"Okay, if you just exhale the air like this, you can… Sal? Sal! Are you listening?"

Sal slowly opened his eyes again, squinting at the blurry figure of Callie lecturing him on god knows what – or at least someone that sounded like her. He was about to change his whole identity for a week, so one could never be too sure. There would be no reason for someone impersonating as Callie to break into her and Marie's apartment and start practicing voice pitch changing exercises with him.

"Wasn't before. I think I just woke up now," Sal yawned, stretching his arms above his head, "and this time for real. I know I've said this like three times in a row."

Callie sighed. "Good, good. Now pay attention, this is really important if you don't want to be recognized! I'm not even sure if this is something we can do in just one day, but oh well…"

"Yeah, I was going to ask about that. Isn't there like, a pill or another probably expired chemical in Marie's collection that can make my voice higher for a while?" Sal got up – glad that the laptop had been removed off his lap, otherwise it would have fallen – and headed to the living room table to pour himself another cup of coffee. It wasn't hot anymore, but that was nothing the good old microwave oven couldn't fix.

"Well, there is, but… I kinda just wanted to feel like I was helping with something too. Marie always gets all the fun when it comes to doing stuff with you." Callie frowned, looking away from Sal. "Sorry about that…"

Sal took a seat by the table after his cup of coffee was ready, finding that the laptop had been there the whole time and turning it on, scrolling through the files while enjoying his beverage. What was he doing some hours ago again? The internet was disabled, so he couldn't have ruined his public image even more. Something with… Music, was it? Ah, that was right, he was about to make some before he (supposedly) passed out. Sure enough, there were three more files in the music folder: "frog_in_the_trash_ ", "smog_will_eat_our_ " and "*******_pebble_in_my_boot". There was also an inky tracker project file named "puzzle_ ". The melody was at least 70% complete, but some notes and background instruments were missing from it – probably because I fell asleep in the middle of composing, Sal thought.

"I understand, though I'd prefer the easy way. Also, there's something I actually need help with. Listen to these with me." Sal pulled another chair from under the table, dragging it besides his. Callie happily took the offer and sat down by the table as well.

The songs were… Not what either of them were expecting. The first one, like the name implied, combined the squeaky (frog) sound effects with harsh industrial noises, that together made a rather strange but somewhat upbeat tune. The second was… Almost indescribable, but it did capture the feeling of working at Grizzco really well: dirty and unrewarding. And the final one was, simply, angry sounding. Various types of synth and drums layered together with the sole intent of stirring primal rage inside anyone who listened.

"Well…" Callie looked around the room, trying to find the right words. "They're… Interesting? It's just… Very different from what I'm used to listening to. Kinda sounds like they'd fit in a video game though! You know, those artsy RPGs where you walk around as an inkling trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world?"

"That's oddly specific, but I get you." Sal took a sip of his coffee. "Guess this is going to be my career if things go wrong."

"Wait, you made them? I'd have been much nicer if I knew, I'm sorry!" Callie bowed her head slightly.

"I thought you had read the "IT'S SAL PLEASE DON'T FREEZE THIS TIME" under the artist name. But it's fine either way." Strange. For someone who used to be constantly bickering Marie in a TV show, Callie was awfully apologetic. Was that a stage persona, or did her behavior change due to her kidnapping? "You can try helping me with finishing the other track. You know, since you work in the music industry and all that, you probably know how this stuff works better than I do."

"I can do that!" Callie beamed, though it devolved into an embarrassed smile as Sal opened Inky Tracker. "Or… Not, heheh. Marie is the one who takes care of the technical side of things. I'm the lyricist though, I think I can come up with something that fits what you've got done already!"

"Okay, I'm going to save what I have now in a .frsh file and send it to you through your business email." Sal nodded, taking the last sip and putting his cup down. "I'll wash this later too, don't worry."

"Alright! I'll go to my room so I can get fully immersed on it!" Callie got up from the chair, beaming.

"Just get me the voice changing thing first, please."

"Ah, that's right!" Callie rushed out of the living room and into the same room Marie got the tentacle styling equipment from. After some minutes, she came back with a small opaque bottle. She didn't bother explaining to Sal anything about it, just carelessly tossing it in his general direction and running to her room to start making some lyrics.

Sal fortunately caught them before they could hit the laptop screen. The front had the official chemistry name – which Sal couldn't even try to attempt to read – while the back had the information he was looking for.

"Use only one per day; effects may appear in up to an hour after ingesting; lasts 12 hours." Sal read out loud. "Side effects may include: sore throat, breathing issues, permanent vocal change and… Death. Water is recommended. The usual."

Sal finished sending Callie the music file and got up. He picked up his coffee cup and walked towards the sink, although flinching and stepping back as soon as he opened the faucet.

Water. His body was still recovering, and so was his mind. But that was safe water, right? Inklings could ingest any type of (potable) water with no issue, but only specially treated water could safely touch their skin without causing damage. Sal opened the faucet again and ever so slowly put his finger under it, confirming it was in fact safe water. Wouldn't make sense for apartments in Coral Complex of all places not to have safe water, but he had to make sure.

He then washed the coffee cup and filled it with water from the faucet, going back to the table. Opening the bottle Callie had given him, he took out a pill and swallowed it along with the whole content of the cup. Nothing hurt right out of the bat, so Sal didn't worry about it immediately. He put the cup back in the sink and plopped onto the chair again. There was still unfinished business in that laptop, and Sal was going to take care of it.

…Or so he wished. Sal's mind went completely blank as soon as Inky Tracker's convoluted interface filled the screen. He enabled the internet and tried looking up what all those buttons and terms meant, but it was just too much for him to process in his current state of mind. A single note was all he managed to place before closing the laptop with an annoyed grunt – one with a higher pitch than usual as well. That pill sure worked fast!

"Great. At least something is going right today." He said out loud. This certainly was different to the voice he used to have, but it did fit his new appearance very well. Besides, it wasn't like the effect was permanent, so he could simply buy another brand or something if he started disliking it for some reason.

"Callie, I'm going." He yelled, assuming she was wearing headphones or at least with the sound up. He didn't expect her to come running after him.

"W-wait, you can't just leave like this! First, you're still wearing gramps' clothes." She rolled her eyes. "And we haven't even decided anything about the new you yet!"

He raised an eyebrow. "…Excuse me?"

"You know, if you keep acting like Sal, people are gonna find out you're Sal. Especially because we couldn't get you different colored prescription contacts." Callie explained as Sal slowly pulled his hand away from the doorknob. "You gotta be someone else, like a… Like a stage persona, yeah!"

"…Do I really now? I just want to go outside. I won't… Talk to anyone, I just want to go out there."

"Go out there and what?"

"Um." Sal went quiet for a while. "I… I don't know, okay! I just… I just… I just want to be someone again."

Callie paused, her facial expression turning unreadable. She was worried she had gone a little too far, but deep down even Sal knew she was right. Going outside without a clear purpose was more of a risk than a reward. And still…

"That's fair, but… I think it would be better if you at least tried to give it a shot!" Callie gave her characteristic grin. "It'll reduce the chances of something going wrong, trust me."

"…Fine. Though last time I trusted one of you two, I almost had an anesthetic-fueled panic attack in this bathroom. Do not disappoint me."

"Just take my word on this one," Callie raised her fist in the air, "it's going to be a lot of fun!"

Callie was right, actually. Sal was having a lot of fun!

The two of them made their way through Inkopolis, with Callie in her "secret" identity – Chloe Calamari – so no one would recognize her, of course. Sal felt uncomfortable while wearing some of Marie's casual clothes (which were few, and even fewer those that weren't kimonos), but luckily their first stop after leaving the apartment had been a huge department store. He soon found himself comforted by a Firefin facemask, a salmon-colored Zekko hoodie and orange hi-tops. They could probably have gotten those on the clothing store near Coral Complex, sure, but they'd have cost much more due to being aimed at the celebrities living there.

"Are you sure you don't wanna go do some turf war matches? I haven't really participated in any in forever, but I could really go for some dualies action right now!" Chloe cheered behind her own facemask.

"My turfing card is back at the apartment – Sal's apartment. And it would probably foil our whole plan, since I'd still show up as Sal in the room's waiting list." He explained, arms crossed. It was not like he didn't want to – he'd actually really enjoy the chance to try out some non-blaster weapons for once! But the consequences were clear.

"Aw, that's fair… Hey, about that. Don't you think it's time for you to choose a name for you? I think we've had enough time for you to sort out your persona and stuff. Like, it's been almost a week now."

A name? Sal crossed his arms, deep in thought. He was obviously faking his extroverted personality, but it was… Starting to grow on him in a way? It didn't feel natural to cheer or smile at the small things, but it didn't feel wrong anymore. He was trying to copy both Kama and Callie's energetic behavior and was slowly getting there each time he had to express himself.

Callie – or, Chloe? – was there to help him fine-tune the acting. It wasn't as if he was developing another self, after all, he was just overdoing the parts of personality that were always there but were repressed by his upbringing and filling the gaps with acting. Funny enough, he remembered getting some of the lowest grades of the whole school in drama class – but wasn't it just because he couldn't memorize his lines very well?

Overall, he was doing a pretty convincing job of being someone else, and he needed a name to match that. A name with equally high silliness and energy, a name that showed everyone he – no, she was the big deal. A name like…

"Sally." She finally uncrossed her arms, smiling for Chloe. Not exactly at her, since she was still wearing the Firefin facemask, but still smiling because of her.

"…Isn't that a bit uncreative?" Chloe let out a small chuckle.

"Well, it does encompass my other name, because I'm not entirely changing who I am – just trying a different approach. And Sally rhymes with Callie, which is where I got the inspiration for my personality from."

"Woah, you actually thought about that much in just a few seconds?" Chloe couldn't help but break her slightly introverted persona at the answer.

"Well… It's something I used to think about quite often." Sally's smile started to slowly morph into a frown behind the mask. "You know, some day I just started to think like… Sal can't do anything right, so why don't I become someone else? I've fantasized about doing that when I was younger, but I… Kinda realized I couldn't just leave Sal behind? So I just… Y'know…"

Sally suddenly stopped talking as she felt Chloe's hand landing gently on her shoulder, the disguised idol giving her a warm and reassuring smile… Which couldn't be seen behind the facemask, so she just made a thumbs-up with her free hand.

"…Oh yeah, by the way. This guy has been following us around for a while now. You wanna go and tell him off?" Chloe slightly nodded her head backwards. "I mean, unless he's doing it because he recognizes me, then we're gonna have to go back home and get another one of my costumes."

"Who?" Sally raised an eyebrow. "Actually, let's go through an alley or something so I can take a look at him without having to look directly."

Chloe nodded, and the two of them started to walk towards one of the many alleys of the street they were in. They ignored the first two, which were not long enough, before settling on the third. The empty super sea snail shells scattered on the ground made for a creepy atmosphere, but turning away would probably be a worse choice than continuing. As they reached the end of the alley, Sally started to slow down, almost stopping by the time they started to make the turn to follow the new street's regular traffic. She then took a brief glance of the path where they had just came from, and almost yelled.

Déjà vu.

An octoling. A mostly shaved head with a main tentacle running down the front. Vivid blue eyes that this time were focused on Sally's face. A golden ornament tucked on his left ear.

Sally – no, Sal suddenly froze in place, forgetting everything that had been taught to him throughout the week. Out of all the people to be following them, Fen was probably the worst possible candidate. It would have been way easier to deal with a crazed Callie fan or someone who was looking to mug them, but this? Sal had no idea how he would react to that, much less how Sally would.

A nudge from Chloe was what brought him back to reality. Think, what would Sally do, he asked himself. It felt like an eternity, but it really only took two seconds to figure that out.

Sally started powerwalking towards Fen. That had apparently startled the octoling, judging by his panicked expression. He looked left and right but found nothing but concrete walls and crude graffiti, so he instead opted to stand there with a very "trying to pretend I'm not frightened as hell" expression and holding his hands behind his back. Sally stopped a few feet before him, pointing her finger at his chest.

"Yo, creep! You better have a good reason to be following me and my friend. Don't think we can't defend ourselves just because we have no weapons with us right now. You're gonna get it as soon as you make a wrong move, so start explaining yourself right now!" Sally stomped her feet on the ground. She was relieved to hear Chloe's footsteps getting closer to her after she finished her speech.

"Ah! Um, I…" Fen fidgeted with his fingers. "I… Just thought you looked really fresh! And I... W-wanted to invite you two to go turfing with me, if that's okay..."

Sally raised an eyebrow. Really, that was the best excuse he could come up with? It almost sounded like something Kama would s–

Oh yeah, that's right. Kama probably taught him that. At least he seemed oblivious to the fact that Sally wasn't all that real.

"Geez, why didn't you just ask us upright then? No need to be nervous, we don't bite." Sally let out a huff. "And we're gonna have to refuse. I'm not from around Inkopolis so I don't have and don't pretend to make a turfing card from here. Too much bureaucracy, y'know? I'd rather just spend my time with something else before I go back home on Friday."

"Go back… Home? Friday?" Fen muttered. His expression slowly shifted from confused to desperate. "But… That's in two days! We can do… Um, we can do something else then! I want to spend time with you before you go back home, you seem like a really nice person!"

God, she had never seen Fen so desperate and flustered like that. Was that how he acted back in Octopolis? Was that how he acted when he was alone with Kama? Was that how he acted before ruining Sal's whole life by kissing Kama and set a stream of negative events in motion that–

Woah, calm down! Those are Sal thoughts, not Sally thoughts. But just what was Sally thinking? Sal couldn't possibly imagine another outcome that wasn't Sally rejecting Fen's offer and then walking away with Chloe back to their apartment just to be safe. Sally didn't know who this guy was, didn't care, and was ready to yell at him if he ever tried to push further.

But Sal could surely convince her to change her mind.

"Welp, I was gonna say no, but I'm flattered now. Though I'm pretty busy today, so gimme your phone." Sally extended her hand towards Fen. "C'mon, I won't run away with it or anything like that. I'm not a bad person."

Fen didn't hesitate before putting his Clamsung Galaxy on Sally's hands. She made quick work, unlocking the phone ("default wallpaper, really?"), opening the calendar app and setting an event titled "Sally at Arrowana food court in 10 minutes" to the next day at 4:30 PM.