Nostalgia

Family does not make for society.
Family groups make for small, controllable clusters of connections.
These are dangerous.
They allow you to be controlled.
Knowing your roots is important; interacting with them is the purpose of holidays.
But if you need to rely on someone, rely on your splatoon.
They won't betray you.

"Callie Cuttlefish, formerly of the squid sisters, has been cast as the lead actress in Legally Squid. As always, we wish the best to Inkopolis News' previous hosts," Marina concludes.

"And that's all the time we've got," Pearl says.

The two of them stand up and get in position. "Join us again next time. And remember: Don't get cooked, stay off the hook!"

The cameras shut off. Marina collapses in her seat with a sigh. "Why is it so hot?"

"Cameras don't help with the air conditioning," says Pearl, flopping in another chair. She flaps the bottom of her dress a few times, trying to fan herself. "What's the biggest drink I could get before we do it again, do you think?"

"I'd rather have an ice cream cone," Marina mutters. "No time for that. Director Chovy asked to speak with us after this one, remember?"

Pearl groans, flaps her dress one more time, and follows Marina out of the room. "This is a lot more time-consuming than I thought it'd be," she grumbles.

"You could borrow some of my comics, if you'd like." Marina glances at her sideways. "Sorry about... some of the things I said on air."

Pearl waves a hand. "Trying to dispel rumors is serious business," she says, and keeps walking, snagging Marina's hand and tugging Marina after her. "I think we'll both get better after we've gotten the hang of this."

Makes sense to Marina. Hand in hand, the two walk to the director's office. Marina only lets go when Pearl kicks the door open. A blast of cold air rolls over them. "Yo! What's the sitch, Tony?"

Tony rubs his hands together. Instead of inviting them in, he joins them in the hallway, shutting the door behind him. "Now that we're fully settled into our new headquarters, it's time to explain your last duties as hosts of Inkopolis news."

"The unique splatfests clause?" Marina props her hands on her hips. "I thought we wouldn't start doing splatfests until summer."

"We've already started coming up with themes, so you can get the artists on the shirts," adds Pearl. "The first one'll be Cake and Ice Cream-"

"So all of Inkopolis can know ice cream is the superior dessert." Marina glares at her partner.

Pearl grins back. "Shows what you know."

Tony chuckles. "That's one debate that'll pass our advisory board, easily. But no. Now that we have our own building, we want to do something truly special for splatfests. And as the hosts of Inkopolis news, we want your unique stamps on it." He starts to walk away. "Follow me."

"Ay! Aren't you going to-"

"Oh, just come on, Pearl." Marina starts walking. "He'll tell us when he tells us." If this is an attempt at getting her out of the way somewhere, so she can be splatted at last, it's a strange one. Pearl wasn't around for the alleyway or the bad turf war matches, or even the time she made a deal with Mr. Grizz.

Maybe Pearl is as big a troublemaker as she is, and they plan to take care of both of them at once.

The thought makes her tense. If she weren't already sweating from the heat, she'd start now. She's prepared for her own splattage, has been since she left, but Pearl's? Unacceptable. She won't allow it.

Pearl squeezes her hand. Marina didn't even realize she'd taken it. She drops it, fast, as they reach the elevator Mr. Chovy's holding for them. "Up or down?" she asks, stepping inside.

"Down," says Mr. Chovy, and hits the bottom button.

Marina would have liked to ride down in silence, but Pearl nudges her and starts humming. It's the chorus—the only thing they can agree on—for the song they haven't finished yet, the one for their splatfests, and Marina hums her part. It's hard to be nervous when focusing on harmonizing, and by the time the elevator stops, Marina feels better.

The door opens into emptiness, and Marina's stomach lurches. Pearl races out first, eager, curious, and Mr. Chovy follows, but Marina stays where she is. One heart's in her throat, the others somewhere around her feet, and all she wants is to press the button to go back up.

The area before her is one huge room. So big, in fact, that the walls don't seem to be there; it just fades away into darkness. The dangling lights only illuminate the floor in a sort of endless twilight, leaving too many dark spots, gaps where there could be nothing at all. The emptiness causes Pearl's footsteps to echo like the tramping of boots on rock, and Marina isn't sure she's imagining the creak of structures, too old, too hard to maintain, about to fail and there's nothing anyone can do so it's best to pretend otherwise and ignore it and look away because even if it does happen no one will ever know the difference.

This place looks just like one of the domes.

"Rina?"

A hand on her arm. Marina looks down into Pearl's worried eyes.

"You okay?"

Marina swallows past a dry throat. "F-fine," she gets out.

Pearl nods once. "It's kinda spooky, isn't it?"

"It's supposed to be." Mr. Chovy walks towards the elevator. "Now that we have the space, we plan to make a number of customized areas for turf war, ones which will only be available during splatfests. There are over a dozen floors. As hosts, you will have the additional task of designing and testing these extra stages." He smiles. "Provided your designs meet our team's approval, of course."

It takes Marina's breath away. Designing. As in, engineering.

With Pearl's reassuring hand on her arm, Marina leaves the elevator. The creaking and groaning noises are all in her head. Or do the glasses not shut them out?

Is she hallucinating all this, still trapped in the domes, and now that she's under control, they're putting her back to work designing defense systems and new octobots? She's been so-so happy, these months, almost two years now. She's been playing music and writing music and singing, expressing herself in forbidden ways, playing games and laughing into the early morning. She's stopped trying to find the glasses, get them off, learn what's real. Their prized engineer is healed of whatever trauma came from that day, as much as she'll ever be, and can serve again.

Or is she in Inkopolis, giving news broadcasts full of trickery and lies? Did they actually let her get to the surface, used her hunger to guide her to Inkopolis, use Octolings placed as spies to ensure she'd learn the language and think it was her own doing? Did they leap on her friendship with Pearl-rich, naive, kind, temperamental, silly, giving, amazing Pearl-as a way to cement her into Inkling society to mislead everyone? Were her broken goggles taken to keep her from looking too strange, to cement the ruse, and now she'll be building Inkling death traps for parties she'd never have imagined before coming here?

Or...did she really escape, and they know she's an Octoling. Marina can see it, the turf war as training for a real one, using her designs to better themselves on the battlefield.

Pearl tugs Marina's arm, looking up at her with eyes swimming in anxiety, and Marina banishes that thought as impossible, takes two steps forward into the room. Pearl's not that good of an actress. She's kind, and stubborn, and silly, and loud, and messy, and, and-

Marina's hearts stutter.

Because Pearl makes her think this might be real.

Even standing in a basement or what may be a dome, and thinking of ways to make the floor move.