Time For The Show

Author's Note: There are spoilers for the solo campaign here, so be warned.

Pearl was never one to knock, especially when it came to Marina's dressing room. The pair were practically sisters in every way but ink at this point, and as a result, the teenage performer had no qualms at all barging right in.

And it's how she caught Marina crying.

The octoling quickly tried to brush it off, wiping her eyes, and stammering, "Sorry... I... I..."

Pearl didn't need to ask, as a blare of music from Marina's television drew the inkling's attention. The Cephalopoda News Network's headline stood front and center, white letters set on a red field with the Great Zapfish in the background.

"TENSIONS RISE AS GREAT ZAPFISH STOLEN FOR SECOND TIME IN TWO YEARS"

"Aw man..." Pearl groaned. Marina followed the news far more closely than she did, for obvious reasons, as said news quite often literally hit home for the octoling. It was especially true now, where what had been minor disgust for octolings turned into open hate in just the last week. It had been bad enough the first time it happened last year.

Marina had gone back to sobbing. "It's only getting worse. Inkopolis and Octovia reached an agreement after the first theft that Inkopolis would build infrastructure up to the state lines so that my people could connect to more reliable power sources, and now we're being played up as greedy villains for taking the great zapfish again."

Pearl had heard about the agreement... in the sense that she had been nodding off distractedly in school while her teacher had been talking about it. It wasn't Pearl's fault; she had just thought up a fresh hook and had no choice but to spin it out into verse. You don't harsh a rapper when she's making fire, okay?

"But that was supposed to be done by now, and Inkopolis hasn't even started on their end!" Marina complained. "So us octolings are getting even more desperate and angry and... and... I know the rust is all our fault! I know we didn't follow along as technology became more advanced! We should have... but we didn't... and now we have a pile of rusted out old buildings and a population of poor, stupid octolings that are getting hungry and cold and... and..."

Pearl looked at the floor and mumbled, "I'm sorry us inklings are such greedy, mean, petty jerks."

Marina sniffled, "And I'm sorry us octolings are backwards, angry, hateful a... jerks."

"And I know those adults out there are dumb too, pointing at each other and yelling. But do you see anybody our age doing that?"

Marina shook her head. The crowds that assembled in the square for every game update had done nothing but cheer her on.

"Someday, it'll be our turn, and we'll do it right, okay? And if those adults right now haven't figured it out by then... well... then we'll just have to fix it for 'em, right?"

Marina nodded, if for any reason than to at least pretend that Pearl was cheering her up. "Right!"

But the melancholy quickly returned, "But until then... I'm still dragging you down."

Pearl scoffed animatedly, flapping lips spewing spittle. "What nonsense are you spitting? You're the best singer I know!"

Marina shook her head, "That doesn't mean I didn't see how every sponsor dropped the Splat League like a rotten eel the moment you and I were announced as hosts."

"Now, hold on a minute... that's not true!" Pearl had no idea if that was true or not, honestly. She hadn't really paid attention to the league financials. She figured if the league was in trouble, somebody would have said something. Sure, the Squid Sisters had been the headliners for some time, and there was a little shock when they abruptly quit, and even more shock when Pearl and Marina were chosen to replace them... but it wasn't that bad.

Was it?

"Do you honestly think you have to shill for Grizz Co. every other day because we have any other option? A company that sends inklings out into toxic waste to collect eggs from mutant salmonids?"

Pearl began to say something, but stopped. She had to admit that was awfully sketch.

"Companies might still supply kicks and guns for the league, but they don't want anything to do with this octoling. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it."

Physical contact wasn't Pearl's thing, so Marina better have appreciated the hug that Pearl wrapped around her shoulders. "I don't know anything about that. What I do know is that we're a team. All the way to the end, okay? And if the league tosses us out on our butts, we'll go back to performing at parties and open mics and whatever else. We're. A. Team. Got it?"

"Pearl..."

"Got it?"

Marina finally surrendered with one final sniffle. "Got it."

Pearl then pulled away, and smoothed out her dress. "Anyway, I came to say we're on in fifteen. You... gonna be up for this?"

Marina wiped her eyes again and spun in her chair with a smile. This was going to be their first Splatfest as the new hosts of the games, and nothing short of a city disaster was going to stop them. "I wouldn't miss it. No way."

"Awesome!" Pearl replied with a fist pump. "Just keep your chin up, Marina! It'll get better!"

Marina flashed her a thumbs up, and that gave Pearl the excuse to leave. The inkling was really uncomfortable being the "spirit" of the team, and pep talks were not something she did often. So it was with a heavy sigh of relief when she was back out in the hall.

At least for about fifteen more seconds.

Pearl hadn't even taken three steps away from Marina's room before she heard what she swore was a knife going across a chalkboard.

"There ya are! I was looking all over for ya!"

Sinclair. Close enough, really.

Sinclair was a music rep for... whatever record company. Pearl hadn't terribly paid much attention after their first meeting months ago, and hadn't felt inclined to pay much more attention in later meetings. He had been one of many prospective agents that had declined to represent Pearl after her debut on Inkopolis Talent Frenzy.

She had won that damn competition, and wasn't even allowed to sign her guaranteed contract thanks to idiots like this clownfish.

"How ya doing, Pearl?" He said with all the false charm of an angler. "Been too long!"

Pearl didn't even try to hide her contempt. "Not nearly long enough."

The long tendril that twirled around the left side of Sinclair's head dripped slime whenever he leaned down. That wasn't a metaphor. Sinclair literally oozed with slime, and Pearl knew this because the agent often leaned down whenever he spoke to the smaller Pearl.

"Come on now, don't be like that," he said. "You've done pretty well for yourself."

"No thanks to you," the inkling rapper huffed.

"Listen, ya gotta let stuff go in this industry. I'm sorry for not seeing it sooner, but I think I can make you hit really big! Like Squid Sisters big. No, bigger!"

Pearl had to admit that the idea of a big hit intrigued her. She wouldn't have gone into this business if it wasn't. "Is that so?"

"Yeah!" Sinclair confirmed, "You just need to be able to... let stuff go."

Pearl wasn't always the smartest or the most observant inkling. But she wasn't so stupid that she didn't see the agent's eyes drift towards Marina's dressing room. Any interest immediately morphed into disgust. "Go have dinner with Maws," she suggested venomously.

"Pearl, you spit fire! You're blazing on the mic! But no one is going to give you the time of day while you traipse about with some rednecked octoling! I've seen the books, little girl. This gig you have had to dance with an offshore salmon company just to get the funds to run this second-rate party. It won't last another year at this rate."

Pearl spun about, raising up onto her toes to be as intimidating as she could possibly manage. "One year ago, every single one of you lampreys said I was too immature. Every single singing partner said I was too shrill and too annoying."

"Pearl, that was last year!" Sinclair protested.

The inkling didn't even acknowledge the agent's rebuttal. "All except one sad octoling with the voice of a goddess."

"There's a thousand singers just as good if not better, and all of them are itching to hit the top of the charts. You'd just have to point and rake in the cash."

Pearl was beyond convincing. "Marina was the only one willing to work with me a year ago. She's the only one I'm going to work with now."

Any fake friendliness was gone, and Sinclair growled, "You're making a mistake."

"Only mistake I made was letting you talk for more than five seconds. Now get out before I have you thrown out."

"You little..."

Finally, Pearl got reinforcements, "How about you stop harassing our daughter?"

The voice came from Pearl's father, who was not a small squid by any measure. He had been a Splatling fiend back in the day (allegedly), and spent his adult years as a physical trainer for athletes and injured inklings. He was big, he was strong, and if you got on his bad side... he was very, very scary. His mop of head tendrils kinda draped over the top of his face when he got angry, so all anyone saw were what looked like two glowing red dots staring them down.

And that stature was not lost on the spindly, slimy music agent. "Oh! Did I come across as aggressive?" Sinclair asked with a nervous laugh. "That certainly wasn't my intent!"

Pearl's mother was certainly not as big as her husband, but years as a teacher for elementary students gave her a hardened strength of her own, with a voice that could make steel shatter from the cold intensity. "Mr. Sinclair... how does the saying in your biz go? Oh yes! Don't call us. We'll call you."

Pearl's father finished with a pointed finger towards the back door. "Git."

The agent didn't need to be told twice, moving so fast he probably skated out via his head slime. Pearl huffed, crossed her arms, then said, "I didn't need your help... but... thanks, mom and dad."

Her mother dropped down to hug her. "That was a very brave thing you did standing up for Marina like that. That was very good of you."

Her father rubbed his hand on her head, making her crown drop to the floor. "We're so very proud of you, squiddo."

"Ack!" Pearl hissed, ducking out of the contact and reclaiming her crown, "Mom! Dad! You're gonna ruin my outfit! I got a show to do in like... five minutes!"

Her parents laughed, and her mom stepped away to knock on Marina's dressing room door. "Marina? Are you ready, sweetie?"

The waterworks finally stopped. For all the tough girl act Pearl put on for the camera, in truth she was just the sweetest little inkling and somehow managed to always brighten Marina's mood.

Marina knew that Pearl could be the biggest star with very little effort, but either through loyalty, ignorance, or a little of both, the rapper steadfastly refused to work with anyone other than Marina from the time they had met.

Marina had been singing for spare change on street corners... often collecting as much spit in her cup as coins from passers-by who had no problem looking down on some trash octoling from the sticks. Pearl had been going through a rocky spot with people who thought she was too childish to be a top performer, and the chance meeting had blossomed into a friendship and something kinda like sisters.

Even when they were performing at street festivals for what amounted to pocket change, it had been a blast. Pearl's presence had given something like a stamp of approval to Marina and warmed attitudes, especially among those their age.

And now this... after the Squid Sisters abrupt retirement, it opened up the hosting spot for the Splat League, and the League put out an open tryout. Pearl had leaned heavily on Marina to give it a shot. "The worst they can say is no," the tiny rapper had said. "Come on, it's not like we haven't heard that a thousand times already, right?"

So Marina had entertained her... and she had been astonished when the League came back and had said that she and Pearl were their choice. Even after official sponsors got skittish, the League had stuck with their decision. "Off The Hook" was going to be the new hosts, and that was final.

It might not be the most solid ground... but it was improving. Even if some of the financial foundation was built on some pretty questionable bedrock.

Then her phone chirped, and a crackly voice cut through. "Agent A? Agent A, are you out there?"

Marina quickly snatched up the phone, and turned off the speaker. While it was extremely doubtful anyone would have heard that, there was no such thing as too careful when it came to Octoling Peace Squad business.

"B? I'm amazed you got through all the background noise here!" she said in surprise.

"Yeah, me too. So I'm sorry if I have to make this short. Dunno how long I'll have signal strength. But Leader One wanted me to get you up to date."

"That's awfully nice of you," she replied.

"The Squidbeak Splatoon has sent in an agent to try and recover the Great Zapfish. I... managed to keep the backdoor into Octo Canyon open for them, and some other things like making sure some zip lines are usable and such. It's all I could do while staying out of sight. There's a path to make it. Maybe not a great path... but at least there is one."

Marina smiled, even though she knew that the call was audio only. "That's all I was able to do a year ago. What about their Agent 1?"

"Couldn't get close enough to even attempt to scramble or remove her hypnoshades. I'm sorry."

Marina quickly tried to bolster her young protege's spirits. "Don't be sorry! You did your best! I... wish I could have done more too! I wish I could do more right now..."

"Leader One says you have just as important of a job as anything we're doing here. Even if you don't realize it. I think she's right."

"Awww... thank you. That's so sweet of you all."

The crackling got heavier, and Agent B could hear it to. "Alright, looks like the battery's starting to go. Losing signal out here. Take care, Agent A! Splat 'em tonight, okay?"

"You too, B, and I will!"

Marina had to believe that it was going to be okay. The Squidbeaks would get the Great Zapfish back, and that would cool tensions, especially once evidence emerged that someone among the Octolings had quietly assisted in the recovery.

Just like last time. It had to.

There was a knock at her door, and that's how she knew it couldn't be Pearl. Was it a stagehand telling her it was time to go? It was about that time. Marina quickly looked over herself in the mirror to make sure her makeup hadn't run too badly. Fortunately, it was as waterproof as it was ink proof.

"Marina? Are you ready, sweetie?"

The octoling's voice brightened at the sound, and she dashed out of her chair and to the door, opening it swiftly. "Mrs. P! You made it!"

Another voice, much deeper, sounded hurt. "Hey... I'm here too..."

Marina jumped out into the hall, and chirped, "And you too, Mr. P! I'm so happy you were able to come!"

"Did you honestly think we were gonna miss seeing our girls on the big stage for the first time?" Pearl's father said with a hearty laugh.

"Our girls," he had said, and it brought another fresh batch of tears to her eyes. Pearl's mother and father had been the first adults Marina had met who had approved and welcomed the octoling without any reservations, and had made no questions about considering Marina one of the family as Marina and Pearl had grown closer. Thanks to Pearl's parents, Marina had a warm bed, a sound roof, and a good meal any time she needed it. It was a graciousness that Marina would never, ever forget.

Pearl's mother hugged Marina, "Oh, sweetie... your parents will understand and support you in time. They might be hurt that you left them now, but if they truly love you, they'll come around."

Pearl's father joined the embrace, "And if they don't, we'll be honored to be your surrogate parents, understand?"

Pearl herself frowned initially, but with a groan of surrender said, "Ah heck..." before she joined the group hug. "Not like anyone's gonna see if my dress is a little wrinkled from a distance anyway."

Marina sniffled and again wiped away her tears, "Oh, you guys... you're all so awesome."

Finally, the stagehand broke up the warm fuzzies. "Off The Hook? You're on in thirty seconds."

The group quickly broke up, and Marina stepped up with Pearl right at her side. Pearl's father offered them a thumbs up and said, "Go splat 'em, girls!"

Pearl shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Dad, stop trying to be cool."

Marina countered with a smile, "You can be as cool as you want, Mr. P!"

"And don't encourage him, Marina."

The stage hand silently started counting down, then from the stage, Judd kicked off the Splatfest. "Hey squiddos! Are you ready to party?"

The cheers from the square below even reached Marina and Pearl's ears, and it was a kick of adrenaline to their spirits.

"Alright, then to start us off right, here's our hosts for tonight! Off! The! Hook!"

Pearl grinned broadly, ready as anyone could ever be for the stage.

"Showtime."