The Time from Before

Connections

"Are you kidding? I'm more than qualified. Let me tell you something." Mel began, her voice confident and proud. She straightened her posture and looked at the others with a defiant glare. "I've served as a medic for years. My medical knowledge rivals that of specialized doctors. You have no idea what I've seen and done. If you had witnessed half of the things I have, you all would've been traumatized and in the looney bin ages ago."

She looked around at the others, who were sitting with her at the top of the elevator shaft in the Supply Point. The room had collapsed, but luckily, a slab of concrete had kept the roof up. And, thanks to Agent 4, he had managed to ink the eastern wall, allowing for the others to turn into their squid forms and swim up top.

Now, they just had to wait for Allen, who was slowly climbing the rails the elevator used to ride on. He was still pretty far down there, so it would take some time.

Allen had told her to play nice, so she was doing her best. She knew that, if the situation called for it, she might have to make friends and live out her life down here on earth. What was the harm in securing that route now?

"So, I've always been curious. And Allen wasn't willing to talk about this. But, uh, humans, right?" Agent 4 leaned in close to Mel and whispered. He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial tone. "How big are their... You know..."

Mel raised an eyebrow and smirked. She could see where this was going. "Why, you interested?"

"About what?" Agent 3 asked, trying to listen in, without much success. She tilted her head, trying to catch their words.

"Well. It varies, bud." Mel swung her arm around Agent 4's neck, bringing him closer. She winked at him and adopted a playful voice. "From three, to alllll the way past a foot! But if you want an average? You're looking at... six inches, I think. Not sure myself, because I only go for the bigger ones!"

"Damn." Agent 4 sighed.

"Aw, don't sulk on me like that." Mel snickered, giving him a playful nudge, and said in a comforting voice. "Inklings are like, four feet tall. I don't expect much."

"What are you talking about?" Agent 3 asked, leaning in closer.

"Well, make do with what you got. It's the motion of the ocean, isn't it?" Mel let go of Agent 4 and pushed him towards 3.

Agent 4 panicked, stopping himself before he crushed Agent 3.

"It's been a while, but I remember we have an average of like... four?" Callie said, scratching her head in thought. "Or was it lower?"

"Ugh, please, different topic?" Agent 3 cleared her throat, finally realizing what the topic was. "Seriously."

"Oh, let's get the others in this!" Callie grabbed her radio. She grinned and pressed the button on the side. "Marina, Pearl, you there? Oh, and Marie too."

Mel made a mental note of the names. She'll probably meet them later.

The radio crackled to life.

"Yeah, we're here. What's going on down there?" Pearl piped up; her voice a bit surprising to hear.

"Alright, so–"

"Wait!" Agent 3 tried to stop Callie, but it was too late.

Callie ignored her and asked her question.

"How big is the average you-know-what?" Callie asked bluntly.

...

"What...?" Pearl asked, after a long pause.