Prepared

I know you're nervous.
But it's your solo!
You've practiced and practiced
And you wouldn't have this if you didn't deserve it.
Get out there and sing,
So everyone knows why I'm proud.

The bell over the door lets out a soft ding as Marie pushes it open. "I'll be with you in a moment!" shouts Sheldon from the back room, followed by a series of resounding crashes. "Oh, not the roller handles," Sheldon wails, and then there's another crash, a sound like a cymbal drumroll, what may be a broken clarinet, and somebody tap dancing on rubber ducks.

Marie grins and leans against the wall as she waits.

Sheldon doesn't emerge from the back so much as he catapults, tucked into his shell and flying through the doors; he skids across the floor on his shell when he lands, knocks against the wall, and uses that to spring to his feet. "Welcome, welcome! Sorry about the mess, it's—Marie!"

Marie knocks a finger against his helmet. "Hey, Sheldon. What's cracking?"

Sheldon laughs and fixes his goggles. "Not too much. We're working on some new weapon designs out back, top secret yada yada, and it'll be closing time in just a few minutes—which of course you knew." He straightens the ties on his little red bow thing. "Would you like to wait in the back while I close up?"

"Certainly," Marie says, making her way past him, into the back room. It looks like an avalanche of weapons parts took place: gears and sprockets and lengths of string and fur knotted together are scattered everywhere, with aiming sights and nozzles mixed in at random. Marie has to pick her way past everything, trying not to step on anything too fragile, to get to Sheldon's little office with its three chairs and bulletin board crammed with notes and designs and desk overflowing with papers; Marie has to move a stack to sit down. She takes a moment to go over her script while she waits. The next splatfest is Autobots VS Decepticons, and she wants to be sure her team knows how pumped she is.

Not that it'll be announced for another week.

"All right, everyone's out of the shop," Sheldon says. He settles into his own chair. "Are you here on idol business, or agent?"

Right to the paint, as always. "Agent. Got the containment facility ready?"

"I'll have to assemble it on-site; it's a bit bulky to carry through the sewers," Sheldon says, passing her blueprints.

Marie looks at them and blinks. "This is a snow globe."

"Ingenious, isn't it? No way for him to hide anything sneaky, and you can press the octo symbol to make a tray slide out so you can deliver his meals."

Marie nods, frowning. "But it looks a bit... fragile."

"Oh, don't worry about that," he says. "To take off the top, you'll have to press the button on five different remotes simultaneously—one for each of you agents, one for the captain, and one for me. And forget about breaking the glass; that'd require several hits with something like a Dynamo, and after any hit hard enough to do any damage, an alarm'll go off on the nearest agent's phone."

That does make Marie feel better. She settles back in her chair. "Right, then. When are you free to take it over?"

"If you carry one or two parts over tonight, I can be there to assemble it tomorrow," he says. "I may need some assistance, of the hold-it-still-while-I-screw-things-in sort."

Marie nods. "Gramps and Agent 3 will be there, and probably Callie and I as well, provided nothing comes up with the news." She crosses her legs at the ankle. "With that taken care of, we should probably discuss the hero weapons."

Sheldon raises his eyebrows. "I'm already working on a hero version of the new splatling class."

"That's not what I mean." Marie sighs then, and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Sorry. I just... I was so helpless, that battle with Gramps kidnapped. We couldn't get close enough for me to get a shot off, not with all those buildings, and it was too far for bombs..."

Sheldon picks up a pen and a random piece of paper and scribbles on it. "Would making a model with the killer wail help?"

"Not for that one. Once we've placed the killer wail, it's stuck there. The Octobot King moves too fast." Marie lets out a long breath. "I... I honestly cannot think of a single weapon or sub or even special that could've hit the Octobot King then."

Sheldon stares at her. "You're asking me to make an entirely new weapon set."

Marie doesn't squirm. She does not reach for her tentacles before remembering they're tied up, and she absolutely doesn't almost gnaw her nails. "I know it's a lot to ask," she says. "And I'll understand if it's—"

"I've been waiting for this opportunity!" Sheldon leaps from his chair and grabs Marie's hand, pumping it up and down with his whole body. "New specials! I haven't gotten to design any new specials in well over a year, now, this'll be a challenge!" He releases her hand and turns to the bulletin board, tearing away old papers to reveal a clean spot. "It'll have to be turf-appropriate for long term financial viability, and balanced with current metagame tactics, and..." he trails off.

Marie coughs once to get his attention. "I'll see myself out, then?"

Author's Notes

In a week or two, there'll be a week with only one update between both stories. I want some specific chapters to fall on the same week (I may even post a chapter from each one on the same day) so that's why.

Other news: I'm... I hate admitting this. I'm having some problems financially, and am trying to pick up extra hours at work. Even if I don't, I will be fine, in an instant-ramen-meal sort of way, but this is me swallowing my pride and asking for some help, sort of: I've set up a . ww m/EikaPrime , without the random spaces. I don't have much to offer people I'm not already offering, but I've mentioned before-here and elsewhere-that one of my goals for fanfiction is to always have a healthy buffer, have extra stuff written beyond what I'm posting. The $9-a-month tier will let you read things 2 weeks early. Right now, I've got all of the next 2 week's chapters up for my Splatoon and Sly Cooper fanfics, and have scheduled future posts for all current fics for 5 PM EDT on June 6th and June 13. (Sly fans, I have about 15 chapters/weeks that need to be edited and titled and formatted, that haven't been scheduled. Splatoon peeps, at an average of 2 updates a week for those two fics, I have about 4 weeks written but they need editing and titles and opening italicy things. There'll be more updates.) Whether I get any s or not, any money or not, I will continue updating these things for free. I promise.