Respite
"…aaaaand cut to commercial! Okay everyone, take five! Let's all rest up for now."
Mack Saltwater breathed a sigh of relief, slipping out of his chair in the recording booth and reaching for the nearest towel he could find. Dabbing the sweat off his brow, he watched as his fellow colleagues exchanged murmurs of gratitude as they took a break.
He briefly glanced back at the sign hung right outside the booth, though perhaps a piece of paper with "News" printed on it taped to the wall was far too charitable a description for it. Sure, it was good he still had a job to do ever since Splatfest and in turn Turf Wars stopped altogether, but…
"Yo, Mack! How's your day been?"
The fishman turned at the sound of the voice. Cranky Steve was looking up from fiddling with the sound system, and looking at him with a concerned face.
"…fine, more or less." Mack mumbled back, sounding just as exhausted as everyone else around him.
"Is that so?" Steve replied, raising a brow in skepticism. "Everyone else that I've yammered to said the same thing: they're bored, they'd rather be dealin' with Turf Wars and the like rather than this dull shizzle, that sorta thing. You're the ex-host of Splatfest commentary, pretty sure YOU'D be a lot more down than the others."
Mack reeled internally. Steve's guess was accurate to the point it was somewhat intimidating. "Err…. Yeah, you're absolutely right."
Steve nodded sagely. That is until his headphones nearly slipped off, and he had to put it back on his head. Spotting a nearby unopened bottle of water, he tossed it at Mack, who managed to catch it in midair with a precise swipe.
"So, whaddya think of reading the news on the Inkopolis radio channel?" The prawn asked, adjusting his headphones. "You seem to be adjusting just fine, so far."
"Well, I suppose it's not that much different from what I usually do. It's just that it's… BORING!" Mack threw up his arms dramatically. "There's no energy, no pizazz! Just say what's on the teleprompter and be on my merry way! It's not the same as narrating a sport, it's just too predictable!"
"I ah… I getcha." Steve replied, noticing a couple of colleagues within earshot that were glancing at their direction. "Wouldn't the more explosive pieces be interestin' for you? Like-"
Cranky Steve's eyes widened as he recalled something. "Oh, that's right! The Splatfest Altar's messages! You remember the one that broadcasted two days ago, right?"
"Yeah! I did! Saw it all happen on TV the other day!" Mack's face lightened up as he recalled the Squid Sisters being caught off guard by the abrupt appearance of the message being printed. "Didn't you say you were also there when another one of those were being printed?"
"Yeah… big surprise, that one. I had to call up everyone I knew to tell 'em something big was happenin'." Steve rolled his eyes as he recalled the difficulties he had recording the news with the Squid Sisters. "It was a lotta work convincin' some of 'em it was really true… I don't think there were a lot of people that actually believed there was even any chance Splatfests were coming back."
"I can imagine… Oh, now that you mention those messages, have you heard?" Mack said, as he watched Steve get back to examining the microphones. "Someone out there in the city's been acting on them! I overheard some inklings talking about it while I was on my way to work, something about a bunch of boys and girls working together to bring the festival back."
"I suppose that'd explain what happened the other day in the Plaza." Steve stopped abruptly in the middle of fiddling with the wires. "Good criminy, that was crazy to witness… the entire crowd just up and jumpin' into the same manhole all at once! I saw it happenin' just outside the Squid Sister's studio right after that second altar message came out. How did it go again… 'brothers in arms once stood hand in hand'… something like that."
"The manhole, huh? You reckon it's to do with those two's… 'side job'?" Mack asked, taking a sip from his bottle.
"Pfft, what else can it be?" Steve snorted. Callie and Marie's stint as Agents was common knowledge among the regular folk working in the entertainment industry given their lack of subtlety, and it hadn't taken them long to realize that one particular manhole outside the Squid Sister's studio was connected to the octarians somehow. Still, it seemed management wasn't bothered with the two idols doing their Agent work as long as it didn't bite into their regular careers. Personally, Mack still found it bewildering that those two can somehow pull it off for months without going mad in the slightest.
"I suppose it can't be anything else." Mack finished the water in his bottle, casually lobbing it into the nearest recycling bin with a toss. "Wonder what's happened down there, anyway? Those girls seemed more tired than usual when they came to work today…"
"Everyone, we're live in a minute!" A sharkman in the back with sunglasses called out, waving a rolled up piece of paper. "Mack, get into position! Cranky, boot up the teleprompter! Fillmore, I need you to…"
"Oh crud, we'll talk later. Ah… wait!" Steve halted Mack with a raised claw. "After we're done, reckon we should go out and see how the whole situation's been chuggin' along so far?"
"Oh? What are you proposing?" Mack asked.
"Well, I'd reckon it'd be a shame if we don't get to see for ourselves some of the action. What say we go and check out what those kids are doing with the whole Splatfest restoration business? We'll take it up with management, disguise it as a reporter job."
Mack smiled from ear to ear. If this was indeed commentary on the restoration of Splatfests, this job is exactly up his alley. "Fine by me. See you after this broadcast, I'll meet you by the vending machine just next to the lifts."
As the countdown ended, and the radio broadcast became live once more, Mack prepared his notes as he glanced at the teleprompter, looking through his notes with a smile. It would certainly be an exciting prospect, witnessing the return of Splatfests…
"Welcome back, listeners! Mack Saltwater here, with all the latest updates on the streets…"
A gentle breeze blew through the air, as snow slowly drifted down on Porpoise Park. Thanks to the recent bout of concentrated snowfall, the entire landscape was covered in white, even more so compared to the beginning of winter season. Even the frozen lake was coated in a thin layer of snow, perfectly camouflaging it from its surroundings.
Somewhere down the snowy pathway, Mei-Lin was seated in her usual spot, sketching earnestly like she used to. Her muse today was a small flock of sparrows that somehow managed to brave the cold, strutting about within a beam of sunlight that shone from above and beamed down on a partially melted path of ground, revealing the brickwork beneath.
"Hold still now…" Mei-Lin whispered, carefully detailing the feathers on one of the sparrow's wings. "…There. That looks good."
The sparrow in question chirped happily, preening its feathers. If she didn't know better she could've sworn the bird was making itself look more presentable.
Mei-Lin briefly looked down at what she had drawn, when an image of the events that had occurred the day prior shot through her head. Feeling a wave of vertigo overcome her, she winced and tried to let it pass, putting aside her sketchbook. There was no way she could draw if her mind is uneasy.
"…ugh, I can't believe this." She moaned.
The sparrows chirped back quizzically, and Mei-Lin looked down at their small and feathery bodies with a sigh.
"…you guys are so lucky." She said, "You don't have to care about anything. Just… eat, sleep, fly through the sky… you guys don't even think about it when you can't save someone else…"
The sparrows didn't really answer back. A couple went back to preening their feather, while one looked at the inkling curiously, tilting its head.
"I… I suppose not even being capable of caring isn't such a bad thing." Mei-Lin smiled sadly, the chirping of the sparrows settling her mind as she reached for her sketchbook again. "I can tell you anything I want. You won't judge me for the things I had messed up. It's… a kind of blessing, I suppose."
"Ah, there you are!"
Mei-Lin jumped at the loud voice, turning instinctively at the source. She yelped as she was faced with a gas mask staring right back at her, before the rest of her mind managed to catch up with what she was seeing and she realized Cobalt was greeting her. It seems like even the cold weather was finally getting to him, as he's worn a Camo zip hoodie on top of his shirt to keep out the elements.
"Oh…. Whoops?" The masked inkling laughed, as the sparrows flew off and roosted on a nearby branch. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?"
"…hello." Mei-Lin replied sourly, looking back down at her drawing before she closed her sketchbook.
"Well, hello to you too!" Cobalt took a seat next to Mei-Lin leaning on the bench. "Did I startle you?"
Mei-Lin merely gave him a cold stare. "…you know, I still remember how you busted down the door to my house."
"Ouch. C'mon, I apologized for that! Heh heh…"
Cobalt looked around, surveying the landscape. "Huh… Where's Katelyn? Doesn't she normally stick to you like glue?"
"She's... gone to get some drinks for me." Mei-Lin replied, sighing. "It's been five minutes… what's keeping her so busy?"
"Well, it can't be anything complicated." Cobalt scratched the back of his head, in thought. "…probably."
"ARGH! Blasted machine!"
Katelyn hammered her fists on the vending machine in vain, merely making loud metallic thumps with every hit. Inside her bobble hat, an impatient cooing can be heard.
"Yeah, I know, Salty!" She grumbled, before shivering from the cold. Due to the drop in temperature lately she's taken to wearing a white coat with a furry collar and silk stockings alongside her usual apparel to accommodate, but it doesn't seem to have done much in keeping out the icy air. "Urgh, I can't stay out here for long…"
She gave the temperamental machine another right hook, wincing as it did nothing but give her sore fingers. "GAAAH! Eat my coins, why don't you?! Dammit… now what?"
Katelyn's hat wriggled, and Salty popped out from underneath to have a closer look. Hopping carefully onto her shoulder and then onto the ground, the sea snail stared inquisitively at the dispensing hatch on the bottom the machine.
"You…. wanna try something?" Katelyn asked.
"Coo!" Salty merely replied. Katelyn reluctantly lifted open the plastic cover to the hatch, and watched as Salty crawled up into the hatch and into the vending machine itself.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Katelyn asked, before a series of muffled bangs and crashes echoed from within the machine. Startled, the inkling flipped the cover open again, just to see two cans of soda cascade out of the chute along with a shellshocked Salty.
"Ah, you did it!" Katelyn exclaimed, picking up Salty along with the cans of soda. "C'mon, let's head back before-"
She paused briefly. The rattling noises coming from the vending machine haven't stopped. A few seconds later, another can of soda fell out of it, followed by another, and another, and another…
Surprised by this development, Katelyn looked around to make sure no one was close by, before ducking down and scooping up all the cans she can carry. Hearing an ominous creaking, she wheeled around and saw the vending machine shuddering dangerously, seemingly about to explode.
Katelyn and Salty immediately looked at one another, both of them paling.
"…Uh oh."
Stopping to slip Salty back into her hat, Katelyn bolted as fast as her legs can carry her, right before an avalanche of refreshments quite literally exploded out of the machine. The unexpected hazard bowled over an unfortunate jellyfish, which had the misfortune to be strolling by at that exact moment.
"I mean, it's just getting drinks in a park, it's not complicated." Cobalt said, kicking his feet lazily. "She'll be back in a mo, I reckon."
"I suppose…" Mei-Lin muttered. Noticing that the sparrows have cautiously fluttered back onto the pathway, she opened up her sketchbook again before she continued her drawings.
"…just what are you doing here, anyway?" Mei-Lin asked eventually.
"Chris ditched me, he's gone somewhere to do…. stuff. I wasn't paying attention. So, I went and read the group chat outta boredom, and saw that you and Katelyn are apparently hanging around out here. So…. Here I am." Cobalt replied. "Well, I think he told me he'll message us once he's ready. So until then, I'm just gonna chill here."
"…I see." Mei-Lin paused momentarily, looking at the sparrows.
A chilling breeze blew down the path, a handful of snowflakes floating by as a result. The two inklings sat there in silence, waiting for their friends to eventually show up.
"Man, it really has been a crazy week, hasn't it?" Cobalt finally broke the silence, leaning back lazily. "First all that nonsense in Backwater Barricade three days back, then we had to rescue octarians from a crumbling underground city just yesterday. Urgh… we earned this break."
"I suppose." Mei-Lin replied, stowing away her pencil as she finally finished sketching the flock of sparrows before her. "…it's all just so unreal to me. All that just… happens in the span of three days. It's just…"
"Just what?"
"…exhausting. I guess." Mei-Lin sighed, her breath crystalizing in the air into a soft mist. "I'm just not cut out for this… I'm just not."
"Eh, I dunno about that." Cobalt shrugged his shoulders. "You dealt the finishing blow on that huge thing the Under-Sea-Dogs sprang on us! Reckon that's worth some kinda praise, I'd say…"
"I-It was a fluke! Besides…" Mei-Lin's voice lowered to a whisper. "I couldn't have done it without… h-him being there by my side… He was so reassuring… so kind… I…"
"…Oh my, sounds like someone has a crush!" Cobalt's eyes narrow with mischief as he realized what Mei-Lin was implying. "You got the hots for Chris, don'tcha?"
Mei-Lin's face instantly flushed a shade of auburn. "W-w-w-wait, that's not what…! I- I mean…"
"It's okaaaaay, you don't have to tell me!" Cobalt replied in a sing-song voice. "I'll put in a good word with him! Perhaps if it goes well, he'll ask you out on a date! Maybe he'll even hold your hand, and give you a k-"
"S-shut up!" Practically by reflex, Mei-Lin took a swing with her sketchbook, clouting Cobalt in the head. Her face was positively glowing with embarrassment.
"Ow! Ow! Stop hitting me!" Cobalt flailed his arms in pain from the impact. "Yowch, that hurt…! Since when did they start making sketchbooks with covers hard enough to work as improvised weapons?!"
Mercifully, Cobalt's teasing was interrupted when both his phone and Mei-Lin's began to vibrate simultaneously. Both inklings stopped their miniature squabble and took out their phones, reading the message being displayed on their screens.
"Oh, looks like Chris is done with whatever he was up to… Hmm…" Cobalt said, rubbing his head. "Let's see… 'Inkopolis Plaza', 'invited Sheldon', 'meet at the coffee shop', yada yada... Wait, 'bring your weapons'? What's he getting at?"
"…I don't know." Mei-Lin replied, looking at the display worryingly. "What weapons, exactly?"
"I'd imagine it'd be the weapons we'd been using so far. Guess that means you'll be taking Eliza's Splatterscope." Cobalt turned off his phone and pocketed it, before getting up from his seat. "Best not keep him waiting."
"Alright."
"HEEEEY! HOLD UP!"
Cobalt and Mei-Lin turned at the source of the voice, and both were bewildered by what they saw. Katelyn was walking down the path, carrying a mountain of drinks and barely standing upright. It was a miracle she was still able to see where she was going.
"I… I only needed one can." Mei-Lin said weakly.
"Well, blame the vending machine, not me!" Katelyn shouted back. "Oh, Cobalt! I didn't expect to see you here! Help me out with this, won't you?"
"…guess we'll be talking over a huge mound of refreshments as well. Welp, no complaints!" Cobalt laughed, before walking down the path to give Katelyn a hand.
"Weapon upgrades, huh? Can you elaborate on that?"
Katelyn stared at Chris with a puzzled expression, tapping the can of soda in her hand on the table. The team sat assembled around a table outside of a coffee shop just a few streets down Inkopolis Plaza, their chosen beverages in hand and a discussion fully under way. Their weapons are piled up at the very middle of the table, attracting a few nervous stares from the jellyfish bartenders that walked in and out of the shop carrying cups of coffee. Chris himself appears to be sporting a varsity jacket ever since the temperature's taken a spot for the worse, and he was still shivering slightly despite the warmer apparel.
"It's exactly as I said, I'm cashing in on the Power Eggs we've been given." Chris elaborated. "I'm sure we all remember the difficulty we had fighting the Octoasura the other day."
"Don't remind me… our regular weapons were barely doing anything towards that thing!" Cobalt groaned, neglecting his drink. "We would've been hosed if Eliza's Splatterscope didn't have that weird death beam tacked on it as a Special!"
"There was also that Pawn… thing, right?" Mei-Lin added, silently drinking the warm can of corn soup she picked out of the mountain of drinks. "That thing stopped you on the way out of Sector 0… that's what you said, right Chris?"
"Yeah. We had to get creative to destroy it for good… and I doubt we'd be lucky enough to rely on outside elements again if we ever run into something similar out there during our journey." Chris took a sip from his canned coffee, before continuing. "Short to the point: our weapons are made for fighting inklings or octarians, but they are definitely not engineered with ink-resistant enemies in mind. We still don't know what we'll have to deal with when we find the last two crosses, but it's best that we don't take any chances."
"So…. do you mind telling me why we bought our weapons here?" Katelyn asked, looking around. "I think we're scaring the customers…"
"It's so I can take a good look at them myself!" A familiar voice responded. Turning at the sound of the voice, Katelyn was surprised to see a certain horseshoe crab walking out of the coffee shop with an amusingly large cup that was nearly as tall as he was.
"Oh, there you are, Sheldon! Never thought I'd be seeing you outside of your shop…" Cobalt exclaimed. Since Turf Wars stopped entirely, the weapons shop dealer seemed to have all but vanished, only bought up in passing by his fellow shopkeepers.
"Well, I was pinged by a certain… duo. I got most of the story from them." Sheldon replied, settling the gigantic cup on the table and pulling up a spare seat. "So! How can I be of service…?"
"I'll just get straight to the point." Chris said, setting down his drink and facing Sheldon with a serious expression. "We'll need to modify our existing weapons so we can stand a chance against enemies that aren't affected by ink. Can you do that?"
"That can be done, so long as I got the materials to do so…" Sheldon looked at the pile of weapons at the center of the table, pondering. "You got those Power Eggs on you, by any chance?"
"Right here." Chris rummaged through his backpack, withdrawing the tin cans that Captain Cuttlefish had rewarded them for a job well done. "There should be enough in here for all four of us."
"Look at that… and there's enough left over for me to experiment! PERFECT." Sheldon's eyes were essentially glimmering with glee as he accepted the Power Eggs. "I just need all four of you to fill in some paperwork and I'll be on my merry way."
"Paperwork?" Cobalt asked skeptically. "You're not asking us to participate in some shady deal, are ya?"
"Who do you think I am, Spyke?!" Sheldon snapped, passing out a few pieces of paper and handing them to the inklings. "I just need to clarify your fighting styles so I can tailor the custom weapons to match your performances! Here: just write down the weapon you use, your preferred roles in a Turf War, how you would handle facing an opponent or an objective… the simple stuff. That's all I need."
"Wait. I'm… not involved enough in Turf Wars. I've only been in one match." Mei-Lin confessed, as she passed pens to everyone. "What should I write?"
"Just think back to the Octoasura battle. That probably qualifies." Katelyn replied. "I'm sure you can translate that to a Turf War scenario with that magnificent brain of yours!"
"I'm…. trying not to dwell too hard on it…" Mei-Lin shuddered. "But… I'll try."
It wasn't long until the team finally finished their paperwork. Sheldon accepted their forms one by one along with their weapons, stuffing the lot inside a giant backpack that was twice his size.
"Now that THAT'S out of the way…" Sheldon said, taking a large sip from his coffee. "There IS one other matter: payment."
"Wait, what?!" Both Cobalt and Katelyn exclaimed simultaneously, getting up from their chairs in shock.
"Woah, relax! Sorry, I should've probably mentioned I'm not looking for your credits when it's hard for inklings to get hold of 'em these days!" Sheldon apologized. "I do have a request to make though."
"…what would that be?" Mei-Lin asked. "If it's not credits, then…"
"Once the Splatfest Altar confirms the location of the third cross, I would very much like to join you. Sounds to me those relics are the real deal!" Sheldon clarified. "Consider the knowledge gained to be the payment for this custom job! I might just be able to make something new out of those relics if we find any…"
"Wait… that's all?" Katelyn said, settling back into her seat. "You sure you're not just taking the opportunity to go on holiday or something?"
Sheldon looked around shiftily for a brief moment. "Well… I can't deny that thought's crossed my mind. Shops don't pay rent by themselves… and let's just say I'm in a spot of bother. It might be a good idea for me to be out of Inkopolis for a bit, if you catch my drift."
The gang looked at one another, and decided not to press the issue any further.
"Anyway, it's best that I be going. Weapon modifications are best done sooner than later!" Sheldon picked up his things and prepared to leave. "Good luck on your quests! I'll give Chris a phone call once I'm ready to present my latest creations!"
The team watched as Sheldon left, oversized coffee cup still in his hands. As the horseshoe crab walked down the street and disappeared around the corner, a thought just occurred to one of the members.
"Now that he mentioned the third cross…" Cobalt spoke up, sitting back down. "I don't think we've been told when the Splatfest Altar will print its next message this time. What are we supposed to do right now?"
"Cobalt, that earthquake came outta nowhere!" Katelyn reminded him. "I'm pretty sure that cross would've told us if it hadn't interrupted us!"
"Yeah, you're right. Still, I don't like just sitting around doing nothing…"
"There is… one other thing I'm here to discuss." Chris said. "That Pawn… right before it was destroyed, it… spoke to me."
"Huh?!" The other three inklings responded simultaneously.
"I could only mention it in brief over the group chat, but it's true. It's not just any machine, it's sentient." Chris looked down at his coffee, recalling what it had told him the other day. "And… it knew a LOT more than I thought. It spoke of Splatfests as if it has witnessed them before... and it referred to me as 'one of the four'. That thing knew I was part of a group to save the festival, even though it was locked up tight down there."
Cobalt and Katelyn were speechless. Mei-Lin listened intently, a serious look on her face.
"It… knew about us?" She repeated. "That can't be… that's impossible. The octarians never knew we were in a group, they just thought we ventured in individually until we corrected them..."
"…It's been on my mind the entire time yesterday." Chris continued. "I had no idea how long it had been there, but the Pawn was definitely there LONG before Splatfests even stopped in the first place. So… someone placed it there, expecting our eventual arrival. That presents two questions: how did it get there in the first place, but most importantly WHO put it there? It was definitely working for someone else."
"Really?" Cobalt replied, puzzled. "It seemed to me that everyone around us has been acting down without Turf Wars and the like. Who's even gonna benefit from stopping them coming back?"
There was a brief moment of silence as the team considered the possibilities. Eventually, everyone sighed in defeat, all of them drawing blanks.
"I mean, thinking back to the people we were forced to fight during our quest… we had Tetanus, and the Under-Sea-Dogs." Mei-Lin thought aloud. "But Tetanus was basically a naïve child trying to interact with the world, and the Under-Sea-Dogs were just doing their jobs. They weren't explicitly stopping us because we were trying to restore Splatfests."
"They were only there by happenstance. Hmm…" Cobalt racked his head for a while, before collapsing onto the table. "…uurgh, nope. I can't think of anyone."
"ARGH! Can't we just stop this discussion right here?!" Katelyn exclaimed.
The other inklings turned to her. All of them were somewhat surprised by the proposal.
"Three straight days, we've been either trying to escape with our lives, or fighting! I'm tired of it! If we still don't know when the next altar message is coming, can't we just spend the day just… acting like regular teenagers for a change?"
Chris pondered the idea briefly, before nodding.
"I suppose we're not doing any adventuring until we hear back from Sheldon." He replied. "C'mon, let's chat about something normal for a change."
The next few hours flew by in a blur. With the heavy tension of their quest temporarily set aside, the team began to hang out like normal children, refreshingly discussing trivial topics like shopping and video games. Considering the nightmarish scenarios they had to endure the last few days, it was most certainly uplifting to be able to forget their stress and worries.
"….they did WHAT?!" Katelyn yelled, causing a few heads to turn. "Unbelievable, I was wondering where Mark and John disappeared to, and they were playing Agent all this time?!"
"They didn't want you to worry about them. I'm guessing that was probably why they didn't tell you about it." Chris replied awkwardly. "Though I guess since they were stuck in the Grand Library for two weeks, I can't exactly blame them for not being able to say anything."
"Why I oughta- The next time I see them, I'm going to throttle them for making me worry like this!" Katelyn exclaimed, grumbling menacingly.
"I… guess you will." Chris could've sworn he saw two familiar inklings swiftly duck out of sight in the distance, but he decided not to comment on it.
"…comics?" Mei-Lin muttered as the topic came up. "I suppose I appreciate the artstyle, but I honestly don't understand the stories. They just feel… contrived."
Cobalt tutted in response, as if Mei-Lin was an ignorant child speaking to her parent. "Oh no no, that's not how you enjoy a comic. The best part about a comic's plot is that you can just turn your brain off and enjoy the spectacle! It's basically literary junk food, to put it one way!"
"Doesn't that… ruin the point of reading it?" Mei-Lin replied skeptically. "I've heard from Katelyn that comic book universes often have intricate details that someone with a keen eye would notice, but… the issue she handed me had nothing but nonsensical superpowers, explosions, and plot threads that went nowhere. I can't say I enjoyed it…"
"Oh, bugger. Don't tell me… what's the title of the comic book?"
"Oh. Umm…" Mei-Lin pondered for a brief moment, before remembering. "I think it was titled 'X-Splatter'. Why, is it…?"
"Blast, I knew it! Of all the comics she had to pick out as an example…" Cobalt facepalmed, his hand making an audible clunk on his gas mask. "I'll talk to Katelyn by myself later, looks like I'll need to refine her taste of comic book literature personally. I know this place close to Arowana Mall…"
"O….kay then?" Mei-Lin didn't know how to reply other than with a confused giggle.
"Come to think of it, do you guys ever do anything other than Turf Wars?" Katelyn asked, watching the rapidly shrinking pile of drinks by their side. "You two seem pretty serious about it."
"Well… this guy is, at least." Chris replied, pointing at Cobalt. "He told me once: 'One of these days I'll be the strongest inkling around.' I've been helping him with that, but it's been slow progress."
"Nah, we don't do Turf Wars 24/7." Cobalt corrected. "Everyone's got their off days, so whenever there's one where I'm just not feeling it, I basically bunk up at Chris's house and play video games all day with him."
"I mean, it's not like I have a choice." Chris muttered, glancing sideways at his friend. "Cobalt lives with me, you see. You'd think that with the credits we make together he could've afforded a house, but he spends it all on useless junk."
"Woah, let me stop you there. You LIVE with this guy?" Katelyn exclaimed, looking at Cobalt. "I mean, don't you have anyone to go back t-"
Katelyn stopped mid-sentence as Cobalt fell silent. Remembering the conversation he had with her before they went into Sector 0, she bowed apologetically. "Oh… right. Sorry, I made that awkward."
"Ehh, it's not even that." Cobalt replied, handwaving Katelyn's slip of the tongue. "I just thought if I bunk up with Chris, I wouldn't have to spend credits on paying rent for another house. With all that spare cash lying around, I can use it on all the important stuff!"
"Like… comics?" Katelyn smirked as Cobalt gave her a surprised look. "You do realize you were talking pretty loudly, right? I heard you talking to Mei-Lin. For the record, I LOVE reading X-Splatter!"
"SERIOUSLY?! You read that garbage?! Lemme tell you something-"
"Welp." Chris said simply as Cobalt and Katelyn descended into a heated debate on comic book preference. "Guess we'll have to leave them to it…"
Before long, the conversation had lasted long enough to the point the sun was beginning to set in the horizon, a soft yellowish glow reflecting off a nearby skyscraper and casting onto the coffee shop. Finally exhausting the last of their drinks from talking, Katelyn got up.
"Okay, now that we're done talking, there is ONE last thing we need to do!" She proclaimed.
"…what would that be?" Mei-Lin asked.
"Haven't you all realized? We've visited two crosses in our quest so far! I reckon we should get together for a commemorative photo!" Katelyn's eyes twinkled with joy. "C'mon everyone, get up!"
"W-we are?" Mei-Lin hesitated briefly. "Sure… I don't mind…"
"Shouldn't that be saved for when we get to all four? Ehh…. Whatever." Cobalt shrugged, pushing aside his seat. "Why not?"
"I wouldn't mind something to remember our adventures together by." Chris agreed. "Let's gather in front of that coffee shop's entrance..."
With a few moments, everyone agreed on a position and stood there. Cobalt and Katelyn decided to take the center together, while Chris and Mei-Lin flanked the sides. They convinced one of the jellyfish waiters close by to take the picture for them, handing them Chris's phone so he can send the photo to everyone in the group later on.
"Alright, this is it!" Katelyn exclaimed, as Salty also poked out of her hat to take a peek. "Strike a pose, aaaaand… SMILE!"
*click*
AN: I... got nothing. I'm running low on interesting things to say.