Beyond the Veil

"So let me get this straight…" Cranky Steve grumbled, pincer clenched tightly around his cellphone, "Ye' searched everywhere, but ya can't even find a SINGLE scrap of info?!"
"I'm sorry, man!" An apologetic voice replied from the phone's speakers, "I looked everywhere! I even had to turn to Woogle, but all I got were website links to some weird cult…"
"You're not gonna find anything online, man! Look…" The prawn sighed audibly as he looked towards his right side. That blasted slave driver of a sharkman's hollering in his direction again, but he tried his best to tune him out. "I'm a busy guy, y'know! I can't just sit here talkin' all day! Find a library or a museum, pull up some old records, as old as you can find! Get on it already!"
"Alright, alright! Jeez, no wonder they called ya Cranky…"

Before Steve could spit out a response towards the jab at his unfortunate naming scheme, his associate had already hung up on him. He sighed audibly as he put his phone away, and went back to untangling the messy bundle of cables and wires before him.
"'Check the soundboards, Cranky!' 'Fix that light bulb, Cranky!' 'Get me a cappuccino with two sugar cubes, Cranky!' By the Vermillion Knight, I swear!" The prawn grumbled to himself as he stuffed the freshly untangled wires in his claw back into the wall fixture all at once, before picking up a clipboard propped on a nearby wall and checking off a box in a list that seemed to trail past the bottom of the board by at least three feet. "I REALLY oughta demand a vacation from the manager…"

"You're the tech guy here, Steve." Another voice replied behind him. "We can't really have you going on vacation, the whole studio's gonna fall apart around us if you did!"
Steve looked over his shoulder. Mack Saltwater was standing there, with a bottle of soda in his outstretched hand.
"You COULD request cameraman grunt work at some tropical resort though." The fishman added with a mischievous smirk, "You'd be allowed mandatory breaks then, maybe lying down on a wooden bench with a Pina Colada in one hand while you beam yourself senseless under the sun! Close enough, I'd say."
"Yeah, that'd be great if it isn't the middle of the soddin' winter right now!" Steve replied grumpily, though he still accepted the soda with a curt nod. "Just finished up, Mack?"
"Same old news reports, as usual… They even had me talk about the weather!" Mack replied, looking noticeably bored. "Am I even supposed to care about what happens in six days? What do I look like, an astrologist?"
"Eh, thought that wouldn't be up your alley." Steve remarked, shrugging as he chugged his soda, gulping down half the bottle in one go.

"They did give me something intriguing to report though." Mack said, and his cheery demeanor seemed to subside. "It's another body. They found it just a few streets away from Urchin Underpass this time."

"Another one?! That'd make it the fifth one this week!" Steve seemed unnerved. "Same deal as the others?"

"Yeah... No signs of a struggle or any illness, it's like they've just… turned off on the spot." The fishman was equally uncomfortable discussing the subject. "Word is those guys doing the autopsies were stumped. They had no idea what did 'em in!"

"Creepy. No links between the victims?"

"Someone did notice that all the victims had been suffering from depression for quite some time, but then I'd say a good chunk of the city's already like that. Makes me wonder if someone near us is gonna be… well…" The rest of Mack's half-baked sentence trailed off, as he looked around uncomfortably.

"Okay, ya said enough." Steve interrupted, prodding his colleague with a claw. "I'm not about ta' get three days' worth of nightmares because of you!"
"Alright, alright!" Mack agreed, looking around carefully before speaking in a hushed voice. "So… how's that little side project coming along?"
"Not much progress." The prawn briefly glanced at his cellphone, staring at it with disapproval. "I had a friend of mine help with looking into this whole thing for us, but all he did was look through some random sites! I swear, he better not had been searching for anything dubious when I can't see 'im!"
"Might not be that simple, if you ask me…" Mack pondered, "We might need to find other sources."
"I already pointed 'im at some libraries and museums, but that's gonna take a while." Steve replied. "Fastest way would be to talk to someone that's already gotten involved in this whole debacle. Ya think…?"

As Cranky Steve trailed off, both he and Mack Saltwater noticed the Squid Sisters rounding a corner with beverages in hand, apparently discussing something. Leaning closer to eavesdrop, Steve could make out snippets of their conversation as they passed by.
"…even if they find a lead, who should we send to help them?" Callie said, "Most of the Agents-"
"Not so loud!" Marie hissed, glancing around (the prawn immediately pulled up his absurdly long to-do list and pretended to read) before patting Callie in the back. "…sorry, just wanted to make sure no one's listening in."
"Oh, right! Erm... most of the 'volunteers' are either too tired or too ragged to help. I'm not sure who we even have left at this point!"
"…yeah." Marie fell silent briefly, before smiling. "At least, they're doing what they can. We've got intel flowing in from all over the city, so it shouldn't take long until we have a proper lead."
"I suppose it doesn't take much effort to browse on the net, eh?" Callie jokingly replied. "Soooo, what now? Reckon we should keep ourselves busy?"
Marie absentmindedly tapped her arm for a while, facing Callie. "…fast food?"
Callie returned her cousin's wide smile. "Fast food! You'll treat me, right?"
"Oh… alright, I'll treat you." Marie reluctantly replied, before winking mischievously. "But, you owe me a favor yeah?"
"Aww… meanie!"

"They're walking away!" Mack whispered at Steve, looking at the retreating duo. "Let's tail 'em!"
"Don't we have our jobs to do?" Steve protested, his eyes twitching slightly at the ridiculously long roll of paper on his clipboard. "Me especially…"
"Oh alright fine, I'll do it! I'm on break anyway." Mack looked back at the Squid Sisters, who are wandering into a lift. "Just stay here!"

As Steve watched the former Splatfest announcer march deftly into the same lift as the Squid Sisters and the doors closed behind him, he eyed his clipboard as well as the long line of unchecked boxes on it, and grumbled in resignation.
"Like I even have a choice, man…"

"I can't believe that security guard just let us waltz right in…"
"I told you, Cobalt! Grandpappy's the namesake of the institution! As his grandson, I'm perfectly allowed to peruse whatever relics end up here to help with weapons design! See? I've got my uses!"
"I'd love to see what the eggheads here let you play with… no really, I mean that."

Chris merely sighed as the team walked down the winding corridors of Shellendorf Institute's back halls. It was a marvelous stroke of luck that the horseshoe crab happened to have ties to the museum itself so the team was allowed to have access to the back rooms once Sheldon explained everything to the guard that was just outside.
It was convenient… too convenient. Perhaps it was the encounter with the Pawn, but he couldn't shake the feeling that everything was playing out far too smoothly, like an unseen hand was directing their every move. He couldn't fully shake the feeling of paranoia that was gnawing away at the back of his head like a persistent tick.

"Can't be. Perhaps I'm overthinking things." He reassured himself as the team marched down the corridors. "There's plenty of good folk out there that have noticed the state of the city, and they're helping however they can. It's only natural."

"Come now. You know just as much as I do that that's not the only explanation, brother."

Chris looked around, not seeing an obvious source of the voice. While evidently perturbed by the disembodied voice, he kept his walking pace.
"Yeah, I know, Jensen." Knowing very well his 'brother' can hear his thoughts, he didn't open his mouth to speak. "Just be quiet, now's not the time."

"Oh c'mon, how can you speak to me like that?" Jensen's voice echoed. "Actually, you know what… let's take this somewhere a little more private, shall we?"

"Wait, what do you mean- Ugh!"

Chris felt his breath seize in his throat as he froze mid-step, a headache suddenly erupting in his head. As his vision began to swim, he could see his friends as well as Sheldon in front of him still walking forward like nothing's wrong. Mei-Lin was captivated by the doors that they passed by, notably the research labs that lay beyond them. Cobalt was still talking to Sheldon, and Katelyn appears to have joined in whatever conversation they were having.

And then… they were no longer there. The faded peeling walls of the museum's back rooms were replaced by sterile white walls. The lights were no longer flickering, but instead a harsh brightness blanketed the corridor. All the side doors had vanished, replaced by support railings that stretched down the hall and around a corner.

Where his friends were, there was a singular object. A stretcher, conspicuously empty, but the heart monitor besides it was somehow active, beeping rhythmically. The sound of the monitor seemed to synchronize with the pulsing in his head, hammering into him like a chisel.

"What the?!" Chris exclaimed, not even keeping quiet anymore. "What did you-"

"Relax, I won't keep you for long." Jensen's voice replied behind Chris. He turned around quickly, but there was nothing he could see but whiteness. "Neat trick, huh?"

"How?!" A highly confused Chris sputtered. This was definitely not normal, even by Jensen's standards. "Since when did you-"

The heart monitor abruptly flatlined, and another spike of pain erupted in Chris's skull causing him to topple over. When he looked up, Jensen was sitting on the stretcher, smiling mischievously.

"Ever since that flash of light, I'm feeling great! It feels like some kinda weight that I never knew was there was lifted off of me..." Jensen said, leering. "I haven't felt this healthy in years!"

Almost instinctively, Chris crawled back away from his 'brother', who up till now was merely a nuisance at worst. Several alarm bells in his head are ringing all at once, which troubled him greatly.

"…what are you planning to do?" Chris could only say.

Jensen shook his head, laughing softly. "What, you think I'm going to possess your body or something? Pfft, that's so cliché. I've had my fill of being alive already, keep it. Besides…"

Abruptly, Jensen vanished again, but Chris can feel a breath on the back of his neck. He could feel goosebumps all the way down his neck.

"…this feels MUCH better than being alive. Hurry along now, bro. I shall be waiting for you, somewhere below the sea…"

Immediately, the pain in Chris's head seemed to sharply intensify, only to subside afterwards. As quickly as it happened, his surroundings changed again, back to the shabby museum corridor. Still disoriented by what he saw, Chris blinked, wide-eyed as he stood with his mouth agape.
"…what just happened?"

"HEEEY!" Cobalt's voice echoed from afar. Looking round the corner, Chris could see his friend waving from where the corridor terminated, standing in front of a steel door with everybody else. "What are you doing standing around, Chris?! Hurry up!"
As the memory of that other corridor quickly faded away to a corner of his mind, Chris realized he hadn't moved from where he stood for about a minute when he was having that vision. From an outsider's perspective, he might as well have been momentarily turned into a statue.
"Sorry! I um… had to redo my shoelaces." He hastily lied, running down the corridor and joining the others. "Is this it?"
"Going by what the staff told us, this is where Judd goes every time he comes here." Sheldon said, gesturing towards the storage room. "They didn't see him leave… so he has to still be inside."
"Alright." Chris replied, trying his best to hide the fact that his heart was still racing from what he had seen. "Let's… let's go in, then."

As Sheldon reached for the door handle, Chris took the time to glance sideways at his team, and noticed that Cobalt and Katelyn are still engaged in whatever conversation they were having. He noticed too that Mei-Lin seemed particularly focused at what lay beyond the door, and internally he breathed a sigh of relief. Knowing her instincts as an artist, he was grateful she hadn't picked up on his abnormal behavior.
"She doesn't need to know now…" He thought to himself. "Not yet, anyway…"

"Hey… Are you alright?"

Chris stopped midstep. Mei-Lin had stopped halfway into entering the storage room, and was gazing right at him with a worried expression.
"…I guess she did pick up on it after all."

"You said you were just tying your shoelaces, but you look seriously ill..." Mei-Lin remarked. "You're really pale. Are you alright…?"
"That's… well… you see…"

Chris sighed. It would be pointless to avoid the subject. "… I've been seeing things since… well, that bright flash from back at Ammo Knights. I guess I still haven't quite shaken off the effects yet."
"Is that so…?" Mei-Lin replied. She seemed uncertain.
"Yeah… I've been trying to not to let it get to me, so there's no need to worry alright?"
"…you're sure?"
"Yes!"

There was a moment of awkward silence as Chris tried to avoid eye contact with the inkling before him. It felt strange that only now was he struggling to find the right words to say.

"…can I say something…?"

Chris looked up at Mei-Lin. She was leaning on the frame of the steel door, hands clasped in front of her. Her eyes have wandered, and her head was tilted slightly to the side, as if she barely had the strength to look up.
He had seen her in her more unstable states already, but it had only now struck him how frail and fragile she looked even when she was relaxed.

"I know… you're looking out for me. I'm… well… I'm grateful for that. Honestly, being cared for…" Mei-Lin smiled softly. "It feels nice."
"T-thanks?" Chris replied.
"But… well… seeing you like this…" Mei-Lin's smile slowly vanished. "I'm worried, you know? Like at any moment you would just fall over, just because you are carrying me like this…"

"That's…" It was becoming difficult for Chris to give a reply. "Well…"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be saying these things." Mei-Lin apologized, shaking her head. "You're a strong person… I know that much. Those visions shouldn't trouble you… right?"
"Y-yeah. C'mon, our friends are probably wondering why we're stalling like this."

"Mmm… you're right…" Mei-Lin stopped leaning on the door frame, but turned around as she was about to enter the door. "Just… promise me you won't push yourself too hard… Please."

Chris watched as Mei-Lin entered the storage room, holding the door open for him to go through. As he followed her inside, he couldn't help but think to himself.
"What I said… It's technically true. It's not really something worth feeling guilty over. Still… How long can I conceal what I have seen?"

"…so we then went to this place called Octo Valley. Really weird looking place, but we then met this guy called Captain Cuttlefish, and this other guy named DJ Octavio… Oh right! The Squid Sisters were there too! Gods, that was crazy… Oh right, and a whole bunch of inklings showed up, all decked up in some sweet looking costumes! And…"

As Chris closed the door to the storage room and turned around, he could see that everyone was gathered around what was unmistakably Judd, who is sitting on some kind of device. Katelyn was in the forefront, frantically summarizing everything that had happened to the team so far.
"Took you long enough." Cobalt remarked, turning around to face Chris.
"C'mon, it wasn't even that long." Chris replied, shrugging as he joined the group. "So… I guess Katelyn's telling Judd everything that's happened so far?"
"Yep." Cobalt turned back to look at Katelyn, who seemingly never took a single breath since she began summarizing the team's adventure. "She really does just keep going and going when she starts talking, huh?"

"Meow. (Hold on, now.)" Judd interrupted. "Mrowr… (I get the gist of your story. So your team here is looking for these crosses that are scattered around in four different locations, as a means to get Inkopolis back to what it was before. Am I right?)"
Katelyn inhaled a deep breath before she spoke, her voice hoarse from speaking nonstop. "Whew… y-yeah. Sorry, I probably should've gotten to the point."
"Mrow? (So from these crosses, you've been finding these stone pieces, right? Do you have them?)"
"Yeah, we do." Katelyn replied, turning to face Chris. "He's got them."

Chris rummaged through his pockets, pulling out the fragment that represented the team's current progress. Judd's eyes trailed towards them, his brow furrowing somewhat as the dim light in the storage room revealed the intricate lines etched into the flat side of the object.
"This used to be two quarters of a sphere." He explained. "When we put them together, there was this flash of light and… we were shown a vision."
"I know how crazy it sounds." Katelyn added, leaning onto a nearby box. "But that's what really happened! We saw someone talking…"
"…a human." Chris finished. "We've been told you might know something, because it's possible you might have seen a live one in the past."
"So…." Katelyn said, eyeing Judd with great interest. "Can you help?"

Judd was silent for a moment, prompting a few puzzled looks from the onlookers. With a resigned purr, the cat's eyes seemed to turn towards a photo frame that was placed next to the device he was sitting on. He seemed to be thinking of something…
"…Meow? (Do you all remember how the human looked, by any chance?)" Judd eventually asked.

"Oh. Umm…" Cobalt said, trailing off. "…do you guys remember?"
Everyone turned to look at one another. Mei-Lin was the first to speak up.
"…I think… he had a lab coat of some sort." She recounted slowly. "He seemed rather old too, his tentacles… erm… hair? It was this whitish-grey color… he wasn't quite standing up straight either."
"Meow. (I see. Are there any other discerning features?)" Judd seemed oddly interested in what Mei-Lin was saying.
"Well…" Mei-Lin struggled to continue. "Oh, right. He had… a beard of sorts. Also he was wearing some kind of cross-shaped necklace. That's…. all I can remember."
Judd seemed mildly disappointed. "Mrowr… (Oh… I am not familiar with the human you've all seen. The one I am acquainted with does not have a beard.)"
"Ah…" Mei-Lin's disappointment matched everyone else's in the room.

"Meow... (That being said…)" Judd continued, "Rowr! (You're in luck. I know of where a cross is!)"
"REALLY?!" Katelyn exclaimed, abruptly shooting up from her position. "You do?! Tell us! Where is it?!"
"Hiss! (Woah, hold your paws! It's not going to be that simple!)" Judd recoiled at Katelyn's reaction, plopping backward momentarily. "Mrrr… (Let's start from the top.)"
"Alright…" Katelyn replied, backing up from Judd and taking a seat nearby.

"Meow… (Right. I should probably explain a little about myself.)"
Judd sat down on the device he was standing on, looking down on the glass pane at the very top. His eyes were half closed as he began to recall old memories.
"Mrowr... purr. (As you might have noticed… I'm the only cat that ever exists in this city, possibly even the entire world.)" Judd began. "(All the other cats have died out long ago alongside the humans. The only reason I survived was because of this device here.)"
"Device? You mean the one you're sitting on?" Sheldon asked, walking up to take a closer look. "Interesting… I've seen it a couple of times during my visits here, but I've never had a chance to examine its function. So it is a cryopod of sorts?"
Judd nodded. "Meow. (Yes… My owner, the human I am familiar with, built this so that I may survive the extinction event, but truthfully that's all I remember of him. The only other thing I could remember was that his colleagues addressed him as 'Professor'.)"
"That's… actually pretty sad." Katelyn remarked, giving a look of sympathy to the cat. "What would've happened if no one actually found you?"
"Mrow… (Who can say? But perhaps that may be a story for another time.)" Judd replied. "(What matters is where I was found: Gravestone Gulch.)"

The inklings immediately looked at one another.

"Gravestone… that has to be the graveyard the message mentioned!" Chris voiced what everyone had put together at that very moment. "But that doesn't explain the 'sinners' part…"
"Can you tell us more about that place, Judd?" Cobalt asked, turning to face Judd. "Like say… how to get there?"

"Purr… (I am certainly familiar with that place. Since that's where my cryopod was found, I often return there now and then to reminisce.)" Judd replied, seemingly lost in memories. "(But there's no mistaking it. I've once overheard some archeologists that came to visit a few weeks ago mention they found a strange cross-like monument located in a dig-site somewhere within Gravestone Gulch. I would ad-mice everyone to prepare for a long trip however… the Gulch is very much on the other side of the continent.)"
"Another field trip, huh?" Cobalt replied halfheartedly. "That shouldn't be an issue. If I can survive a night in Sector 0, I can survive several more anywhere else!"
"So how do you get there quickly?" Chris asked, "If we're talking about the other side of the continent here…"
"It… might be a problem." Mei-Lin replied, reading through an almanac she had withdrawn from her backpack. "Judd is right. According to this, the closest town to the gulch is only reachable after an eight hour plane ride, or 1-3 days via ground vehicles."
"Didn't they say the planes are out thanks to the bad weather on the radio?!" Katelyn exclaimed. "YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING! We'll have to take the long way there!"

"Guess we don't have a choice…" Chris definitely looked reluctant, but there appear to be no other options available. "Mei-Lin, is the route there written on that book?"
"Yeah… Line number 14B, 3 hours to Calamari Country." Mei-Lin replied, skimming through much of the flavorful text clearly meant to be read by a tourist. "After that, switch lines to 37 and take an 8 hour trip to… Brine Basin? From that place, switch lines again to line 88… another 11 hours that leads to Dreamrock's Hamlet. Hmm… it's a quiet resort town, according to this book."
"And we go to the gulch from there?" Katelyn asked, wearing a stunned expression after hearing the extensively long travel time.
"Not quite… looks like this is where it gets complicated." Mei-Lin continued reading. "So our destination from there is a place called Mariana Mine, a mining village that's located within the gulch. But the road between the hamlet and the village is… 'unpredictable'. It's why the estimated time via ground vehicles all have such wide margins of error…"
"Unpredictable? What do you mean?" Katelyn looked over Mei-Lin's shoulder, and began to read. Her hat wriggled momentarily, before Salty popped out too to take a look. Both were squinting hard thanks to the poor lighting in the storage room.

"Is… that a super sea snail?" Sheldon asked, seemingly amused. "I take it that's her pet?"
"More or less." Cobalt replied. "There's a story behind it, but we can talk about it later. I mean… if we're gonna be riding trains for nearly a whole day, we've got the time."

"Let's see… 'From the sky, one can see a series of sand dunes that constantly shift in shape and color. Regardless of season, these shimmering marvels will always amaze…' blah blah blah, skipping ahead..." Katelyn rolled her eyes, before looking down at the very last line. "'…pathways are not always accessible due to the ever-changing dunes. If you absolutely must travel on the ground, it is advisable to stay the night until the local watchman confirms safe passageway between the hamlet and the mines.' Wow, seriously?"

"Guess we know how we're getting there, at any rate." Cobalt said, looking towards the door to the room. "We shouldn't waste any time. Let's go!"
"Hey, you heard what Judd said, we'll need to prepare! Don't go running off on me now, that's getting old." Chris quickly stopped Cobalt before he had a chance to repeat that particular gag. "First of all-"
"Yeah yeah. C'mon Chris, even I'm not crazy enough to try and get there on foot!" Cobalt laughed. "I'm saying that we should all head home so we can start packing up immediately!"
"That's just what I was about to- ugh…" Chris groaned, visibly drained from having to deal with Cobalt's antics for the umpteenth time. "Alright, alright, let's get it over with… urgh."
"Hey!" Katelyn shouted as the boys left the storage room. "So we're meeting up at the train station once we're all done, right? What time?"
"I'll post something on the group chat!" Chris's voice replied impatiently. The door slammed shut after him, leaving nothing but a handful of loose dust bunnies.

Sheldon seemed particularly amused by the conversation. "Wow, I can't believe those two barely even changed at all since I first met them."
"Somehow… I can totally believe it." Katelyn replied, laughing to herself. "So… What'll you be doing in the meantime, then?"
"I'd like to stay here with Judd a bit longer and take the time to do a spot of research!" The horseshoe crab replied, eyeing the machine in the center of the room with an excited glimmer in his goggles. "A real cryopod… I can't wait to examine it closely!"
"Hiss! (Don't cause a mess, Sheldon!)" Judd interjected hurriedly, his fur standing on end, "(I would very much a-purr-eciate it if you do not break one of the few keepsakes of the old world I have!)"
"Don't worry your fur coat off, Judd. I'm a professional! Alright, time to dig in!" Sheldon immediately pulled out a massive toolbox twice his size, much to the unfortunate cat's horror.

"Let's just leave them to it…" Mei-Lin said, quickly heading for the exit.
"Yeah. Good idea!" As Katelyn went back out the storage room with her friend, she could hear a cacophony of clattering metal and distressed cat noises echoing from behind her. The inkling girl is in no hurry to turn back and examine the source.

"…and this is why I think we should take the time to allocate some Agents to- Oh by the gods Callie, do you even remember what 'swallowing' is?!"
"Mrrrglm, mmglmmph!"

Marie stared at Callie with utter disbelief, who was sitting across the table with a bucketful of fries tucked firmly in her arms. Her cousin's mouth was stuffed so full with fried potato being able to vocalize any kind of reply at all was probably violating the laws of physics right then and there.
"Ahem… let's back on topic." She said, trying hard to not burst out laughing at the sight of Callie's swollen cheeks. "You've done it, right? Posting the announcement on the group page?"

Callie took several seconds to swallow the fries in her mouth before she could reply. "Yeah, the location of the next cross, right? 'Gravestone Gulch', is it? That sounds like something straight out of a western."
"Mmhmm." Marie nodded in agreement. She could still remember the location being hurriedly blurted out from her phone between a cacophony of banging noises and what sounded like the faint squeaks of a Super Sea Snail, which she decided not to inquire any further. "I would've expected one of our Agents to volunteer to help those kids out by now… but it's been an hour. What's going on?"

The two popstars glanced at the window next to them, and outside the fast food joint. The weather still remained at an unreasonably cold temperature, and as a result frost had accumulated around the edges of the glass. An inkling passed by on occasion, but they didn't seem to notice the Squid Sisters even when they cheerfully waved at them.
"Doesn't this feel… weird to you?" Callie remarked as yet another inkling ignored her and shambled out of view. "I know that everyone's been hit pretty hard by this 'no more Turf Wars' thing… but they're acting like zombies out there! Minus the craving for brains, of course."
"I overheard Mack talking about the recent cases of people 'turning off' too. I can't say for sure, but I can't help but feel they're related somehow…" Marie was visibly restless, her voice quieter than usual. "Don't you think it's been winter since forever? The snow hasn't fully stopped falling since that day…"
"Ugh, you're right. I really want to head home right now and wrap myself up in a blanket burrito right now." Callie mumbled, stuffing her face with fries again. "Maybe turn up the heat to full. Screw the electric bill."
"Then you'd be a fully baked squid burrito!" Marie remarked, grinning mischievously.

As both Squid Sisters laughed at the joke, they were abruptly cut off as a ringtone began to come from Marie's pocket. Intrigued, Marie pulled out her cellphone and examined the caller's name.
"…looks like we have a volunteer!" She said excitedly, looking up at Callie.
"Mmpgh?" Callie barely managed. Her face was already filled to bursting point yet again, so she tilted her head in interest as a reply.

Sighing audibly, Marie picked up the call. "New Squidbeak Splatoon hotline, Agent 2 speaking. How can I-"

Immediately, Marie was bowled over by what sounded like an utterly chaotic argument that was going on at the other end of the call, cutting her off mid-sentence. The phone itself seemed to vibrate with malice as several voices were trying to speak over one another all at once.

"-I'm telling you, this is a bad idea! The last time we tried something like this, we almost got crushed by a falling building, remember?!"
"I know how you feel, but it's our only lead! Don't tell me you're having cold feet NOW?!"
"Hey hey, don't forget about me! I'm coming with!"
"It's a family matter!"
"Hey, you butted into mine too! It's only fair I do the same!"

"Excuse me, you're forgetting about somebody!" Marie exclaimed angrily. Just across the table Callie was struggling to suppress her laughter without choking on a mouthful of fry. "This better not just be another prank call, we've had enough unwanted attention to begin with!"

The argument going on at the other end came to a screeching halt. After a series of hushed voices, one of them picked up their receiver and began to speak.
"…sorry about that, we're still debating over it, Marie." The mystery caller said apologetically.
"Hey, discretion!" Marie replied. "Agent 2, just call me Agent 2! Who am I talking to right now, anyway?"
"R-right, sorry Ma- I mean, Agent 2." There was a bit of muttering on the other side of the call before the caller continued. "Agents A, B and C here. So you have some sort of… job request, was it?"
"I still can't believe Gramps has moved onto letters…" Marie muttered under her breath. "Right, the job request. I need Agents to look after a group of kids that are en route towards Gravestone Gulch tonight. Think you kids can handle that?"
"Gravestone Gulch… right."

"HA! I knew that lead was correct!" One of the other mystery voices on the call suddenly yelled. "I should've known Tai wouldn't disappoint!"
"Quiet, she can hear you!" The agent receiving the call hissed at his companion.
"Don't you think it's exciting? Another adventure, out into the unknown!" The remaining mystery voice cut in. "If it was anything like the time we set out into the ocean…"
"Hey hey, don't say anything unnecessary, we're still on the call!"

Marie groaned audibly. If they weren't so desperately short on hands… "Urrrgh… Anyway, head to the train station at 8pm tonight after you've prepare yourselves for a week's worth of travelling. You should know which kids to follow, their faces have been broadcasted all over Inkopolis some time ago."
"Right, I got it. Let's-"
"C'mon, we know where to go! Let's go, Splin!"
"What he said, grab the suitcase! We don't have long, help us out now!"
"Hey hey, don't grab me! I'm still holding on to the-"

There was a loud clattering noise shortly followed by a metallic bang, before the phone call abruptly cut out. Putting down the cell phone, Marie massaged her forehead as a headache began to blossom from within.
"…I need a vacation." She groaned, head dipping low onto the tabletop. With her mouth still stuffed beyond capacity, Callie could only nod back with a look of sympathy.