takes a lot of guts to choose a different path to the one you're on, Campbell had said. RJ can't find it in them yet to think of their decision to turn against the IGR as something that took "guts". 

But no matter how adrift they've been feeling since then, they also haven't regretted it for a moment.

“Apologies,” says Campbell abruptly, and RJ looks up from toying with their mug, surprised. “I probably shouldn’t have dropped all of this on you at once. It’s just been… on my mind, what with the renewed crackdowns from the Regime, and skirmishes breaking out everywhere…”

RJ’s stomach turns over. They knew that there were protests on Telemachus, and a couple of the other large planets as well, the ones that were harder to control. But they hadn’t realised it had broken out into all-out fighting.

They realise that Campbell is still looking at them, and try to force their mind back to the subject at hand. “No, it’s fine – it actually helped. Uh, it’s nice to hear…” They trail off, not sure if it would be presumptuous to say, ‘a story similar to mine’. RJ isn’t a war veteran. It’s not the same thing at all. “That is, I uh, really appreciate you… trusting me with this.” There.

Campbell gives them a slight smile, and then ventures, “I’m not sure how well it’ll go with the aftertaste of whiskey, but… can I take you up on that tea?”

“Oh! Sure!” RJ jumps to their feet so quickly they almost upset their chair. They do their best to cover it up by holding the box of tea out to Campbell, who raises his eyebrows. “What kind would you like?”

“Uh… Why don’t you choose,” Campbell suggests.

“Oh, if you’re sure…” RJ looks down at the tea, wondering what kind would be appropriate to give a former-soldier-turned-forger after a heavy conversation about serving under an oppressive regime. They decide to go for vanilla and honey.

As RJ is busy boiling the water again, making another cup for themself at the same time, they realise that Campbell never actually told them how he came to leave the military. They wonder if it would be pushing it to ask him, or whether it would be best to leave the topic alone.

They procrastinate by pouring out the water, then finding a spoon to stir the tea with. “You can leave it in for as long as you want to – three minutes is usually a good amount of time,” they tell him, handing over the mug and the spoon.

“Thanks,” says Campbell appreciatively. “It smells good.”

“You’re welcome.” RJ goes back to pour out their second cup of jasmine green tea. Campbell gives a little chuckle to himself, and RJ looks over, curious.

“Oh, it’s just – I realised that after all that, I never finished my story,” Campbell explains. “But uh, I’m sure you’re sick of hearing-”

“Actually, I was wondering-” RJ begins, and then stops awkwardly. “Uh. That is. I’d like to hear the last part?”

“All right then,” says Campbell. His manner is a little more relaxed than before, and RJ senses that this part of the story is easier for Campbell to tell. 

“I served in the military for three more years,” he says, “after the Nreech-Slegga Disaster. I rose up the ranks a little bit – but not that much. I wasn’t great at taking my superiors’ orders without question, especially when they were irrational, stupid orders. A lot of soldiers who started out below me on the pecking order quickly got promoted ahead. But that was fine – I never wanted to be in command. I knew there was all sorts of corruption in the upper ranks of the force – bribery, dirty deals, a comfortable life lived on military funds.

“But the breaking point really came when I was put into a situation that reminded me vividly of the Nreech-Slegga Disaster – a campaign where we were given almost no information about the situation on the ground, and were ordered to go in, guns blazing, and mount an attack. I refused to lead my men in blind – I demanded more information from the officers in command. And when they ordered me to go ahead with the offensive regardless… I left. I couldn’t watch it happen again.”

“Where did you go?” RJ asks.

“I disappeared,” Campbell says simply. “I had an old friend I’d never completely severed ties with who had links to the criminal underworld. Not, uh, Sana,” he adds quickly. “We met later. I went underground with a new identity, and set about methodically erasing every trace of my former life. Officially, I’m listed as Killed in Action during the offensive that I refused to participate in. I honed my skills as a forger at the same time.”

“Did you have, uh…” RJ realises partway through asking the question that it might be an uncomfortable subject – well, another uncomfortable subject. “…family? You don’t have to answer that,” they add awkwardly, but Campbell is nodding.

“My parents had passed away, but I had a brother I’m close to. I wasn’t able to make contact for several years. But now I… see him, occasionally. And his kids, my nephews.” He says the last part softly.

“That must be nice,” RJ says without thinking, and then flushes when Campbell looks at them quizzically. “Um, that is…”

At that moment, the door slides open and a voice says, “Hey, I woke up and I wasn’t sure where you’d – oh! RJ, sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

Sana stands framed in the doorway, wearing loose sleeping clothes, her hair twisted into a side braid. Because she’s Sana, rather than being embarrassed or discomfited, she immediately shifts into Concern Mode. “Is everything all right?” She looks between the two of them, obviously curious as to how they came to be talking in the kitchen.

“Hey, Sana. Everything’s fine, we were… just having tea,” RJ says.

“I think mine’s vanilla and honey,” Campbell adds, lifting his mug. Sana seems tickled by this, grinning broadly.

“All right, well I’ll leave you both to it, if you’d prefer – I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No, it’s okay–” RJ says, at the same time as Campbell begins, “Actually, I’d be happy to come back to–”

They both stop, and RJ presses their lips together in amusement and then stands. “I’m gonna head back to my room. It was… really nice talking to you, Mr. Campbell.”

Campbell gives an exasperated huff at being called ‘Mister’, which makes RJ smile. “Likewise,” he says.

“Goodnight, then, RJ,” says Sana, standing to one side so that RJ can get past her. “Don’t be afraid to come and knock if you still can’t sleep.”

RJ nods, though they have no intention of doing anything of the sort. “I will. Oh, and Campbell?”

“Yes?”

“Do you like eggs?”

This throws Campbell for a loop. “Do I… like eggs?”

“For breakfast tomorrow. Sana said there would be some eggs in the supplies we were getting, so I figured I’d make eggs.”

Campbell laughs a little with surprise. “Sure. I’ll eat pretty much anything.”

“Great.” RJ looks back at Campbell. “See you at breakfast.”

What they really mean is:

Thank you.

[agent-7-at-your-service]

Future Plot: Syer’s Rebellion - Chapter 11 (Part 2)

((Sandra, Pyrrhus, Telemachus  Kitzeh, James and Market Splatoon, and President Howe belongs to me

Camille belongs to @inklingleesquidly

Nebula belongs to @agenttwo and @myzzy

Marina and Wish belong to @inklingleesquidly@agenttwo and @myzzy; designs are made by @teamuntyblue  / @ryan-sign-guy

Vix belongs to @teamuntyblue / @ryan-sign-guy

Beaker Jr belongs to @askvincent and @scrushling

Emerald and Sapphire belong to @son-of-joy and @twelvetailedkitsune

Suzy belongs to @son-of-joy

Mysteeri belongs to @dreadangel

Celeste belongs to @alpinesquid ))

((Insert opening: https://youtu.be/IBF9XEsnvJI ))

Last time on Syer's Rebellion:

Sandra and friends splitting up one more time to help the Revolution the East. Sandra and James lead their forces into Operation Fisher's Net, surrounding Washington D.C., the U.S. Capitol.

During that operation, James trains some recruits in Valley Forge while Sandra continues it by starting a battle in Yorktown. With a victory there and a complete wipeout of the decommissioned Angels of America, it sent a message to Howe's Administration that the Revolution has reached their Capital. A final battle has yet to come and conclude this.

Washington D.C., United State of America - Time Unknown

The victory over Yorktown brought the U.S. Legislators' attention to the Revolution that's now at their doorsteps. For the new three days, all the states are now in favor of Syer's Rebellion; Washington D.C. is the only territory left under President Howe's controls. Policies passed by Howe's Administration to keep the people in a Steampunk culture and under strict rule has been defied to the point of being immediately nullified.

All the Splat-Coats, Loyalists, and Inkmatons were rallied to the Capitol of the United States, asking citizens still loyal to President Howe to find sanctuary her district. This was the final act that President Howe has planned as it causes a split in the Splat-Coat faction. And without the German Ambassador who was captured in Yorktown and returned to his home country, and without the Angels of America that President Howe decommissioned, Howe has no other force that can help retaliate against the revolutionary forces.

Evelyn Howe thought that if she brought the classes below government to a technologically inferior state, she would've limited progress that would've threatened large businesses. In the end, the Steampunk movement innovated and invented machines and tools that lead to Howe's idea to blow up in her face.

As for the policies that targeted populations from Inkopolis, Japan and banning brand from there, it was a way to keep Inkopolis from intervening with the revolution. She knew Agent 7 and the Great Barrier Reef Treaty Organization and their global views, and she knew too well what they would do if they saw what Howe was doing to her people.

As for the rest of the policies, they were authorized by her, but in a way that destroyed her reputation with the people.

All she can do is make one more Presidential Speech to what's left of her country.

Meanwhile...

((At this point of the chapter, Story is narrated by Sandra))

So James, Marina Squidly, Wish, and Elizabeth arrived days later after my siege of Yorktown. James was very impressed by the way I reenacted the battle that gave the U.S. her freedom from an empire. He said I deserve a medal of honor for having this victory. Marina and Wish provided me information about the mapping Washington D.C. to help take the Capital. Beaker and Vix were exploring Yorktown and collecting some souvenirs.

James and I had Henri send a letter to everyone in the Eastern Theatre to rally at Virginia's State Capital, Richmond, in a building called the St. John's Church. Marina and Wish informed us that a famous American spoke some great words here. James sort of knew already, but I didn't. The rest of Market Splatoon -- Elizabeth, Henri, and Abraham -- were in Philadelphia with a new member named Lot; they were with a few commanders there to revitalize a declaration and a constitution for James's Rebellion.

Callie, Nebula, Mysteeri, Pyrrhus, Emerald, and Sapphire arrived; Vix and Beaker arrived later. Suzy was in Mississippi, informing us that she's making sure no loyalist tried to provide President Howe a counter-offensive. Telemachus, Kitzeh, and Celeste were still holding the sea blockade but were willing to send a few smaller ships and carrier into the Potomac River to prevent escapes of any kind.

Then there was Jamal, the lagoon triggerfish from Hawaii who was governor of the islands. James and I actually have no idea why the governor of Hawaii would come all this way to see us. It was only when he arrived late at night that he explained.

Everyone at the St. John's Church including our available generals were having a conversation about the final battle that'll come. And Jamal just burst into the room, doors slammed open with the light shining over him.

It was like 9:00 PM at the time.

"Sir Jamal!" James addressed.

"Governor Jamal, Commander-in-Chief." Jamal walks across the aisles and sits down at a table reserved for him. "My apologies for being late, I should've taken the airships rather than automobiles."

"So why'd you come all this way?" I asked.

"I here to claim candidacy to the President role," Jamal began, "And I'm sure there will be others seeking that role too. Once with revolution is over, and President Howe and her Administration are impeached and punished, our government will have to work from scratch again as either a democracy or a republic."

There was some muttering among the generals and some of my friends. I can see Camille roll her eyes in boredom. Vix just stood there looking out somewhere, probably having no idea what's going on. Pyrrhus was joking with Beaker jr. about how Jamal might be some "Benjamin Franklin" but I don't see the similarities.

James was -- well -- sort of unsure if he should accept Jamal claim to Presidency as a candidate. I've only met Jamal once and known him a nice fishman, but I couldn't picture him as a president to replace President Howe.

Minutes later, my brother came up with a reply.

"We revolution will accept this," he said, "Under the condition that you help repeal everything President Howe and her administration has passed."

Jamal gave a nod.

Hours later, Jamal has asked me and James to come with him on a stroll in a park across from the church. Our conversation started off with him quote a speech.

"I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death," he quoted.

"Patrick Henry, 1775," James guessed.

"You are correct, Mr. Syer." Jamal the stopped and sighed before giving a comment. "It's not like you to be leading this revolution, James. That's why I offered to take the presidency as a candidate."

"With all respect, Governor Jamal, but I have to do what's best--" James argued before being interrupted by Jamal. I was just listening at the moment.

"For who exactly? The country or family?" Jamal questioned. "This Revolution would've been someone else's to lead. You took it to get revenge."

"Well that's the point," James explained, "President Howe needs to pay for what she did to our Mom and Dad."

"Would your parents have wanted this from their son? Revenge that all leads to this?" Jamal turns to look at me and James. And I expect you want to deliver the final blow to President Howe for what he did to them."

James quickly pointed a steampunk splattershot and aimed it at Jamal. "You watch your mouth, Governor!"

Jamal wasn't phased. "Trust me, James, you don't want to hurt a kind man."

I never have seen my brother like this, and all this time I thought he got passed the emotion he felt from losing our parents. It took only James like half an hour to realize what he's doing and lower his weapon. Jamal walked over to stand next to James and pat his back.

"President Howe is quite controversial to be in the White House, but it doesn't mean we have to do the worst to her just because of her crimes." Then Jamal started exiting the Park. "And I'll take care of some of your friends while you face this final battle. We'll find a safe area to watch it."

And like that, Jamal is gone.

I looked at my brother who was looking down, probably reflecting on what he has just done. All I can do with pat his shoulder, giving him the family affection he needed. Soon after, we left the park as well.

"James, you can resign and just leave it to someone else," I recommended, "Jamal is right."

"But what then?" James replied to me. "Where do we go from there?"

"Home," I answered, "Back in Seychelles."

"..... It's hard to imagine that without Mama and Papa." James then gave a slight smile to me. It was a depressing kind of smile, and I understood what is meant. "I think that after this..... we should go--"

I placed a finger over his mouth and silenced him. I knew what my brother was going to say, and it would be easy for him...

...but not for me.

[agent-7-at-your-service]

Future Plot: Syer’s Rebellion - Chapter 4

((Sandra, Pyrrhus, Telemachus (mentioned), James, Market Splatoon, and Jane belongs to me

Camille and Guist belongs to @inklingleesquidly

Nebula belongs to @agenttwo and @myzzy

Marina and Wish belong to @inklingleesquidly @agenttwo and @myzzy; designs are made by @teamuntyblue  / @ryan-sign-guy

Vix belongs to @teamuntyblue / @ryan-sign-guy

Beaker Jr belongs to @askvincent and @scrushling

Emerald and Sapphire belong to @son-of-joy and @twelvetailedkitsune

Suzy belongs to @son-of-joy

Mysteeri belongs to @dreadangel  

Celeste (mentioned) belongs to @alpinesquid ))

((Insert opening: https://youtu.be/IBF9XEsnvJI ))

Last time on Syer's Rebellion:

Sandra and James's family reunion was bittersweet; Sandra finally finds her family, but her parents have been dead for almost two years. The one to blame was President Evelyn "Georgia III" Howe, and she is the inkling woman running the country Sandra stands in. And now that President Howe has sent Camille, Nebula, and Beaker Jr to an internment camp for their Japanese ancestry, the two siblings are committed to getting the three back.

Meanwhile, Camille, Nebula, and Beaker Jr were sent to Manzanar, an internment camp that once housed people with Japanese ancestry under suspicion of espionage. And in this camp, an inkling woman named Jane, offered them a place in her family's cabin. The warden of the facility, Chris Zorin, tried to beat information out of Camille for the whole night with no success. Overall, their stay is not going to be short; they needed to escape.

Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, San Francisco - California, United States of America - 8:30 AM

Vix, his pet tortoise Reve, Marina and Wish were in the lobby, eating some rations for breakfast. Carolyn left during the night, noting Sandra that she's heading south to hide in California.

"It's in the Fisherman's Wharf!?!" James was outraged. He slams his fist on a map of San Francisco.

Elizabeth has managed to find the underground tunnel system built by James's rebels that lead to a T-intersection of Baker Street and Beach Street. This was the only shortcut they had to take to reach Sandra's ship.

"Well, where was I supposed to put park the Shinkiro?" Sandra shrugged.

"What's wrong going there?" Pyrrhus asked. That inkling was there, wanting to help in any way he can to save Camille. Sapphire and Emerald were also there next to him, wanting to help as well.

Suzy places photos, covering up the Fisherman's Wharf on the map; they were photos of Airships and modified Ironclads, occupying that neighborhood under a military flag. Suzy then placed an electronic tablet showing a new article of the Martial Law placed on San Francisco to take out the rebellion built up there.

"The Mayor of the City has imposed martial law in this city," Suzy explained, "And they made the Fisherman's Wharf their base of operations until the rebellion that James built here is eradicated."

"That's the least of our problems," James's octoling companion, Abraham, points to an island and a bridge, "If you guys are thinking of using Sandra's ship to leave the city, you can forget it. The Splat-Coats will be using Alcatraz Island as a watchtower and the Golden Gate Bridge as a blockade gate. James, I suggest we leave by land."

"I'm not leaving the Shinkiro here!" Sandra objected.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think your brother should risk this," Abraham explained, "Besides we got other ships in others part of the States that you can command."

"But this one's a gift from my father..... the one that adopted me..." Sandra muttered half-way through her sentence. "....It's special to me." She hasn't mentioned Agent 7 for a while now.

Abrahams sighs. "You have no idea what you guys got yourselves into......but since you're her sister... I won't object to his orders." He walks off to wakes up Henri.

"We'll be taking the underground passage to get away from Splat-Coats occupying the Theatre," James was points from one area to another and makes a trail. "We'll be going through beach street hiding in a truck. I know some rebels that can sneak past security. Then we'll take Marina Blvd, then Laguna Street, and then Bay Street until we reach the Fisherman's Wharf, and trust me, at this point we'll be trespassing on hostile grounds."

"I understand the risks." Sandra already has a plan to pass through the Splat-Coats. "Is there a way to make a diversion and draw the militia away? Any place they store explosives and ammunition?"

"There's a warehouse that recently got inkstrikes that were confiscated from five different  toy stores." James points to the warehouse somewhere in the Wharf. "I can have my Splatoon detonate--"

"Suzy and I can take care of that," Emerald broke in. Sapphire nods in agreement

"And after that, we'll help Sandra and the party back to the Shinkiro," Sapphire added.

"...Very well, just don't get caught, Howe has those Splat-Coat do terrible things to prisoners." James sighs. "Then let's get to it."

"What about you?" Sandra looked at him.

"No need to worry about me, Sandra, my Splatoon has allies and we'll be leaving through a different route." James unrolls a map of a California broken in two. "I'm going to have the rebellion here gather their things and head south to San Diego. Meet me there once we, understand?"

Sandra nods. "I.... I just hoped you would come on my ship."

"Don't worry, I'm sure both of us can get out of here," James replied. He then saluted to her. "E Pluribus Unum."

Sandra looked surprised. "You learned how to speak Latin?"

"No, it's the motto of the United States." James soon took out his inky wrench, adjusted his glasses, and puts on his tricorn-shaped flat cap. "Now let's go. We got a Wharf to storm."

While Sandra follows her brother, she started reflecting on her life. She lost her family and found a new one in Circe and Agent 7, but they couldn't fill the void she had. And despite the things she enjoyed about living in Inkopolis, she chose to leave that city in Japan for the United States. And now that she has found her brother, she just wanted to spend the time that was lost between her and James. However, it seems James is leading a revolution, meaning he has little time for what's left of his family. The only option she can think of as logical is to join his rebellion if it means being by his side at times.

Elizabeth and Henri were already getting Vix, Reve, Marina, Wish, Emerald, Sapphire, and Suzy into the underground passage. Market Splatoon and Sandra later followed.

Sandra walks with Marina and Wish.

"You guys think you can handle a little adventure?" Sandra asked. She is aware of their medical conditions.

"We'll be fine," Wish replied.

"I'm sure we can protect ourselves," Marina agreed, "Besides, somebody needs to save the Neo Squid Sisters."

Vix was talking with James, riding the Galapagos turtle, Reve. He was asking the rebellion leader silly questions, but James was willing to answer.

"Are we going to save Camille and Nebula?" Vix asked.

"We are going save them, alright." James sounded confident at first, but then looked bothered. "We just need the time, the material, and a plan."

"What do you have in mind?" Vix wondered.

In the Fisherman's Wharf, Mysteeri was examining the bullets the Splat-Coats forged for her. She smiles and loads them into her dual revolvers. She stood on top of one of the buildings of the Wharf.

Meanwhile...

There has been a riot at the main gates of Manzanar; a number of inmates were using farming tools as weapons. Beaker Jr almost joined the riot if it weren't for Camille and Nebula. They convinced him it was too risky to break out of Manzanar in that way Jane agreed with this as well.

In the end, the riot failed to break through the gates, and this convinced Zorin to punish the camp. He had some Splat-Coats make an example out of one of the inklings, and they picked Beaker Jr.

Ancient Monument, Manzanar Cemetery - Manzanar 2.0, Inyo County - California, the United States of 12:00 Noon

The Splat-Coats has Beaker tied to a stone monument; there were faint inscriptions of a language nearly forgotten. The families with members that took part in the riot were taken there with ink-muskets pointed at their heads. They were forced to watch this form of torture be endured by the squid. Camille, Nebula, Jane, and her family were also taken there.

An automaton stepped forward with cladding in iron and steel. It was carrying Camille's steampunk roller with a wrench-club end. It used that end and started hitting Beaker with so much force, but not enough to break the monument.

Beaker took five blows from the club, and once it was over, the Splat-Coats untie him and he lays there. He groaned in pain with ink slowly trickling down his shoulders, arms and back. It stained his clothes, and it stained the monument.

The families were sent back to the camp; Jane's family did the same. Zorin allowed Camille, Nebula, and Jane to remain but made sure charger units were there in case they make a run for it. Camille can only feel distaste towards President Howe who allowed this in the camp. She wanted to stop this whole scene but she can't; the Splat-Coats will splat her to oblivion. It was either her life or his punishment. Nebula can only feel slight fear in this, but a sense of determination to find freedom. Jane and her family just only felt nothing but the grayness of this tragic moment.

Camille and Nebula quickly help Beaker up; he was in pain. Jane walks over with a medical pouch, and it contained a small roll of bandages and some medicine to soothe the pain. After Jane patches up the small cuts and stopped the bleeding, Nebula and her carried Beaker back to the cabins.

Camille is now the only squid remaining there; she can follow, but she stayed for a while to forget what she just saw, especially if it's something terrible done to a friend. Looking at the ink-stained monument didn't even help; she read the inscription: "Soul Consoling Tower", "Erected by the Manzanar Japanese". Still, that didn't get the image of Beaker being tortured out of her mind.

Camille's watch started acting up. It was the same watch her father sent her through a package. With a press of a button, Guist came out. He must've been hiding in the watch for a while since San Francisco was put under Martial Law.

"I heard everything! What happened?" Guist was worried.

"Those Splat-Coats beat Beaky up..." Camille clenched her fists. "And I couldn't do anything to stop it..."

"That's terrible, cousin!" Guist wanted to help in any way he can. "You sure you'll be alright?"

"...I'll be fine..." Camille took a deep breath and followed Nebula and Jane back to the cabin. Guist followed as well.

That night...

Beaker Jr has made full recovery but still felt some pain from the blows of the club. Camille and Nebula were in a bedroom with Guist, talking about how they're going to get out. Jane and her family were asleep at that time. They already thought of a number of options of how to get out of Manzanar, but they needed Guist to survey the whole internment camp to see if any of the options are possible.

"Anything for you, cousin!" Guist is obliged to do this task.

"That's great." Camille is smiling. "As soon as we get out, we better find a way to reunite with Sandra and the others."

"And I guess we're planning to leave the United States?" Nebula asked, knowing Sandra would not like that idea.

"Okay, I get it! Sandy finally found her family. We can go home, right?" Camille folds her arms. Nebula gave her a look, telling her that it's a big deal to Sandra. "...... Okay, I would feel like I've missed so much if I were separated from my family for years."

"And Sandra's brother seems to be up to something, and it has to do with President Howe." Nebula has yet to put together the big picture. "I know we're no longer Agents, but Agent 7 and Neo Squidbeak Splatoon need to know this."

"Speaking of them, I bet Uncle Sev has the brains to send Celly and Telly to go after us...... with the personal fleet he gave the Splatoon." Camille rolls her eyes, imagining Telemachus and Celeste leading the fleet across the Pacific.

"Speaking of our old Splatoon..... I wonder who they got to replace us..." Nebula looked curious.

Back in San Francisco...

The Fisherman's Wharf has been raided by the rebellion that James's built up in San Francisco. Sandra lead the raid without James's permission, and somehow it routed the Splat-Coats out of the Wharf. Jame's Rebellion in this city are now seizing all the arms in the Wharf to overthrow the Mayor of San Francisco. Suzy, Emerald, and Sapphire escorted Vix, Reve, Marina, Wish, and Pyrrhus to the Shinkiro so they can prepare to sail. As for Sandra, James, and Market Splatoon, they were in the Captain's Quarters of the Shinkiro to talk about what Sandra did.

Captain's Quarters, The Shinkiro - San Francisco, California, United States of America - 4:00 PM

James slams a fist on Sandra's desk. "Are you insane, Sandra!?!"

"Why wait for a chance to attack!?" Sandra argued. "Why not just take a chance! You're leading a rebellion for Great Zapfish's Sake!"

"It's a rebellion I'm leading!" James slams his fist on the desk.

"James! Restrain yourself!" Elizabeth begged.

"Restez calme, Monsieur Syer!" Henri commented. "They mistook her as you."

"But she isn't the rebellion leader!" James argued.

"That doesn't mean she isn't allowed to help," Elizabeth responded. She folds armed. "Your sister pushed the rebellion further. This is good."

"She was being insubordinate!" James glared at Sandra.

Sandra sticks her tongue at him before looking away.

"What she did was turn a tide in the war." Abraham was examining some maps in Sandra's Captain's Quarters. "At this rate, we can take Sacramento and reunite California." Sandra is looking at him. "...Why do you think we want you guys to head to San Diego?"

Sandra shrugs and rolls her eyes. "We still have the blockade at the Golden Gate Bridge and Splat-Coats in Alcatraz Island."

"We'll take care of them, but there's no need to sail to San Diego now," Abraham explained, "In fact, you can be helpful to the rebellion." He looks to James. "Thing might've not gone as planned as you wanted, James, but it seems three leaders are better than one. Besides, you two need time together as a family."

James, being regretful of the separation, didn't respond at first; he was looking at the maps and charts. When he did respond, he nods in agreement.

"Alright, I'll give my sister chance," James answered, "After all, thanks to her, I owe her one." She smiled at her. "How about I teach you naval tactics so we can get this ship through the blockade. I'll have someone raise a fleet to deal with Alcatraz."

Sandra reaches her hand out to him, offering a handshake.

"Sure thing, brother." She smiled back.

"....And sorry for calling you insubordinate..." James apologized.

"I understand, you're leading this revolution and it's you they should be looking up to... but understand if both of us lead, this can make thing interesting." Sandra gets up and walks around the table to stand by her brother's side. "And after the war, who knows what we can do?"

[agent-7-at-your-service]

Future Plot: Voyage of the Shinkirō - Chapter 6

((Sandra, Pyrrhus, and Dicorus belong to me

Camille belongs to @inklingleesquidly

Nebula belongs to @myzzy and @agenttwo

Vix belongs to @teamuntyblue / @ryan-sign-guy

Beaker Jr. belongs to @askvincent / @asktheseastars and @scrushling

Marine and Wish (The Neo Clone Sister belong to @inklingleesquidly @myzzy @agenttwo and @teamuntyblue / @ryan-sign-guy ))

Tortuga Bay, Santa Cruz Island - Galapagos Islands, Ecuador - 8:05 PM

The fleet takes the Shinkiro back into open waters to meet with the massive ship that commands the fleet. The fleet's crew members weren't as hostile as expected by Sandra; in fact, when they were close to the massive ship, the captain look down on the Shinkiro.

The fleet leader is an adolescent inkling boy with tan skin with fair black ink hair. He had two distinctive eyes: one was the darkest brown any person would see, the other is a strange blue with the iris being mosaic-like. In addition to his hair color, it glowed with a blue hue.

Nebula can recognize the squid. "Dicorus!?!"

"Lady Sevenstar! Lady Squidly!" Dicorus doesn't recognize Sandra, Vix, and Beaker Jr. "New friends of yours?" He turns into a squid and super jumps to Sandra's ship. After changing back, he is more visible, wearing Byzantine military uniform for an explorer's attire with a jacket to mark that he's the leader.

Minutes later, the Shinkiro's sails that were lost at sea were returned as Dicorus's fleet has found them while sailing to the Galapagos. Dicorus hopped onboard the Shinkiro so that he can meet with Sandra and her Crew face-to-face. Nebula explained to Dicorus why she and Camille are out at sea with some friends. Dicorus understood the situation and approached Sandra.

"I should say, you have quite the determination to get to what was called the New World," Dicorus complimented, "My fleet is heading there too to stop in Hawaii before sailing to Panama. We're going there to extend the Silk Road by using ancient sea routes. It's kind of weird we're sailing away from our final destination and later doing the opposite when we reach Hawaii.."

"I don't blame you." Sandra does a curtsy. "And it's a great offer you're giving."

"Then we agree?" Dicorus smiled.

Sandra nods.

"Alright then." Before Dicorus goes, he stops to look at Camille and Nebula. "Also I visited Japan about 5 days ago and it seems I meet some relatives of your that decided to join in. They mentioned you two when they came on board."

"Huh?" Camille raised an eyebrow.

"Who are they?" Nebula asked.

"You'll see for yourself." Dicorus looks up and signals his crew members to bring them to the Shinkiro.

Soon a crane from Dicorus's ship lowers a platform down like an elevator for two inkatarians in sailor outfits. They have a striking similarity to Camille and Nebula and that the one that looks like Nebula is pale. They were wearing outfits that are a mix between hanfus from China and 18th century Navy uniforms from Great Britain.

It's the Neo Clone Sisters, the clones created from the DNAs of the Neo Squid Sisters and octarian DNA with a few mutations in the process of cloning. As a result, Camille's clone, Marina, has developed unique powers but as a cost, she has medical conditions that need to be monitored at all times. As for Nebula's Clone, Wish, she also developed unique powers of her own along with medical conditions.

And from just one glance, Camille runs up to embrace her duplicate. Marina was glad to see her duplicate as well. Nebula approached Wish and they both smile, both giving a nod. Though, Wish can barely see her duplicate.

"Are you guys related?" Dicorus raised an eyebrow.

"It's a long story," Camille replied.

Beaker approached Marina and Wish and said hello to them before giving them a hug. Sandra did the same; she wanted to know more about these duplicates as Agent M and Agent C were the only clones she knew when she was adopted. Vix has already met them before, and this time he's introducing to them his tortoise companion, Reve.

"So you and Wish really hope on board a boat just to follow us?" Camille asked her duplicate.

"Sort of, Wish and I only found out you were away from those Agents." Marina was probably mentioning Celeste and Telemachus.

"Hmmm..." Sandra looked at Dicorus. "Is it okay if these clone sisters join my crew?"

"I don't see why not." Dicorus shrugs. "After all, we stopped by some islands for Marina to excavate some relics, and Wish has been a help in organizing and managing the fleet's working conditions."

"Well, great! Then we better get sailing then!" Sandra is eager to go even if it's night.

"Now, now, Sandra, we need to sleep," Dicorus pointed out, "And it's quite too early; we still have time."

Sandra gave a weak laugh, embarrassed of what she said. Dicorus did mention Marina has excavated relics on some islands so Sandra can assume the Neo Clone Sisters have an interest in archaeology.

"So, Marina, Wish, want me to show you around? Sandra asked.

"We would love to," Marina politely responds.

When Sandra began a small tour around the Shinkiro, she began talking to them about archaeology. Soon Sandra shared a brief history of her family's archaeology career while Marina and Wish shared their stories of their archaeological explorations.

Meanwhile, Beaker Jr. and Vix return to sleep in their quarters. There was one more person Dicorus wanted Camille and Nebula to meet.

A young sailor super jumps his way down and lands on the mast. He climbs down from there and faces Camille and Nebula.

It was the same inkling boy with fair skin, opal-colored ink hair with a red spot on his ponytail, and a yellow eye. He still had a blue eye patch and brass bracelets. This time he wore a white shirt and shawl with a brown vest and boots. His shorts was the usual Inkling style.

"Meet Pyrrhus Issa Kerkysera, when he went on board, he started befriending Marina and Wish," Dicorus explained, "and then he realized he meet you in Guam, so he wanted to join the crew to see what adventure you friend is up to."

Pyrrhus approached Camille and bowed slightly before taking her hand like a gentleman.

"My apologies for not recognizing an idol like you." Pyrrhus looked to Nebula. "And you must her sister."

"Cousin actually," Nebula corrected.

"Yeah... The sister thing is just the name." Camille quickly reacts her hand away from Pyrrhus. There was something about this inkling that made her feel odd.

"I'll be getting my things and bringing them on board this ship." Pyrrhus turns into a squid and super jumps to Dicorus's flagship.

Camille just watched him leave the ship. She stepped forward and felt lost in thought for a moment. Dicorus notices and waves his hand in her face. Camille reacted and looked at him.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to be rude." Dicorus then yawns. "I shall be heading to my quarters as well." He turns into a squid and returns to his ship.

Nebula stands next to Camille and points out the obvious. "Just putting out there, he does look like your old boyfriend. You know that one that was the son of Er-"

"Nebby, please!" Camille turns around and heads to her quarters. She sounded annoyed. "That's behind me! It was never meant to be anyway! I'm going to bed!"

The Shinkiro - Pacific Ocean - 10:00 AM

In the morning, the Shinkiro leave the Galapagos, sailing with Dicorus's fleet. Dicorus decided to temporarily make Sandra's ship the second flagship of his fleet.

On the Shinkiro, Dicorus was standing on the upper decks to monitor the crew members. Sandra was controlling the steering wheel, controlling her ship while leading Dicorus's fleet. Camille and Nebula were managing the sails with Beaker Jr and Pyrrhus helping out. Vix and his giant Galapagos tortoise, Reve, were washing the decks. Marina and Wish were also on the upper desk, examining maps and charts; Wish had to wear sunglasses and carry an umbrella due to her medical conditions.

In the middle of the trip from the Galapagos to the Hawaiian Islands, it was kind of quiet at the moment despite there being the sound of waves and the winds.

Dicorus decided to do something about.

"This is gonna be a long trip," Dicorus suggested, "How about we sing something?"

"Like what? A sailor's sea shanty?" Sandra understands what he's suggesting.

"Yeah, like a sea shanty." Dicorus looks to his fleet. "My fleet does it all the time while they do physical labor just to keep the ship going.

"I'm up for it." Sandra looks up." Hey, guys! We're going to sing!"

"What?!" Camille looks down.

"Cool!" Beaker replied.

Dicorus quickly gets to the crow's nest and signal his flagship and the fleet for a song.

((Musical Number:  https://youtu.be/ubZrAmRxy_M ))

A conch shell is blown and Dicorus started to sing in a language he picked up on the islands he visited.

While the Shinkiro and Dicorus's fleet are singing, Dicrous took this time to teach Sandra some methods of navigation. They were an ancient form of navigation that used the water, the stars, and the winds.

Whenever they ships stop at an island, Sandra took this chance to go on Marina's and Wish's Archaeologists adventures. They would find a few ancient sites and recover artifacts dating back from a time before the Mollusc Era from times of Ancient wars to time of an Ancient Tribe Camille and Nebula take those time to record videos for their producer back in Inkopolis; Beaker Jr, Vix, and Reve helped as the camera crew. Pyrrhus and Dicorus would be watching over the Shinkiro while Dicorus's fleet stopped for food, water, and supplies.

When Hawaii was just on the horizon, Sandra knows she's halfway there in reaching America. Hawaii may be part of the United States, but it's not enough for her. After all, she still needed to find her family.

((End of Musical Number))

Honolulu (Relocated), Loihi, Second Kingdom of Hawaii - 12:00 Noon

The islands have changed due to tectonic plates and volcanic activity. Some well-known cities were relocated while historical monuments remained where they were. Nature had does its part in relocating natural sites.

Everyone on the Shinkiro, including Wish, Marina, Dicorus, and Pyrrhus, were at the hull, looking at the islands.

"I didn't expect a musical number to bring us to Hawaii that quick." Beaker Jr scratches his head.

"Me neither." Camille sounded as if she was going to lose her voice.

"Welcome to Hawaii." Sandra was still on the upper decks, holding onto the steering wheel to sail the Shinkiro straight to the harbor. She won't be able to join her friends, so she had to raise her voice a bit. "It's the Aloha State, the Paradise of the Pacific, and the Islands of Aloha. As they say here: 'Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono'. "

Camille looked at her. ".....What?"

"She meant, The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." Marina seems to know something about the language. "Where did you pick up Hawaiian?"

"My parents used to send me letters and packages that came from here," Sandra replied.

"I heard the volcano here beats Mount Everest," Pyrrhus stated. He was standing next to Camille.

"Only if you count the sea level," Dicorus acknowledged, "and to think tectonic rifts and faults can reshape the world."

"Nature's beautiful and it is ever changing," Wish commented.

"So, shall we split up and enjoy our visit to the island?" Sandra looked at her crew.

Dicorus raised his hand. "I'm in, obviously."

"Nebby, Beaky, and I won't mind, and it might make our producer happy." Camille rolls her eyes and a smirk.

Pyrrhus looked at Sandra and then at Marina and Wish. He steps closer to the Neo Clone Sisters. "You know, I heard from sailors that this island has a very long history, from being a small tribe to a kingdom; from a kingdom to the territory; from a territory to a member of the union. You and Sandra can find something here."

"No so fast, Pyrrhus, that is a bad idea. Anything made from the island and on the island belongs to a goddess. Dicorus is highly against that idea. "From sailors I know, I was told this is the home of Pele, and she curses whoever takes anything from that island. Humans may have been foolish to take from her home, so it's best we don't do the same."

"Hey! Is our fleet going to sail this slow? Full speed ahead!" Sandra ordered.

"I better get to my ship then!" Dicorus turns into a squid and super jumps his way to his ship.

Sandra's crew scattered, going to their stations to open the sails. Sandra offers Beaker Jr. the steering wheel so that she can raise the Shinkiro's flag again. It still has it's usual symbol: a muscle with a cloud coming out, and on that cloud is a castle housing paradise.

Sandra smiles that raised flag and looks to where Hawaii is.

She is this close to finding her Family in the New World.

[agent-7-at-your-service]

Future Plot: Voyage of the Shinkirō - Chapter 3

(( Sandra, Agent 7, and Circe belongs to me Camille belongs to @inklingleesquidly

Nebula belongs to @myzzy and @agenttwo

Beaker Jr. belongs to @askvincent / @asktheseastars  and @scrushling

Vix belongs to @teamuntyblue / @ryan-sign-guy

Sandra, Agent 7, Circe, the anonymous inkling boy, Telemachus (mentioned), Kitzeh (Mentioned) belong to me ))

Sandra took a taxi to a point that lays at the mouth of Apra Harbor, on the end of Orote Peninsula, opposite the Glass Breakwater of Cabras Island which forms the northern coast of the harbor.

This is Point Udall; it was one called the Orote Point but renamed to honor a human named Mo. This human came from a land called The Grand Canyon State which is in the United States.

Sandra picked this spot as a place for clear her mind, and to avoid what Nebula mentioned about talking with Agent 7 and Circe. She didn't have the heart to talk to them since she just ran away. Despite them not being her biological parents, she fears that Agent 7 and Circe would disapprove of her actions.  

Point Udall, Guam - 10:30 PM

Right now, she is sitting at the edge of the point's cliff, letting the sea breeze touch her skin.

The cold breeze with the summer feel reminded Sandra of home, and she can imagine a few drums beating. She can still feel like she wore the traditional Seychelles dancer attire. She then started to sing.

(Musical Number: https://youtu.be/NHf6Z17KTOA ))

Sandra hopes that one day her reunited family would come back to those islands. She can smell a unique coconut-based cake her mother would always make. She can recall it being coated in chocolate and stuffed with coconut and macadamia nuts. It was the perfect family recipe, but it she can only remember half of how it was made.

She stopped singing when the music in her head faded. She sighed deeply, curled up, and hides her head between her legs.

Meanwhile, Camille and Nebula had to call Agent 7 and Circe for Sandra. They tried video chatting, using a laptop that Sandra has in her shoulder bag. On the video chat, he can be seen wearing a v-neck t-shirt and shorts. Circe was next to him, wearing a sweater and sweat shorts. The two were sitting together on a bed.

"I think Sandy doesn't want to talk with you or Aunt Circe, Uncle Sev," Camille stated.

"But go easy on her, Uncle Sev," Nebula added, "She really wanted to go and find her family."

"And she thinks they're in the United States?" Circe asked.

"She's sure of it." Nebula nods.

Agent 7 sighed and shook his head. Circe draws the camera attention to her.

"Girls, keep an eye on Sandra, please?" Circe looked serious. "I feared Sandra would do something like this, and it seems Jason and I aren't able to prevent that from happening." She then looked down. "And I guess you guys did your best as well."

Soon Vix entered the camera view.

"Who's this?" Vix asked.

"Not meaning to change the subject, but that kid is there too?" Agent 7 has been aware of Vix's wanderings.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's kind of under control, Uncle Sev," Camille explained.

"Anyway, just go easy on Sandra, please," Nebula requested, "Agent 7, you did confess that you have poor parenting skills."

"Ugh!" Agent 7 looks down. "Sadly, no. That's why I'm a bad father to Kitzeh and Telemachus, they're from two different mothers..."

Circe pats his back. "There there..." She looked at Camille and Nebula. "Alright... But Jason and I still want Sandra back."

"We'll keep in mind about that, anyway, we'll talk to you guys later," Nebula concluded.

"Alright, see ya." Circe ends the video chat.

Sandra came back to the hotel suite an hour later after heading into town to withdraw some money from an ATM for her friends and herself.

"Well, look who's back." Beaker Jr. welcomed.

Beaker, Camille, and Nebula were playing a board game they found under a bed. Vix also participated while practicing his echolocation, and he was the only player managing to win.

"Is that Monopoly?" Sandra asked.

"Yeah, Vix found it under a bed while practicing his echolocation," Camille explained.

Sandra raised an eyebrow. "That game was meant to teach kids the evils of capitalism. But some human company called Hasbro decided to change the meaning of the game to make it more fun."

"Nerd!" Beaker Jr joked.

"Oh, ha-ha-ha..." Sandra sits with her friends. "Mind if I join the next round?"

"Sure." Camille was rolling the dice.

Sandra and her friends spend the rest of the day exploring natural landmarks, military bases, villages, and beaches. The coral reefs were also another place they visited, but they since they aren't biologically capable to scuba dive, they had a cruise that provided windows to see the underwater.

The next day, Sandra woke up early to prepare the Shinkiro for another departure. The Coast Guard officials were kind enough to help her refill her supply storage for another trip.

Camille, Nebula, and Beaker Jr spent the whole morning searching for Vix. They got word from a tourist manager that they saw him in the northeast in the Puntan Dos Amantes, The Two Lovers Point; A Coast Guard officer said they saw Vix in The Leo Palace Resort; And a mailman note that he saw Vix at the Guam National Wildlife Refuge.

Sandra is notified by this and gave her friends some time to look for Vix all around Guam.

The three decided to split up to search. Nebula was offered a helicopter ride by the coast guard to get to the resort, Beaker Jr. took a jeep to the wildlife refuge, and Camille took a taxi to the Two Lovers Point. They all had their phones charged up so that they can be able to talk with each other.

Puntan Dos Amantes (Two Lovers Point), Guam - 8:05 AM

When Camille arrived at the point, she didn't bother to ask other tourists if they saw Vix. Besides, there weren't that many tourists visiting at this time. She looked everywhere from the two restaurants nearby to the several attractions, and still, none of the employees or the few tourist there saw Vix.

She then stopped at the lookout point, and Camille saw a beautiful view of the coast. The highest point had a plaque telling a story about the Two Lovers Point. She was the only one there along with a young inkling boy.

"Nice view isn't it?" The inkling asked.

"Huh?" Camille looked at him. "Oh...uh... yeah, I guess."

This inkling boy had fair skin, opal-colored ink hair with a red spot on the back of his head, and a familiar yellow eye. He wore a gray button shirt with short sleeves, brown camo cargo shorts with a belt, leather slip-on shoes, brass bracelets, and a blue eyepatch.

"You know, this place has a rich story," the inkling stated.

Camille looked at him.She doesn't know why this stranger is having a conversation with her, but she just let him talk with her.

"You don't say?" Camille raised an eyebrow.

The inkling boy sighs and tells her the story: "Centuries ago, there was once a beautiful woman. She was the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat father and a mother who's the daughter of a native chief. One day, the father arranged his daughter a marriage with a captain, but she refused, so she ran away. She found this secluded and peaceful moonlit shore where she fell in love with a warrior of a modest family."

Camille didn't care about that story, she needed to find Vix, but the voice made her stay. The boy's voice reminded her of someone.

The inkling boy continued the story:

"When the father found out about his daughter love towards the warrior, he tried to force her to marry the captain immediately. Again, she ran away to meet with the warrior on a high cliff along the same shore. The father, the captain, and some soldiers pursued them at the cliff. And once trapped, the lovers tied their hair into a single knot, looked deeply into each other's eyes, and kissed for the last time before taking their own lives. As they leaped over the cliff and into the waters below, and they became symbols of true love to the native here. That is why this place is called Puntan Dos Amantes which means Two Lovers Point."

"What a story," Camille commented. She got lost in the story.

The inkling boy then looked at her. "I'm sorry, were in the middle of something?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! Have you seen a kid?" Camille asked. "He looks like a mix between an octoling and an inkling, has yellowish green ink, he appears blind?"

"Huh... To be honest... I just got here, I don't know who you're talking about." The inkling boy looks down and shakes his head.

"Well, thanks, I guess." Camille walks off.

The Inkling boy continues watching the view of the ocean. He smiled.

Apra Harbor, Guam - 8:50 PM

Sandra finally called Nebula, Camille, and Beaker Jr back to the docks of Apra Harbor. She found Vix in the crow's nest. Nebula and Beaker Jr. got themselves bags of souvenirs on the way back to the docks, but Camille didn't even think about getting one.

"So all this time Vix was in the Shinkiro?" Camille looked annoyed.

"All this time you didn't even bother to get something for your family?" Sandra replied.

"Ohhh... burn....." Beaker Jr commented.

Camille rolls her eyes.

Sandra checks the time. "We're going to depart at 1:30 PM, you've got about 4 hours and 40 minutes to buy something for your family once this is all over."

Camille thought about it and sighed. "Fine... Vix, come with me."

"Can I get something for my family too?" Vix asked.

"Sure thing, Vixy." Camille patted his head as she brings him along. "I hope your echolocation is getting better."

"It's kind of improving," Vix replied.

Sandra sighs and leans back against one of the masts of the ship. She was exhausted with the work she had to do; she has yet to teach her friends more thing about being a sailor and such. She even calculated a chance the trip would be longer to the next destination.

"What's our next destination? Beaker Jr. asked.

Sandra looked at him and she fixes her hair and took a deep breath. She then showed the coordinates on her GPS: (-0.955766 -174.759521).

"I've been told stories of an island hidden in this specific location. They say a famous hunter and his granddaughter lived on the island, both were humans," Sandra explained, "When the grandfather died, the human girl lived all by herself with only her canine companion. And that was only centuries ago, so I want to figure out what have become of the human girl."

"Did she have a name?" Nebula wondered.

"No, but there were old documents saying she's a US citizen, related to a boy in another land in the United States called The Evergreen State, and the rest is unknown."  Sandra adjusted her glasses. "In fact, she's nothing but an enigma."

The Coast Guards were also kind enough to donate a cooler box for Sandra with some beverages, fruits, and desserts as gifts for her and the Neo Squid Sisters. Sandra opened it up and took out two sealed cups of a parfait.

"Here, one of the Coast Guard officers, wanted you and Camille to have this." She tosses one of them carefully to Nebula. She puts the other one away. "I'll save this one for Camille."

Nebula manages to catch it without spilling the parfait. "That's really nice of them."

"You said we still have time right?" Beaker Jr stretches his arms a bit. "I'm going to follow Camille to help Vix out with picking out some souvenirs." He turns into a squid and super jumps to catch up with them.

Nebula and Sandra were the only ones on the Shinkiro now.

"So I've been thinking about this idea while we were sailing to Guam." Sandra gets up, fixes her hair, and adjusts her glasses. "Do you think you guys can handle it?"

"I guess we can handle your idea, but for Camille..... we'll see, so what is it?" Nebula is in on the idea.

"I was thinking we should dress up in sailor attire. You know, like a pirate theme!" Sandra walks over to her quarters and comes back with a naval military coat.

"I don't know, Camille isn't comfortable with wearing outfits like this unless I convince her." Nebula thought about it. "Then again, you're our friend."

"Great! We'll just call the others to meet with us at a boutique and we can get ourselves some navy attires!" Sandra leaves the Shinkiro and takes out her phone. Nebula follows.

Four hours later, Sandra and her friends were back on the ship, wearing their navy outfits. The clothes they were wearing before were kept in backpacks offered by Guam's Coast Guard.

Camille is now wearing a light green blouse with large black harem pants and brown slip-on shoes. She had a pink racer scarf around her neck, the same one Callie gave her for good luck. In addition, she's given a watch and a pair of green glovelettes.

Nebula wore a magenta long-sleeves shirt with a gold collar, gold belt, a dark violet trouser, and pink slip-on shoes. In addition, she's given golden hoop earrings and black glovelettes.

Beaker Jr's navy attire consisted of a navy blue sleeveless vest with cyan linings and belt, blue jeans, black boots, and navy blue arm-guards.

Vix wore a blue sailor suit from the Forge brand with his black shorts and shoes with green linings and black bracelet.

All four of them, however, were given a signature coat: Camille's is light green, Nebula's is fuchsia, Beaker Jr's is blue, and Vix's is olive green. Sandra recommended they just wearing whenever they have to deal with enemies or with storms.

Sandra wore a rosy brown coat with silver ornaments, beige trousers and skirt, white gloves, and a brown tricorn cap and boots. The last thing that Guam's Coast Guard gave to her before she departs is a black belt with scabbard and holster along with a cutlass and a spattershot.

As the Shinkiro departs, Sandra sails it around Guam and directs it southeast. She lets Beaker Jr take the wheel while she makes her way to the hull of the ship.

"Alright, next stop, the unknown island! Just 2,941.44 miles--" Sandra points her cutlass towards the horizon. "-- That way!"

[agent-7-at-your-service]

Future Plot: Project Titanomachy - Chapter 19

(( Camille belongs to @inklingleesquidly

Nebula belongs to @agenttwo and @myzzy

Celeste and Willow belong to @alpinesquid

Agent 0 belongs to @son-of-joy

Arsenic belongs to @a-demo-of-a-hero

Justinian, Telemachus, and Hera of the Motherly Moon belong to me ))

Since we're close to the part where I ended up on this forsake island, I guess I should speed through the scenes. But I hope you got what happened to me, right Iris?

So I apologized to Nebula and the others for my behavior, Hephaestus decided to celebrate us Champions for reuniting against, Uncle Jacar becomes an Olympian, and some people were invited.... except for my Parents, obviously.... but there were reasons for it. Also, I told them that I killed another Titan.

And if you're wondering about my Parents, don't worry. I think Agent 7 and Uncle Blue are handling that. They're probably telling my mom and dad that I'm at a sleepover.

Hephaestus's Forge, Mount Olympus, Greece - 10:00 PM

Agent 0, while in Olympian form, wore a bronze chest plate over a black tunic along with a blood-stained cape. He had leather boots, gauntlets, and belt to go with it. A helmet of gold with a plume was offered to him along with the sword and shield that are artifacts of the god, Ares.

Hermes brought in several of the minors gods that survived the fall of Olympus. Hephaestus was actually proud to have this little "family reunion."

Camille and Nebula made up, and Camille was forgiven by their friends.  This is might be the only time they won't need to worry about the titans, and this is a good time to warn about Typhon. With the warning out, they wanted to make preparations to fight him right after the celebration.

Minutes later, Camille would be in a wonderful green tunic along with her friends. Dances were performed, a feast was offered, and music forever played.

During the dance, Camille ended up in Chaodis's arms.

"So what did you find back there?" Chaodis quiet asked.

"I retrieved an amulet from the Titan I killed, then I found out Typhon is behind all this, wanting to consume the universe into Chaos... that' pretty much it." Camille was holding his hands as they dance.

"We're just halfway there then." Chaodis smiled. "We still have six more titans to defeat. Then we can fight Typhon. What else did you find?"

Camille looked away. "Can we just continue dancing?"

"Come on, please?" Chaodis begged.

Camille sighed. "Fine, but not in front of everyone."

"Fine." Chaodis stops and holds her hand.

You’re probably know where this is going.

Blacksmith's quarters - Hephaestus's Forge, Mount Olympus, Greece - 11:05 PM

Camille takes out the Silver Stone she found from the Typhon statue. "I don't know what this is... but I heard whispers from the statue, telling me it's the Omphalos Stone."

"That's the same stone Rhea used to save Zeus from Cronos. When that titan kept eating his children, Rhea used that very stone as a decoy before sending Zeus to Crete." Chaodis looked like he was going to grab it, but he restrained himself. "...Sorry, but it just looks amazing. They say this is used to mark the center of the world. It's the source of the Primordials' powers."

"This could be of use to us then." Camille smiled a bit.

"No... It's too powerful." Chaodis warned. "No one can wield its power. Only a Primordial can."

"What choice do we have?" Camille argued.

".....You shouldn't use it." Chaodis shook his head.

"Why not?" Camille questioned.

".....Because if you do... you'll end up destroying yourself with just one use of it." Chaodis wanted to take it away from her.

Camille kept it away. "It's a risk I'm willing to take..."

"But no one wants to see you go!" Chaodis got close to her. "....Not even me..."

Things were silent for a moment. Chaodis held one of her hands and then grabbed the hand that's holding the Omphalos Stone.

"There has to be another way to end this," Chaodis begged, "No more lives lost in this."

Camille realized that if she did use it and end up being wiped out, she would be hurting so many people; it would've been a victory for no one. She looked into Chaodis's eyes and saw a squid that was really dedicated to keep her alive.

"...Alright..." Camille makes him let go and she steps back. "But there is one more thing. Back in Mount Othrys, Heracles left a warning written on the walls. He told of a child of Eris named Strife. They and their mother have something to do with all this. I want everyone to keep an eye for Strife."

"You don't say..." Chaodis looked interested.

Camille reaches her hand out and hands the Omphalos stone to Chaodis. "Just keep it safe, for my sake. Once this is all over... I just want to forget all this ever happened... so remember that--"

"You don't need to say it. You got a life to live. There's no need to have me in your life." Chaodis took the stone and puts it away.

"...No, it's best you know this. Once I forget all this, and I return to being my old self, .... remember that I'll always love you." Camille was blushing as she glared at him. "I can't believe I said that..."

"...I will, and I have something to say about Strife." Chaodis holds her close. "Here's my little secret." He whispers in her ear. "My name is Strife, son of Eris."

Camille eyes widen, realizing she hand the stone to the very child that she was warned about. Betrayal has stricken her heart and soul.

Chaodis is pushed away. Camille was about to tackle him so that she can take the stone back. However, she failed to see Hephaestus behind her, and he knocks her out with a hammer. He looked at Chaodis and nods.

"We finally got the Traitor..." Hephaestus declared.

Nebula, Telemachus, Justinian, Celeste, Willow, Arsenic, Hera, Anteros, and Hermes came into the room; they were in on Chaodis's plan to capture Camille.

"I never knew my cousin would be influenced by Eris..." Nebula was looking down.

"That explained why Emerald asked Camille why Eris knew her," Justinian added.

"And why she hit me in the face with Aegis," Anteros added.

"Camille..." Celeste looked down.

Hera, Arsenic, and Telemachus remained silent.

"If Eris kept influencing her, she would've been possessed." Chaodis picks Camille up. "We need to exile her, strip her of her title as Champion."

"I know where to put her..." Hermes offered.

"You do?" Chaodis asked.

"Send her to the Strofades, and I'll have one of the gods make sure that if she escapes the island, she'll just end up on another." Hermes was looking at Camille.

Meanwhile, Agent 0 was outside the room, raising his suspicions on what he would consider a conspiracy. When he saw the guys carry Camille out of the quarter, he remained silent. He couldn't just stop them and question Chaodis' plan. He had to do something without being called a traitor as well.

Hermes actually takes notice and he gives a nod.

Agent 0 notices and he nods as well, putting his trust in the Messenger God.

And now you know, Iris.

End of Part 2

[agent-7-at-your-service]

Future Plot: Syer’s Rebellion - Chapter 11 (Part 1)

((Sandra, Pyrrhus, Telemachus  Kitzeh, James and Market Splatoon, and President Howe belongs to me

Camille belongs to @inklingleesquidly

Nebula belongs to @agenttwo and @myzzy

Marina and Wish belong to @inklingleesquidly@agenttwo and @myzzy; designs are made by @teamuntyblue  / @ryan-sign-guy

Vix belongs to @teamuntyblue / @ryan-sign-guy

Beaker Jr belongs to @askvincent and @scrushling

Emerald and Sapphire belong to @son-of-joy and @twelvetailedkitsune

Suzy belongs to @son-of-joy

Mysteeri belongs to @dreadangel 

Celeste belongs to @alpinesquid ))

((Insert opening: https://youtu.be/IBF9XEsnvJI ))

Last time on Syer's Rebellion:

With the Revolution continuing on the Eastern US Theater, half of the United States are in favor of overthrowing President Howe and her Administration. Sandra learns more about her brother, James, and his stay in the United States and how he formed Market Splatoon.

In New Orleans, Sandra goes through a small crisis over where she belongs: her reunited family in the U.S. or the adopted family back in Inkopolis, Japan. This concerned her friends who then reminded her that if it wasn't for them, she wouldn't have found her brother, James. Soon, Sandra had most of them swear a small oath that no matter what, they will sail with her always.

Meanwhile, President Evelyn "Georgia III" Howe has received her prosthetics and modifications, becoming a cyborg. As a result, she considers herself an angel called Columbia. With news about the Revolution pushing towards the capital, she plans to play her final gambles with what she has left in her reign.

United States of America - 12:15 Noon

A week has passed and the Revolution and sprung fast into action. Suzy, Emerald, and Sapphire were in the states besides the Mississippi, assuring that Splat-Coats didn't plan to retake the Great Plains. Camille and Nebula worked with Pyrrhus and Mysteeri to help the Revolution take states in the South. Telemachus, Kitzeh, and Celeste head to San Diego to get Sandra's Ship, the Shinkiro, return to Texas to get the Squid Beak Fleet out of the bay and move them to form blockades in New York and States east and northeast from there. Beaker Jr was left with Vix, Marina, and Wish to help Market Splatoon accompany James and Sandra.

The Syer siblings plan to storm Washington D.C. by taking the Revolution through the following states starting with Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia. On the way, they'll be leaving a few garrisons and taking historical towns and cities with Yorktown being the last. Once in Virginia, the siblings would rally their friends for one last battle.

This is called Operation Fisher's Net.

In West Virginia, Abraham of Market Splatoon stayed in Charleston to save a relative who was sent there from South Carolina. When the Syer Siblings reached Pennsylvania, James is advised by Sandra to recruit more allies to the cause. This was because there is a heavy defense stationed in Gettysburg that's blocking the way to Washington D.C. The best place to do recruitment and training is in what was once a winter encampment in the southwest of the state, Valley Forge.

When they were occupying the ancient site, the city of Philadelphia is letting the Revolution go through the city and cross the Delaware River to enter New Jersey.

Washington's headquarters - Valley Forge, Pennsylvania - United States of America - 5:00 PM

Beaker Jr is left to watch over Vix while Wish and Marina help Elizabeth collect some information from the Rebels soldier station in the camp.  Sandra and James were in a meeting with some generals, and Henri has received news during a courier task. It was from Hawaii.

"It's from Queen Liliuokalani from Hawaii," Henri explained in his French accent, "She sending her Governor to the mainland to provide their contributions to the revolution."

"We'll have another courier send Governor Jamal coordinates to Valley Forge," Sandra responded, "Merci beaucoup, Henri. Nous allons reassinger aux un autre mission plus tard." James has taught her lessons in French.

"D'accord, Madame Syer," Henri happily replied, "Salut." He leaves the tent.

"I guess we'll have to wait for Jamal to catch up," James suggested, "But I'm sure none of you want me to delay Operation Fisher's Net, so I've come to the decision of remaining here with an army to train recruits while waiting for Jamal. I'll leave my Sister Sandra, my assistant Henri, Beaker, and Vix to go on and continue the route we agreed to take."

Sandra nods. "As for Marina and Wish?"

"I'll provide them some men for archaeological excavations to see if we can make use of some information from the past," James answered.

"I'll tell the guys then." Sandra then decided to jokingly reference something. "So you're going to have Henri, a Prussian, and a Pole to train the recruits?"

"Washington did it centuries ago." James gets the idea. "But I don't think we'll be having the equivalent of Steuben or Pulaski present in Valley Forge."

"Then find one." Sandra is about to leave the tent with a large fraction of the generals following her, but she stopped at the exit. "...Want to talk you later before I continue the trail?"

"Sure." For now, James needs to discuss things with the generals staying at Valley Forge.

((At this point of the chapter, story is narrated by Sandra))

With a massive portion of James' Rebellion looking up to me to finish Operation Fisher's Net, I had them prepare their things and rally at a Visitors Center in Valley Forge for the continuation of the Operation. I told the troops and inkmatons I'll catch up with them.

I still had to meet with James somewhere. So I picked an area where a bunch of old, rotting wooden huts was; the people around here call it the Muhlenberg Huts after the man who ordered his men to build them. It was empty as the city of Philadelphia requested the revolution to not touch historical relics like these huts. But at least they didn't say we weren't allowed to be present there. This is the good place for James and me to speak alone.

I had time last week to ask Henri to get something from the Shinkiro: a photocopy of the portrait of Jade Harley that I retrieve from her home island.

I still feel sorry for the human girl who almost looked like me. I even feel the strange faint connection between me and her. What was she like? What has become of her? Did Jade Harley know about the world outside her home or at least what was going on?

I held the photocopy in my hands like any photograph taken. I kind of lost myself for a moment when I stared at the image of Jade Harley; I felt as if I was meeting her right now, back on her home island in the Pacific. We were exploring the hills and mountains, growing plants in her personal greenhouse, and teaching each other some songs. However, I know Jade would never know what an Inkling is, and I wish--

"Sandra? Are you okay?" James snapped me out of my trance. "Who's that on the photo?"

Oh, how silly of me, I was trailing off in my mind. I nearly forgot James and I were supposed to have a meeting here.

"Oh, it's just some human girl from an island," I explained, "She's gone, but... You can tell she almost looks like me."

Instead of agreeing, James gave me a look; It had a smile and eyes of understanding.

"Why are you making that face?" I asked. At first, I thought he thinks I'm weird, but it turns out that he had something similar happen to him.

James took a deep breath. "There was one campaign I did to have Northern support from Washington and a part of Canada. " He took out a very old device. When he turns it on, he managed to access the photos and social media on it. "I found this along with one photo of a boy who almost looked like me..... with a few details as exceptions. I still remember the address of his home: 21605 Fir Dr, Maple Valley, Washington."

"The human I found was Jade Harley... all I know is that she lived on an island in the Pacific -- a paradise -- with her grandfather who was a famous hunter and probably a billionaire and polymath." I leaned against one of the cabin walls, and James did the same. "Miss Harley was probably a fan of the guitar, some cephalopod plushies, and a great gardener."

James scoffed. "The human boy I found was John Egbert. A young prankster who lives with a father who also does pranks. He loved movies and is quite a fan of this guy name Nic Cage."

All I did was smile. It seems James and I do have strong connections as siblings.

(End of Sandra's Narration)

Sandra is leading the Revolution through Operation Fisher's Net; James remains in Valley Forge to build up an army. After crossing the Delaware River and entering New Jersey, they head south to cross the Delaware Bay to enter Delaware itself. They head south to pass through Maryland to cross the Chesapeake Bay and enter Virginia. Here, Sandra splits her army into four with three being sent Northwest to take three cities so that the "Fisher's Net is complete. As for the fourth portion, she's about to use it to repeat history in a place called Yorktown. And it turns out that a Splat-Coat officer and the Inkomaton "Angel", Liberty, were stationed there to negotiate with a German Ambassador for auxiliary support. New Inkomatons are occupying Yorktown along with the Ichabods and Tinmen.

Yorktown, Virginia- United States of America - 12:00 Midnight

Trenches were already surrounding Yorktown, Henri is sent off to request aid from the Squidbeak Fleet, and a revolution encampment is created in an area safely distant from the targeted town. Beaker Jr and Vix were with Sandra to look at the view of the battlefield. It wasn't the same as the last battle of Yorktown for forests have claimed what was once lands clear for a charge. The forests give an advantage for Sandra's men despite it slowing the speed of their advance: it provided them cover and chances to surprise them.

"The Siege of Yorktown is going to repeat," Sandra stated to Beaker and Vix, "But not in the way like before."

"Why is it so important?" Vix questioned. "Did something special happen here?"

"The nation we stand on was built on so many things, and a victory here was one of the roots." Sandra was facing the direction of Yorktown. "I guess the world will turn upside down once more, and this time it's us who might live, or die, or tells the story."

"Won't the historians just muddy the history and change what will be said later?" Beaker Jr questioned. "They do it like a game of telephone!"

"Yeah they do," Sandra agreed, "But there will always be someone that will be looking for us, asking for the true story."

"Meh, good point." Beaker stretches a bit. "I gotta say, we're a long way from home."

"How far are we from home?" Vix asked.

"Very far, Vix," Sandra answered, "very far."

Two hours later...

Sandra has Beaker and Vix remain in the encampment to keep them safe from battle. What she doesn't know is that once she left, Vix disappears 5 minutes later to be found in the trenches at the time of the siege starts. Beaker Jr followed after to find Vix, and he too has ended up coming along Sandra's siege of Yorktown.

Sandra has Vix, in her arms, taking him out of the forests trenches and into a clearing where the rebel troops are already moving together as one force. It slammed into the Splat-coats' defenses, forcing the enemy to hide behind barricades made of now-scrapped steampunk machines and inkmatons.

Only one Inkmaton remained in wings of gold tarnished green. She is in an armor of bronze and a scarf of grey, broken chains around her feet, and a crown of spikes. She is armed with a torch scepter along with a tablet with dovetail handles.

This is Liberty.

"What is that?" Beaker Jr is astonished by the Angel's introduction.

"An Angel of America," Sandra simply replied, "And she is fighting for the Splat-Coats."

Vix tilted his head slightly, not getting exactly what an angel is. Sandra guides Vix to Beaker Jr. Beaker still has the Steampunk Splash-o-matic, Paul, and he puts it to good use again in combat. Since Camille and Nebula aren't there to watch over Vix, Beaker has to be responsible for keeping Vix safe; However, Sandra needs to take this responsibility more.

"Beaker, Vix, stay here." Sandra takes out her steampunk dualies, Lewis and Clark. "Leave it to me and my forces in fighting these guys. If it's possible, get back to the encampment while you still can."

"But I want to help you," Beaker argued.

"Somebody needs to watch over Vix," Sandra rebutted.

They quickly looked to where Vi was standing only to find him missing. Alarmed, the two look at their surroundings and detected him too close to Yorktown's defenses.

"Beaker, you get Vix! I'll cover you!" Sandra ordered.

She and Beaker jump out of the trench and into the fight, trying to reach Vix. The Rebels thought Sandra's leading a charge and they go into a unique charging formation with rollers and brushes at the front, shooters in the middle, and chargers at the back.

When Sandra and Beaker reached Vix, the Rebels have already started breaking the defenses, making the Splat-Coats yield. Liberty sees this and flies northwest, abandoning the doomed town. However, an ink shot from an inkling rebel has the angelic inkomaton come crashing down into a part of the forest.

Another victory for the Revolution, and a strong message to President Howe.