Chapter 50: Gathering Teammates
"Wee!" Cici jumped onto a bright blue squid, making him drop a plate of sweets. He yelped and quickly caught the sweets before they could touch the floor.
"Cici…" Jack chuckled and shook his head. "You need to learn self control." He looked over and smiled at her.
"Ah… that was close." He seemed relieved.
"Nice catch, Corol!" Pastelli applauded.
"Heh, I got lucky…" He shrugged and placed the sweets on their table, "Umm… en-enjoy."
"Hehe" Cici was hugging Corol, who was turning pink.
"Umm… err…" Corol looked at a lost of what to do.
"Cici, let him go. You are embarrassing him." Jack chuckled.
"Sleepy is having fun." Adstrum laughed.
"Corol! I love it!" Cuddlefish ran up and pulled him into a hug. Cici was now hugging the air.
"O-oh… Really? I thought you would…" Corol was turning red.
"Uh...Cici?" Jack walked up to her and tapped her shoulder.
She hugged him, "Yay."
He blushed and hugged her back.
"It was just a gift… since you worked so hard on the movie. Nana suggested it" Corol rubbed his head.
"ILOVEIT!" She crushed all the ink out of him.
"I think you are killing him." Adstrum chuckled a bit.
"Wait, you look familiar…" Cuddlefish dropped Corol.
"Oh, you are the Squid Sisters' security guys…" Corol got back up and dusted himself off, "Oh! Umm… Welcome to Starry Night Cafe."
"Yeah, that's us." Jack shrugged, still hugging Cici.
"Hey kiddo" Clair smiled at Corol.
"Miss Clair! Um... H-hello. Wow, you brought all the idols too." Corol peeked out from behind her.
"OH MY GOD, IT'S THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE! COROL, IT'S HER!" Cuddlefish cuddled Cici.
"Hello" Cici waved.
"Geez, um... I should get you guys something… Um… Nana will kill me if I don't." Corol seemed nervous.
"Heh, she's fangirling again." Adstrum chuckled.
"Nah, Granny loves you." Marie smiled at him.
"Still… I should still do something…" Corol shrugged, "Oh, sandwiches!"
"Cake?" Cici asked.
"Corol, we need cake stat!" Cuddlefish ordered.
"RIGHT!SORRY!" Corol ran into the kitchen.
"Well, Cici wants the cake. But we came here to ask you and Cuddlefish to help with something." Callie smiled nervously.
Corol brought out a lot of sandwiches and some different mini cakes.
"Corol… You need to chill…" Clair sighed.
"Yeah, dude. Calm down. You don't need to do all this." Jack nodded.
"Well, okay… Sorry…" Corol smiled sheepishly, "But please dig in anyways…"
"Yay! Thank you Corol!" Cici started eating a slice of cake.
"So… um… the splatfest… are you really going to do it again? It seemed like it really divided you two."
"Well...in a way. That's what we were going to ask you about." Callie chuckled nervously. "Marie and I are going to host sponsored teams Splatfest. Our old manager chose the theme, but we have a plan to blow it up in his face. I guess."
"Ask me about what? I can't really do much to help. But if it's about information, I can help."
"We were hoping you two could be part of the teams Marie and I are sponsoring." She replied.
"M-me play turf war? I'm terrible at turf…"
"No, you aren't. Don't let your dad get to your head, Corol" Cuddlefish replied, "Sounds like fun."
"It should be fun. We just have to set up the teams and get other things figured out." Jack replied. "Pretty sure I have to give this one some training." He petted Cici.
"If you guys say so." Corol shrugged.
"I have no weapon except for these" Cici took out her fans.
"Nope, I can't have you cutting the stages… or flooding people." Clair shook her head.
"I can teach you how to use normal weapons, Cici." Jack offered.
"Like?" Cici asked.
Everyone answered with a different weapon type.
"Hmmm… That doesn't help…"
"Chargers are very handy for taking people from afar" Marie pointed out.
"Duelies give you dodge rolls to counter people." Pearl beamed.
"Brella provides a shield and a way to attack."
"Rollers let you take out people easily up close. And you cover more ground quickly." Callie smiled.
"Your basic gun just shoots ink… Yup, that's it" Blue shrugged, "Most of us are using those."
"But it is a decent mix of distance between rollers and chargers." Jack nodded.
"Wait, so what is everyone using?" Arisara asked, "Like what is allowed and not allowed?
"All the normal weapons are allowed. Modified or custom weapons are not allowed. But replicas of hero shots and octo shots are allowed." He replied.
"Right, then I'll be using an OctoShot replica." Arisara smiled.
"I guess I'll go N-zap" Blue shrugged.
"What about a paintbrush?" Adstrum looked around. "Do any of us use one?"
"If you want me to… I was going to use a Trislosher, though" Corol replied.
"What if Cici tried a paintbrush?" Adstrum asked.
"Hm?" Cici looked up at him with frosting all over her face.
"Aw, Cici." Jack smiled and grabbed a napkin.
"No…." Cici dodged his napkin.
"You can't have a messy face." He kept trying to clean her face.
"No!" She turned into a squid and swam away.
"That's cheating, cutie." He chuckled and ran after her.
"Ah, well, I guess I'll use dualies" Clair shrugged.
"Those two are adorable together." Callie giggled.
"Hehe, they are." Marina smiled.
"E-liter for the win!" Cuddlefish smiled.
"So what are you going with Adstrum?" Blue asked.
"Krak-On Roller." He replied.
Cici giggled in Jack's arms.
"And you two?" Corol asked.
"Huh? Oh, hero shot Replica." Jack replied, wiping Cici's face clean.
"I dunno" Cici shrugged.
"We'll let you test multiple weapons until you find one you are comfortable with." He nuzzled her against his face.
"Well, in any case… So Callie, Marie, whom do you want on your teams?"
Marie looked at Callie.
"Um...I was going to let them choose what team they wanted to be on." She shrugged at her cousin.
"That's kinda hard… since some of us like you both… Um… unless two of us are very certain about picking a side" Arisara pointed out.
"I'm definitely picking Callie's team." Adstrum replied.
"And I'm picking Marie, to help keep it fair." Jack replied.
"Then how about you guys choose then?" Blue replied otherwise.
"I'm taking this lovely lady right here." Jack pet Cici's mantle.
"Okay!" Cici smiled.
"I'll take you, Blue." Adstrum waved. "I mainly want to see Cici get confused."
"..Wait, what?" Blue narrowed his eyes at them.
"Plus I want to see how well you do."
"... Now you are just saying that…. Whatever, Jack's turn."
"Um...How about Corol?" He looked at him.
"Really? Well, I'll do my best" Corol smiled sheepishly.
"I'll take Clair." Adstrum replied.
"Callie and I are besties, of course I wouldn't have it any other way" Clair grinned.
"No way! Me and Corol are unstoppable!" Cuddlefish held Corol's arm.
"Then you can be on the same team as him." Jack replied with a smile.
"And I'll take Arisara." Adstrum nodded.
"I was the only one left though…"
"Great. C'mere a minute." Pearl held up her phone,
"Wait, we're not going to be on a team?" Acrilic asked as he pulled Pastelli close.
"You are an electric experiment. We don't want you going nuts in the middle of a match." Adstrum replied.
"Hehe, I mean I'm sure they have enough players unless we can find six more people." Pastelli smiled.
"We definitely have enough players now. And the teams are even."
"Well, unless we need more matches, but that's totally up to you."
"Only one match." Callie replied. "We're trying to piss off our old manager before we blackmail him."
"I see… the only question is how did Adstrum know that?" Pastelli looked surprised.
"Know about the experiment thing? I told him when we hung out on the island." Acrilic answered.
"That's supposed to be classified!"
"He's a friend. I trust friends." He placed his head on her shoulder.
"... Alright, I guess. We'll be rooting for you Callie." Pastelli smiled.
"Thanks." Callie smiled.
"If you want we can have Zero and Cauldern play." Pastelli suggested, "Just our own personal game, Acrilic."
"That sounds fun. We can do that." He smiled widely.
"Hopefully Cauldern listens though" They walked hand in hand away.
"They are a cute couple, too." Callie smiled.
"So anyways… We should get ready. For this hopefully will not be a shit show." Pearl replied, "How are we even going to announce this?"
"Through the news, silly." Callie giggled. "Marie and I can do it so your fans don't get mad at you two."
"No way. Two birds of a flock stay together. We got ya back. We'll be the announcers while you guys perform."
"Okay. Just remember, it's a sponsored team Splatfest. Only chosen people participate instead of the whole city. Say that in the announcement so you can hopefully lessen the number of angered fans." Callie patted Pearl's back.
"It will be fine. We'll deal" Marina smiled at the two, "We are going to get the things ready for you. We'll see you at 7:00."
"Okay. Sounds good to me." Callie nodded.
Cici climbed up Adstrum.
"Oh, hello Sleepy." He chuckled and looked at her. "You need something?"
"Hello" She hugged him.
"Heh, you are cute." He pet her.
"Come on Cici. Let's get you a weapon… We can't have you be weaponless" Clair picked up Cici.
"I'll help you train her." Jack offered and stood next to her.
"Maybe you should too, Adstrum? This may help you see that you have changed" Arisara smiled at him.
"Oh, okay…" He shrugged and followed after Clair and Jack.
Cici was on top of Sheldon's shell helmet. She happily held onto the horseshoe crab.
"Heh, sorry about her, Sheldon." Jack smiled nervously and tried to grab Cici.
She held onto him.
"Heh, she is holding on tight." Adstrum chuckled.
"Eh, no worries. Just makes it harder to stand." Sheldon smiled as he slouched a bit. "What are you guys here for?"
"I dunno" Cici replied.
"We're here to have you try out turf war weapons to see which one you like best. And to teach you how to use them too." Jack pet her head before trying to lift her off Sheldon's helmet again.
"I'm not allowed to play… I think… Since I got a tailor license." Cici replied, finally getting picked up by Jack.
"That's not a problem. You are just not allowed to use any custom made weapons or clothing." Sheldon replied and stretched. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Jack replied and hugged Cici.
"I don't remember what I used back then…"
"Not a problem. You can try out any weapon you want that you see." The weapon salesman gestured to the displayed weapons.
"What about that gun?" She pointed to an ancient human gun, "It reminds me of my grandpa…. And Rubert… Nevermind…"
"Oh, not that weapon. That's a 'look but don't touch' thing." Sheldon smiled nervously. "But anything else is okay."
"There are so many…" Cici looked at all of them.
"Well, see anything you like or that stands out?" Adstrum asked.
"You can take your time if you want." Jack smiled widely.
"Ummm… Hmm..." She looked around and climbed into a Slosher, "Hehe."
"Aw, so cute." Jack picked the slosher up and looked into it. "Hello."
Cici giggled at him.
"Ah, the slosher…" Sheldon began to explain.
"It works like this!" Adstrum grabbed it and tossed Cici out onto Jack's face.
Cici stuck onto his face. She was covered in bubbles.
"Thank you for that demonstration, Adstrum…" Jack sighed and pulled Cici off his face, a beard of bubbles being left behind.
"Yay" Cici hugged him.
He blushed and hugged her in return.
"How's this look?" Adstrum held up a Splatling.
"Huh...For some reason that looks like it suits you." Jack replied.
"Eh, didn't like chargers because they had to charge. Don't like these for the same reason." The black tentacled inkling replied while shaking his head. "Would like it a lot more if the charge-up was to allow it to fire continuously instead of a limited amount each time."
Cici looked at it, "It's kinda bigger than me…"
"Yeah, I doubt you could use that effectively." Jack petted her head.
"Or lift it." Adstrum laughed and tossed it over to Sheldon.
"That's probably not true…" She pouted.
"I'm kidding, sleepy." Adstrum smiled. "Aw, pouty pouty pouty."
Cici looked at the ink brush and touched the bristles.
"Oh, you like that one?" Sheldon asked as he put the Splatling back in its display.
"It's soft." She nuzzled into it.
"Aw, cute." Jack smiled. "You want to try that one?"
"Um, I'll take one of everything I guess… Just in case I change my mind."
"Alright. Sounds good!" Sheldon smiled widely and went to the register.
Cici gave him a check with a crazy amount on it.
"Woah...this is way more than enough."
"Yeah, she does that." Adstrum sighed and helped carry the weapons to the testing range.
"I don't really know how much everything is so… Um, the rest is a tip. Oh and my papa says hi."
"Your papa?" Sheldon raised an eyebrow.
"He made the bloblobber and the bubble wand."
"Oh! Well, let him know I said hello as well."
"Come on, Cici." Jack held the firing range's door open for her.
"Hehe" She gave Sheldon a hug and ran to Jack.
He led her to the range and pointed to the test dummies. "You can splash ink on those to pop them. They are for target practice."
"Balloons!" She hugged the targets.
"We don't hug them, silly." Adstrum laughed.
"They are huggable."
Jack chuckled a bit and went inside for half a minute before walking back out the same color as Cici.
Cici crawled on top of the target.
"You have your hands full, buddy." Adstrum chuckled.
"You're helping too." Jack replied.
"How did you do that?" Cici pointed at his tentacle color.
"Sheldon has a color changing station inside so people can try out whatever color they want, even though it never really matters. But in this case, it does." He fired at the target Cici was on and popped it.
She fell onto the floor, "It popped…"
"Yeah, but they come back immediately." He pointed to the spot it was at as another inflated.
She looked at the different weapons.
"You guys forgot the most important part of your gear…" Clair walked over with an ink tank.
"Oh, hey Clair." Jack rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, we forgot to get Cici a tank. Thank you."
"It's all good. I got you registered with the Inkopolis tower. So you get beginner's gear, a Splatter Shot Jr, an ink tank, and lastly your ID. You need to tap your ID to get into the tower for matches."
"Thanks." He smiled widely and looked back at the targets, seeing Cici back on top of one of them. "Really?"
"Surprised Sheldon let Cici buy all those weapons then." Adstrum looked at them. "Must have been a lot of money to get him to ignore the 'freshness' requirement."
"Are you kidding? Cici's clothes are top tier. If he refused her he would have to refuse everyone."
"That is true." He looked back and watched Jack pop the target again, watching Cici fall into the ink he had splattered on the ground.
"I made Callie and Marie's clothes." Cici smiled as Jack pulled her out of the ink.
"Exactly." Clair laughed, "He would have to deny them, too."
"Makes sense." Adstrum shrugged. "But we are just going to do one match for this 'mini splatfest' so we can piss off Tom."
Cici scrubbed his face with her brush.
Jack smiled and laughed. "You having fun?"
"I guess I'll go with this one."
"You didn't even try out the others." Adstrum pointed to the pile of weapons.
"I know, but we do kinda have a time limit, don't we?
"I think we have until tomorrow night or tonight." Jack shrugged.
"We have until tonight… That dick waffle called and told us the splatfest is tonight" Clair shrugged.
"Oh, he's going to be pissed when Pearl and Marina make the announcement later of what the fest is really going to be." Adstrum laughed.
"When do they do the news?" Jack asked as Cici kept painting his face.
"Seven, when the sun goes down."
Cici tried the splattling. It pushed her back with every shot.
Adstrum was on his knees laughing as Jack walked up to her with a concerned face.
"You alright?"
"I can't really stop it pushing me back" She chuckled.
"Heh, no you can't." He patted her head.
She couldn't lift up the roller and got squished by it, "Too heavy…"
"Aww, Callie will be kinda sad" Clair chuckled at her.
"I gotcha." Jack lifted it up and placed it against the wall. He grabbed Cici's hand and helped her up.
"I don't want Callie to be sad…"
"Don't push it Cici. I don't need to remind you that you weren't in the best health before."
"So? I don't wanna make her sad."
"It was a joke. She wouldn't care."
"Yeah, this isn't a very serious splatfest anyway. We're just trying to get Tom's attention and piss him off at the same time." Jack replied.
"Oh, okay" Cici smiled, "Then it is exactly what I want to use."
She took the brush.
"Did you know that brushes are part of the roller family weapon?" Clair whispered and Cici's eyes sparkled.
"I thought they were their own family." Adstrum replied.
"Nope. You can run as you paint like a roller and flick ink."
"Yeah, like this." Adstrum took Cici's hands and helped her splash the ink around in front of her.
"Really?" Jack replied as ink dripped from his body.
She smiled and hugged Adstrum.
"Aw, love you too, sleepy." He hugged her back.
"Alright, let's go back." Clair suggested, "We shouldn't waste too much energy and get ready for the match."
"Sounds good to me." Adstrum replied and followed her after picking up all the weapons Cici purchased.
"We're coming." Jack put his arms around Cici, covering her with ink.
"Hehe" She nuzzled Jack.
"Love you." He petted her head and dragged her toward the door.
She followed him.
"So this is going to be one match. The winning side doesn't matter." Callie looked around at her cousin and the Off the Hook idols.
"Right, so how are we even gonna start this?" Pearl asked, getting ready for the concert.
"Well, I guess we start the announcement when they get into position on the pads, I guess." Callie shrugged. "We want to tick off Tom, and if we announce it nearly when the match starts then he won't be able to stop it."
"Heh, Corol's freaking out" Marie watched the squid paced around in the other room.
"I mean he did have a falling out with turf wars back in his town." Marina pointed out.
"Oh, well, he doesn't have to do this if he doesn't want to. We can find someone else." Callie replied.
"This is about to start… where would you find a replacement?"
"Acrilic and Pastelli?" She smiled nervously.
"Did they leave?"
"No, I think they are sticking around to watch the match. Probably to see how Corol and Cuddlefish do."
"Do you wanna call them? I mean, we are going to start soon…"
"Sure, we can call them." Callie nodded.
"Um… did we ever get their number?" Marie asked.
"Um...not sure…" Callie pulled out her phone and started scrolling through their contacts.
"Yo kid, you cool?" Pearl stuck her head out to ask Corol.
"Um… Define 'cool'. I'm kinda nervous..." He replied.
"Hehe. I hope these hugs are helping" Cici replied hugging his back.
"Ah...um... err…" Corol turned pink.
"That's cute." Callie giggled before hearing something hit the glass. She turned and saw Adstrum making faces on it. "Heheheh. Addie, that glass is filthy! You know how many people touch it each day?"
He quickly pulled his face off and started wiping his face with his sleeve while Callie laughed harder.
"Here. Maybe Pastelli can talk some sense into you" Cuddlefish handed Corol her phone.
"H-h-hel-lo?" Corol stuttered from embarrassment.
"Hehe, you sound like you are being shaken Corol. What's wrong?" Pastelli giggled.
"Who is it!?" Acrilic's voice was heard from the background.
"Oh you it's just Corol. Poor kid's nervous. You'll do great, Corol."
"Does he need a pep talk!? I can give him a pep talk!"
"I hope you don't make it worse…"
"I might! Kyahahaha!"
"Um, I don't know… I honestly don't wanna let Callie or Marie down. I'm worried I can't perform the best I can." Corol sighed and patted Cici's head.
"You don't have to worry about disappointing either of us. We aren't considering this a legitimate Splatfest." Callie poked her head out with Pearl.
Corol jumped a bit. Cici tilted her head in confusion.
"You need to learn to relax, Corol. Nothing is on the line in this." Jack patted his back. "It's just for fun."
"... I can't help it…" Corol sighed and fell onto a chair.
"Heh, reminds me of when I started out in Turf Wars." Jack chuckled.
"I mean if you weren't a laughing stock of a whole city…." He muttered.
"Hey, you helped saved Botanical Garden from Octarian troops," Pastelli replied.
"That has nothing to do with turf war…"
"Did Cuddlefish ever invite him to the firing range or to friendly one on one battles!?"
"He kept saying no and that he's too busy with work." Cuddlefish shrugged.
"But that's true…" Corol muttered.
"What did he do for work again!?"
"I make bread and cakes… remember?"
Footsteps were heard as Acrilic approached Pastelli. "I remembered the bread and pastries, just wasn't sure if you did cakes. Did you ever decorate them?"
"Of course I did."
"Well, just think of the turf war as you walking over and decorating a giant cake, I guess. You don't have to think of it as a stressful situation."
"... That isn't remotely the same… It's okay. I'll be okay" Corol sighed.
"I'm just trying to help. I view turf wars as a stress reliever." Acrilic replied and then shrugged at Pastelli before handing her the phone back.
"If it's a big deal I can have Zero take over…. Wait… No, that wouldn't be a good idea…"
"I could take over but that wouldn't be a good idea either. Kyahaha."
"Cauldern would try to eat the opposite team…"
"Is there any way that the match can be made more comfortable for you, Corol?" Callie asked.
"No I'll be fine. I just need to stay focussed on not making myself a laughing stalk again…"
"Hm...What if I had Addie do something stupid to get the attention away from you?"
"That wouldn't be fair to your team."
"I told you already, this isn't a legitimate competition. We're just doing this for fun. Doesn't matter who wins or loses."
"Fun huh? I guess I need to find out what that feels like" He chuckled nervously.
"I'll show you" Cici jumped onto him.
Corol fell over with her.
"Heh, yeah, Cici is good at having fun. Even if her way of having fun makes me freak out sometimes." Jack chuckled before sighing. He bent down and helped them both up.
"Hey, we're back" Blue walked into the studio with Arisara.
"We got the T-shirts and bands. Spyke looked at us weird when we asked for them."
"Welcome back!" Callie smiled widely. "Wait, Spyke's still doing business? I thought he retired."
"Well, I thought he would still have the old shirts" Blue shrugged.
"Oh, that would make sense."
"Hello!" Cici jumped onto his face.
Blue stood there a bit annoyed.
"Cici...You have a problem." Jack chuckled and grabbed her. "Stop jumping on people's faces. It's a bad habit."
"Hehe."
"So normally these would have to be used to get abilities, but I'm sure Cici can fix them so you can have whatever skill you need for this match." Arisara explained.
"I'm sure random abilities will be fine for me." Jack replied.
"Me too." Adstrum nodded.
"Okay, random for everyone then." Cici stitched the symbol of each idol into the shirt's tag.
Cici handed out the shirts and skipped away with hers.
"Heh, that's cute." Jack blushed a bit as Cici skipped away.
"It's now or never…" Corol shrugged and went to change.
"We totally got this" Cuddlefsh put an arm around his neck.
"Don't worry. Just try and relax and have a bit of fun."
"Thanks." He smiled sheepishly.
Callie smiled at everyone going to get changed before noticing Adstrum standing there staring at his shirt. "Addie?"
His eye twitched a bit.
"ADDIE!"
He shook his head and looked at her. "Wh-what? What?"
"Please remain calm during this. It's not a rematch. It's just a fun match."
"Even if it's not real. I feel like history is going to repeat" Marie muttered.
"I promise that won't happen." Callie wrapped her arms around her cousin.
"Yo, the crowd is ready for you guys" Clair walked back inside, "I'm gonna get changed."
"I'll do my best to stay under control." Adstrum nodded and ran to change his shirt.
As everyone got ready, Pearl and Marina walked up onto the stage.
"HELLLOOO INKOPOLIS! I KNOW THIS IS WEIRD FOR THE SPLATFEST TO START SO SOON!" Pearl shrugged.
"Well, I mean this isn't a normal Splatfest… this is the Splatfest that… um, well. You know" Marina nervously rubbed her head.
"But we aren't the only idols performing here today. Holler for the one. The only. SQUID SISTERS!"
Callie ran out onto the stage waving at the crowd with a big smile. Marie followed behind her waving and stayed composed.
"HI EVERYONE! HOPE YOU ARE STAYING FRESH!" Callie jumped up and raised her fist into the air.
The crowd cheered, with some murmuring as well.
"So y'all are probably wondering why ya don't get to choose a side… That's because our manager wanted to be a dick. So we have something special in mind." Pearl said into the mic.
"We're doing a mini-Splatfest! Marie and I each have one team fighting in one match, and that will be broadcasted live for you guys!"
"It will be ten minutes and you, the audience, may throw aid to whomever you wish" Marie read off a card.
"Aid?" Callie covered her microphone with her hand and looked at Pearl. "What aid?"
"To keep it fair, all gear abilities are null. They are small boosts. Like Swim speed for 30 seconds. One per player every minute. It's a small candy."
"Oh, okay. That actually sounds interesting. They should do that for sponsored teams in tournaments." Callie licked her lips a bit. "And now I want candy. Or fries."
"So you take a gummy and…" Pearl threw it into the air and Cici jumped and ate it.
"Yummy!" Cici ran around the spawn point.
"Heh, come on, Cici. We got to go inside the tower." Jack gestured to her to follow.
"Of course they don't have to eat it. It dissolves into the ink on their heads." Marina chuckled at Cici stealing Pearl's candy.
"That is so cool! When were these made!?" Callie looked at her.
"Ari made them when she stepped out" Marie smiled
"That's awesome!"
"Cici, stop!" Jack tried to pull her away from Pearl. "We'll get you more candy later. We have a match to play."
"Okay…"
As the teams headed for their starting pads, Adstrum handed Cici the detonator for the splatbomb he put in Tom's office.
"Hm?" Cici looked at it.
"Pull that trigger if you want to really piss off Tom." Adstrum chuckled.
"Oh! Okay!... Um, now?"
"If you want to. I'd wait until halfway through the match or the end of it."
"Maybe at the end."
"Alright, sounds good. Have fun." He patted her back before heading to his spawn pad.
"Alright so now let's introduce you to our team players." Pearl waved, "The BEST team! The bubbly and excited players on Team Callie."
"Thanks, but let's try not to play favorites here." Callie giggled nervously. "Both teams are great." She looked over at Marie with a smile.
"Well, yeah, it's just a game. But we still have to be on opposite side."
"Oh, I get it." She sighed but nodded.
"Sorry, it's just part of the show. You know we are team Squid Sisters" Marina smiled.
"I gotcha. Well, my team's members are…" An image of each person showed up on the screen when Callie called them out. "Adstrum Tenebris, Clair Skye, Blue Raptore, and Arisara Mell!"
"On the other side we are calm and tactful. We are graceful and champions, Team Marie!" Marina beamed.
"Players' on my team are Jack Trench, Cecilia Bubbles, Corol Finigin, and Cuddlefish De Ray." The screen showed an image of each person.
"Well, are both teams ready!?" Callie looked at the screen as it switched to show the map, which was Blackbelly Skatepark.
The cameras looked at each spawn point with each player emerging from the ink.
"Let's get ready…. And ready… set..." Marie smiled.
"GO!" All idols yelled.
Author's Note: New chapter before the end of the year! Yes! Hope you all enjoy this chapter. We are almost at the end, so not many updates left. This fic would have been longer, but I'm feeling burnt out on it. And also because of a review someone said about the fic having reached its climax, and I think they are right. I had an idea to include Callie getting somewhat hypnotized and kidnapped and had it planned since nearly the beginning, but I might save that for a different fic or something. If I get motivated to write another Splatoon Fic. Let's hope Splatoon 3 doesn't mistreat the Squid Sisters.
Thank you The Bowser Monster, Noodle Doodle, and both guests for writing reviews. I really appreciate them.
He's fine now, Noodle. No need to worry about him. But thanks anyway.
The fic is not over yet, Guest. But it will be soon, so look forward to the rest.
Glad to be somewhat back, Guest. But I'm sorry to say that my motivation for this fic is not as high as it used to and have trouble staying focused on it. I'm still writing it and will only stop when we reach the end. But hope you enjoy it.
I'll see you all next chapter and next year! Stay safe and have fun!
