A nightmare.

It had to be a nightmare. There was no way this was real, she wouldn't believe it— no, she couldn't believe it. Her hearts leapt violently in her chest, so much that if not for the scene before her, she'd be legitimately concerned for her health. Her breathing came as quick, gasping breaths in succession. This was unreal.

Whatever, it doesn't fucking matter though. The only thing that mattered was Callie, please for cod sake, please…

Marie felt nauseous looking down at all the ink on her hands. Being an SBS agent and all, it's not as though she'd never seen anything so gruesome. But never someone she cared so much about.

Never Callie.

"... Marie…" Callie's voice was soft and cautious. It likely hurt to speak, but she dared not show it for fear of worrying Marie even more. "...Hey, shhh shhh, it's okay…" She coughed. It was a choked sound, and it pierced Marie's very soul.

"No, no it's fucking not." Marie's hands where shaking, her vision blurred with tears. She needed to stop Callie from losing more ink, but how…? Her shirt! It was fine, they were going to be okay. Callie was going to be okay. The elder Squid Sister removed her jacket and hurriedly began to tie it around Callie's abdomen, as that's where the injury was most serious. The vibrant purple liquid quickly began to seep through and stain the lime green article. "W-why… I…" Marie took Callie's hand in her own and held it tight. She felt so cold… "I told you not to do this on your own, I fucking told you!" Salty streams leaked without shame down Marie's cheeks and onto her cousin's body. "W-why do you always rush off on your own? I… d-damn it…"

Callie lifted her hand and began whipping away Marie's tears. "I don't think I've ever seen you cry so much…" She cupped the panicked inkling's face gently and rubbed a thumb soothingly over her cheek.

"Don't." Marie hissed, fangs bared in a pained frown. "Don't do this. Not now. Stop being cheerful for one cod damn second and j-just…"

Callie was always the type to worry about others more than herself. Especially when it came to Marie. Not only was she more worried about comforting her crying cousin than her own fading consciousness, but it was her insistence on putting herself - and only herself - in danger which had gotten them into this mess in the first place. Agent 3 was in the hospital for different job related injuries and Agent 4 was on the other side of the world for a family vacation. And… well… everyone agreed they didn't want to get Agent 8 involved. She had been through enough. There was nobody but the two of them to deal with this, and upon realizing what a dangerous mission it'd be, Callie had left without Marie the morning before their planned departure. She had done everything herself, sure. But at what cost?

"H-hey, Marie… Look at me…"

Looking made her feel sick. Every time she glanced down to see her cousin's pale face or dripping ink, her stomach churned and her chest tightened. But she looked regardless. Her eyes met Callie's own, which looked oh so very dull.

"Y-Yeah Cal…? What's up?" Marie's hand held Callie's tight. Like she were afraid the second she let go, she'd lose her most treasured companion forever.

The young agent smiled a bittersweet smile up at the frazzled inkling girl. "You…" She paused, her eyes beginning to glaze over with unshed tears. "Y-you know there's no respawn around… r-right?" She followed the morose statement with another strained coughing fit.

"Yeah… I-I know…"

There was a pause. It was hard to describe the silence which passed between them. It had the same air as many of their comfortable silences in the past. But in this situation, it was infinitely more tense. If there was one way to explain their momentary quiet, it'd be mutual understanding.

"Could you… sing me something?" Callie gingerly spoke up. Her speech wavered, and lips trembled. "Just one song."

Marie wasn't confident she could sing a single note in her current condition. But she'd be damned to say no. "Uh, y-yeah of course. Which one…?"

Callie hummed in thought. She shifted her body with a pained grunt, and moved to lay her head comfortably in Marie's lap. She gave a content sigh once situated and answered finally in her usual, happy little voice. "How about Fresh Start?"

"That's… " Marie cracked a tiny smile. "Doesn't that seem of poor taste?" She chuckled weakly, moving her hands reassuringly through Callie's smooth, dark tentacles. She continued to cry, but a vague spark of something sweet dawned on her at their ability to banter, even under such urgent circumstances.

"Nah," Callie replied with an equally amused little smirk. "I think it's perfect."

That… kind of hurt.

It hurt a lot.

Because it was probably true.

Though her throat was strained, her voice was shaky, and her breathing uneven, Marie did her best to carry out Callie's request. She closed her eyes and recalled the words and melody to their hit single. It was one of their favorites; mellow and silky sounding. It inspired a sort of nostalgic feeling. Definitely one of their better pieces.

Knowing Callie would have trouble singing her own parts, Marie happily took over. She let her singing fall softly upon Callie's ears, which had been twitching and flicking in a show of discomfort.

She noticed Callie's smile and couldn't for the life of her place how it made her feel. Never in her entire life had she faced a situation such as this, and her mind wasn't equipped to handle it. Try though she might to seem like a standoffish smartass, she was more fragile than she cared to admit.

When she finished, Callie was grinning like a precious child. "Beautiful… As always Marie…"

"Heh… thanks. I'm glad it was to your liking." She sniffed pathetically. Her throat was still tight and her hands continued to fidget anxiously. "Are you… h-how're you doing?" That was a really roundabout way of asking what she really wanted to know, but she couldn't bring herself to be more specific. She'd surely break down completely.

Callie giggled wearily, wincing in pain as her chest rose and fell. "W-well I've uh… been better I guess." Lifting her hand, she gazed pensively at her own purple stained fingers. She then shifted her attention to Marie, who was staring down at her with fretful, guilty eyes. "How… are you doing?"

"Doesn't matter." Marie replied without hesitation.

"Sure it does." Callie went to lift herself up a bit more, but groaned in pain when she did. Her hand shot to her gut and held there as the pain washed over her body. She trembled and whined. After several moments spent catching her breath, she put her weight back into Marie's lap and sighed sadly. "It matters to me Marie… I want you… to be okay."

"Y-you…" Marie blinked, her starry eyes flashing with what could've well been disbelief or anger. "I can't fucking believe you…" She grit her teeth, and glared at nothing in particular. "Even now… E-even now you're just…" Marie used her arms to wipe away the moisture in her eyes. "Shit…" She cursed quietly, to nobody but herself.

"Hey…" Callie was starting to sound weaker. Her breaths were becoming more labored. "P-promise me… something… r-real quick…?"

Marie didn't give a verbal response. Instead, she simply looked down at Callie with a questioning stare.

"Stay fresh for me… alright?"

Marie's lip quivered like a frightened young child. It was a pitiful sight, she was sure. But she couldn't help it. She was about to lose the one most dear to her, and she could do nothing but wait for the inevitable.

"R-right…" Marie nodded. As the tears became heavier, she started to shiver and hiccup. "You…You too, Cal." She placed a hand delicately over the paling skin of Callie's flushed face, and mimicked the soothing thumb rubbing her cousin had done for her just minutes ago. "Stay fresh."

"M-marie…"

"Hm?"

"Love you." She offered Marie a weakened version of her signature toothy smile.

"I…" Marie took a deep breath to steady her unstable, anguish ridden voice. "I love you too."

And then there was quiet.