Splatoon: The Brothers and the Others
Stagnation Vacation: Agent 3's Remorse
Metal and ink. Rocks and tentacles. Gunshots. The crackle of static in her ears and the occasional friendly warnings that chimed in through her headset.
To top it all off, she wore a wondrous smile on her face as she spun about. Ink bullets bounced around and nearly doused her in violet goop that would most likely corrode her carefree grin right off. The Inkling did not care, though. This was Agent 3's zone, her world, the one place where she really shined.
She hummed and bobbed along as her tentacles dangled from the wind. Her neon green hero clothes, from her headset down to her sneakers glowed despite the splotches of fuchsia ink that stuck to them. In her hands, a large black Hero Charger glowed blue despite the light of day. The long barrel dropped small drips of her reddish pink ink ever so often as she sprinted along through the warzone.
Around her, the world practically melted itself in a pot of chaos. Random gunshots and bursts of ink fired across the metal platform she walked across, all in violet or fuchsia. She zipped and dodged from side to side across the metal, whether she skidded across the platform with her boots or spiraled out of the incoming ink bullet, nothing seemed to touch her. With dainty jumps over puddles of fuchsia, she fired back now in then with her weapon and her streams of retaliation coated the battlefield in cherry.
She battled atop a floating chunk of land. A metallic floor covered the top and provided her with a suitable battleground. Other floating land masses surrounding in the air were dripping ink. Considering the red color of the fluids, it was probably not a stretch to say that her handiwork had been employed. A few wooden crates served as small barricades from the constant barrage of ink, thought it hardly seemed like they were necessary.
Agent 3 danced back and forth among the sight of several Octarians. Octotroopers sat on top of large cylindrical platforms took notice of the little lady with reddish pink tentacles that drooped down from her head and swiveled their platforms towards her with an astonished yelp. They narrowed their eyes and glared down the laser sights, but found that she was nowhere to be found. All they could see on top of the large metallic platform was a trail of ink.
They gasped in realization. Before they could make a move, they heard a yelp and instinctively swerved their small vehicles in that direction. One of them in their troop exploded in a burst of cherry ink and the goop splattered across the floor. Instinctively they spun and aimed at the puddle where their companion once stood. Another explosion. They swiveled around and aimed. Yet another one of their companions was reduced to a puddle on the metal floor. The cycle continued with the rest of them as a hidden reddish pink tornado blew through and decimated them instantaneously.
This continued until there was one. One Octarian sat in the midst of a drenched war-zone. The lonely Octotrooper shivered and shook nervously. Staring down at the ink swiveling its weapon nervously searching for their opponent. No sign of her appeared. For a while, the battlefield was silent, aside from the whir of its vehicle.
After a few seconds, the blaster built in its platform whirred and settled down. The Octotrooper sighed in relief and laid back on its machine control panel.
"Hi." Agent 3 smiled as she emerged from the ink in front of him.
The Octotrooper yelped one last time before it was blasted into submission. More realistically however, he ended up run across the floor. Agent 3 sighed contently and blew at the top of the barrel of her Hero Splat Charger.
Just then, a buzz sounded off in her ear. She reached up to her triangular Hero Headset and clicked the side with her fingers. "All clear guys! The Zapfish is just up ahead!"
She attempted to run ahead. Another voice called out to her. "...Three."
Agent 3 paused and reached at her headset again. "Um...Pardon?"
"Three." The voice called out again in a whisper. "...Three!"
The ink that stained the ground behind her rumbled. Agent 3 grunted, fell to the ground and stared at the ink in horror. A hand emerged from the ink stained in fuchsia and pink and reached towards her. She was frozen in place as the limb extended from the ink. Agent 3 attempted to reach for her Splat Charger but fumbled at it uselessly as if she was paralyzed.
She continued to lay on the ground helplessly. Her heartbeat quickened as a face emerged from the ink. It materialized into black tentacles, a flat hat, and...wait.
Callie screamed, "Three! Thr- Lalai! Wake up!" at the top of her lungs.
Lalai woke up with a start. She scrambled off of her counter with a push and launched herself out of her chair. She kicked her swivel chair to the side where it bounced off of the wall and reached under the receptionist desk. She gripped a Splatterscope hidden underneath and aimed towards the nearest entity and glared through the scope.
She stared through the clear scope, her trigger finger itchy. On the other side, Callie waved her white-gloved hands with a yelp and shouted, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"
Lalai instantly dropped her weapon. She nearly fell face down on the table. With a flustered face, she adjusted her small red bow-tie on her black and white uniform and asked, "Oh no. I'm so sorry Callie, I just must've dozed off-" She then squeaked in horror, "I-I'm sorry for dozing off!"
Callie stared at her from across the desk. The inside of the Squid Sisters' studio was coated in a psychedelic violet and green pattern, with bubble of ink and arrows painted on the walls. Out of the glass panes on the other side, one could see a train track built into the ground but a block across. One such train on the tracks sped by as excited passengers stared in and attempted to snap pictures as they zoomed past.
Suddenly, Callie snorted. She smiled back at Lalai. "It's fine! I mean, I doze off during break sometimes anyways."
Lalai bit her lip. The train had passed by, but she could still hear as it chugged around the perimeter of the plaza. She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly and said, "Callie...with all due respect, I don't think either of us should really be doing that."
The Squid Sister in pink placed her hands on her hips. "Hey, it's totally fine! I'm just trying to cheer you up here!"
"...Thanks." Lalai sighed and laid her head down on the counter.
Callie blinked and stared down at her. "...Lalai, are you still down about that?"
"...Mm." She murmured and turned away, "I'm thankful that you two landed me a job and all…"
She gestured to her tidy uniform. Lalai then waved her hands towards her desk, then the walls and the glass windows, each and every material seemingly polished and cleaned to a fine shine. Almost like a conductor, she gracefully ended back at her desk, palms flat down on the glossy surface.
"...You want to become a musician?" Callie asked with a tilt of her head while her black tentacles swiveled over the floor.
The receptionist scowled and shook her head. "No, I was just making a statement. It was nice of you two to hire me, but I just…" Lalai sighed and set her head down on the desk again. "It just isn't as...action packed."
Callie's golden irises lit up and the small crossed pupils in her eyes spun. "Oh," She clicked her tongue as she walked over to the counter and laid her arm across the side, "I'm sorry, 3."
"...It's fine." She murmured and crossed her arms. The white sleeves that poked out of the black fabric almost glowed in the sunlight. "What's passed has passed. ...I just kinda wish we could go back to the old days."
Callie suppressed a snort. "The old days? Lalai, they were sorta fun, but-"
"I know, I know." Lalai raised her hands over her ears. "There's a truce. I'm not going to start another Great Turf War just because I'm bored."
The pop star giggled at the statement. "'Agent 3 Back On A Rampage!' The news will be blaring that across the city!"
From behind the counter, Agent 3 smirked. "If that did happen, would you cover for me?"
"I'd...try my best?" Callie's brow furrowed in confusion.
"I'm kidding," Lalai responded with a dismissive wave of her hand, "I'd never do that."
The Squid Sister managed a miniature smile. "...I-I knew you were."
Her receptionist smiled back with an even smaller smile. They stayed in a sort of smile standoff for about a minute. Then a whistle blew through the studio. Callie's ears perked up and she directed her attention towards a door by the desk. The door was cracked open just a bit, through the thin crack one could see a staircase lead upstairs.
"Welp," Callie cleared her throat and started for the door, "Looks like my break is over. You're going to be okay, right Lalai?"
Lalai nodded back at her happily. "Sure!"
Callie smiled and walked through. She opened the door and hopped up the stairs and left the entrance wide open behind her. As soon as she was out of sight, Lalai immediately planted her face on the desk again with a thunk.
"Urgh." She moaned into the wooden surface.
Even though it stung when she bashed her head into solid wood like a maniac, the intense sense of boredom was overpowering the head trauma. Each second that ticked by was a constant reminder that Lalai could have been anywhere else other than a desk.
Groggily, she lifted her head and cocked her triangular ears up towards the wall behind her. The clock continued to count by the seconds as slowly as she could have thought possible. Maybe it was her impatience, or maybe it was a longing for action. Either way, each tick and each tock felt like torture as it ran through her head.
Suddenly, after what felt like an eternity, a thought ran through her head. "...Break...how long is my break?"
Gingerly, she swiveled around at the wall behind her. The wall was decorated with the studio's pink and green, with arrow insignias and splotches of ink. A medal locked in a frame hung over her head. Over that, the clock that tormented her for the past two minutes continued to tick past.
"12:00." As she inspected the clock her eyes narrowed, "My lunch break is an hour long…"
Lalai bit her lip and glanced out the glass panes. The front lobby and the outside of the studio was completely empty.
"I...suppose it wouldn't hurt." Lalai thought to herself as she reached under her desk.
She fumbled underneath the desk. Eventually, she grabbed hold of something thin. Pulling out a sheet of paper, she began lifting it up to the desk then planted it on the wooden surface, holding it down with her left elbow. Lalai then returned underneath the table and returned with a small ballpoint pen. Her pink tongue stuck out a smidge as she uncapped the pen and began to write.
She stood back after scribbling and inspected her handiwork. Hey guys! Sorry I'm not here, I went to get lunch at my sister's place!
"Perfect." Lalai smiled and picked up her Splatterscope.
Her weapon slung over her back, Lalai dashed out from behind the receptionist's desk. She then turned to the clear glass doors and rushed through. She left the studio in the dust and the doors swinging aimlessly as she ran.
Lalai stepped into Inkopolis Plaza somewhat hesitantly. There was definitely something afoot. The plaza was beaming with a newfound excitement. Among the Booyah Base's shop entrances and the several benches strung about the plaza there was a buzz of attention.
She glanced down at herself. Her Splatterscope was strung to her back in a large bag like it was a guitar. Although she could have probably just picked it up out of hammer-space like every other Inkling in the game, Lalai found comfort in having a weapon with her. She tapped on the asphalt with her Blue Moto Boots. Her White Headband and Aloha Shirt had her sigh in relief; the air flowed through much smoother than her stuffier receptionist uniform.
With a prolonged look at the rest of the Inklings and jellyfish bumbling about, she finally gave a sigh and began walking through the crowd gathered around. A majority of the squid teenagers assembled around the plaza would make cursory glances and excited expressions down at their squid shaped smartphones.
"...Huh." Lalai hummed as she walked past everyone else.
She caught a glimpse of a smartphone screen. On the screen, a quad squad of Inklings in green rose from the ink.
Before she could make a remark, a sound invaded the plaza and startled her. She backed away into the center of the plaza. Above her, the Squid Sisters screen fizzled and buzzed as the broadcast began.
Immediately she gritted her teeth and lightly smacked herself on the forehead. "Calm down. No one's going to know."
"Know what?"
Lalai spun around and removed the bag that encased her weapon and aimed. ...With the container. A yelp emerged from behind her, but ceased as soon as the victim realized that a bag being lethal was unheard of.
"Calm down!" The voice called out in protest. "Geez, I just wanted to check on you."
Lalai blinked and holstered the bag from behind her back. A few other Inklings glanced over at the scene curiously. "Um, sorry…"
Just then, the other Inkling she had nearly "blasted to oblivion" with her bag with froze. Brown eyes blinked in confusion. "Hey wait, aren't you the...sorry, the receptionist at the-"
"Shh!" She hushed him instantly.
"...Alright, fine." He muttered and arched his eyebrow. "...Then I guess reintroductions are out of the question?"
Lalai froze. The crowd around them simply shrugged a shoulder and turned a blind eye, going back to their business, but she could not help but flusteredly turn her face. "No, no...I'm sorry…?"
"Splin Bate." He spoke up and offered his hand out.
"...Lalai Wa'hii." Lalai spoke and shook his hand quickly.
In front of her, the blue male Inkling adjusted his Designer Headphones around his head. Splin blinked back at her somewhat suspiciously. "...Hm. You're alright, right?"
"Of course." She huffed and patted her weapon case. "Why?"
Splin grunted and brushed himself off. "Well, for one, you were glancing around like you expected to get assassinated. Two, you were talking to yourself."
"...Uh, so?" She muttered to herself and crossed her legs. "Is that so wrong?"
He crossed his arms and tilted his head at her. Splin's brown eyes shimmered dangerously. "Probably...I would know."
Just then, a rather loud gust of wind blew by. Lalai's Aloha Shirt rustled from the gust and she shivered from the sudden chill.
Splin frowned and glanced up at the sky. "Yeah, look who's talking voice."
Now it was Lalai's turn to stare. Her lips curled downwards into a frown. "...Uh huh...so...where are you headed?"
He grimaced and turned to the tower. On top of Inkopolis Tower, the Great Zapfish curled up into a ball by the observation deck on the top. "My brother wanted me to play him."
"Ah." Lalai murmured in understanding.
"Judging by your apparel," Splin spoke up and shot an inspecting gaze at her, "You're headed to the tower too, right?"
Lalai bit her lip. She stared straight forward through the plaza and the people crowded around down at the green building that stood tall above them all. She frowned and slowly but surely turned her attention to a familiar manhole. Next to a blue vending machine between the tower and the Squid Sisters' Studio, the manhole laid dormant. If she stared long enough at the metal surface, she could swear she could see white whiskers and beady yellow eyes.
When she blinked, they vanished. Nothing remained but a simply manhole. A feeling of remorse began to fill her, not to mention several emotional liters of dread.
"...Is that a yes or a no? ...Lalai?"
Lalai shook her head and shouted, "No thanks! I'll just stick here for a bit."
Splin shrugged and turned around. He began to walk towards the tower but not before saying, "Alright, sorry to bother you."
"Uh- Okay." She muttered awkwardly as she rubbed her head tentacles sheepishly.
She watched as Splin ran up towards the entrance of the tower. She watched him enter the main lobby through the automatic door which swiveled open for him and promptly shut behind him. Her stare was instantly redirected towards the manhole as the doors closed. Cherry red sweat dripped down underneath her short, equally red tentacles.
In fact, if one did not know better, it would look as if she were bleeding from her head. Wooo, spooky?
Regardless of how terrifying she might look while sweating, she herself felt a tinge of fear. As the Squid Sisters started waving out to the crowd from the large television screen announcing stage rotations and other substandard gossip, something within her head flashed. An image of the clock with its incessant ticks and tocks reappeared. Lalai bit her lip and gazed directly towards the manhole cover.
"It's now or never." A thought ran through her head as she glowered at the inanimate object flat on the floor.
As the hubbub and conversation continued around her, she made her way through the crowd. With about the grace and subtlety of a whale shark, she dashed over to the manhole, took one step, then kicked the cover off. Yet again, the group of squids and jellies clustered about ceased their conversation and turned their gazes towards her, clearly annoyed that they were interrupted yet again.
A few of them were genuinely surprised at what happened next. Without a word, she dove Inkling head first into the pipe, the manhole cover flipped back on behind her. The plaza population stared on in awe. The manhole eventually settled in place.
Judd yawned, and the onlookers stared on. Then returned right back to their social media.
Agent 3 stood up on the soft ground on the other side in Octo Valley. Her attire had shifted; she no longer wore the simple, inconspicuous Turf War battle clothing. Upon leaving the manhole, she now donned her Hero Suit, with her triangular Hero Headset, Hero Jacket, Hero Runners and not to mention her Hero Brand Charger™, buy an amiibo and get one today.
She held the gun's slender black and green barrel aloft. She sighed and took a cursory glance around. Everything was silent. At her right just across from the entrance and exit to the rock formation lying in the shade of his rusted old shack, Cap'n Cuttlefish snored without a care in the world, his arm dangled down from the couch and his cap tilted over his eyes. On top of the worn blue couch he slept on, several crumbs laid scattered about on the fabric.
Lalai could not help but smile at the old man. "Morning Cap," She whispered softly with her fond smile.
Lalai pressed on past the snoozing old Inkling with crumbs in his beard. She passed by concrete and kettles that laid dormant. They had been quiet ever since she had come through here.
She bit her lip and gazed at each kettle longingly. Squid stickers were plastered to a few of the metallic silver surfaces. Each sticker seemed made Lalai feel nostalgic and somewhat sad.
"...I'll never be able to fight again like the first time." She reminded herself mentally.
Agent 3 sighed and continued forward. Each step on the hollow steel floor and the echo and reverb that continued to sound throughout the air accordingly depressed her. She looked around, to and fro. Every single kettle entrance she spotted was covered in the colorful stickers.
Suddenly, she shook her head. "What the shell am I doing? There's no point in being here."
Lalai sighed and glowered at the ground. She turned and kicked at one of the kettles in irritation. As her Runners vibrated from the blow, she scoffed. Not at the kettles, nor at the Octarians, but straight down at herself. Stuffing her hands in her shorts' pockets, she went on walking back towards the shack.
Until a noise caught her attention. The sound of steam whistling caused her ears to start prickling up in curiosity. Her fingers impatiently gripped the trigger and body of her Hero Charger.
Letting her ears lead her, she began walking. Ahead of her, a peculiar device laid on the very end of the platform. A black sphere laid on the edge of the metal platform. Without hesitation, Lalai took aim and blasted the orb.
As soon as it was struck with the reddish pink fire, it grew. A line beamed out of the now pink orb and stretched across the chasm below. The line stretched until it reached another large platform mass.
The string of ink appeared to defy gravity as it hung straight over the canyon bottom. Lalai switched into a cherry squid and dropped herself into the orb of ink. She was submerged immediately; Lalai continued on and swam up the line as the sound of steam continued its whistle. After a few minutes of traveling through the ink stream, she hopped out of the line up into the air above the other platform. She reverted to Inkling form midair then dropped from the sky.
Landing on her feet with a clang, she glared ahead curiously. Across several small trees planted by the edge of the floating chunk of ground she stood on she could hear the kettle noise clearly. A large, deteriorated building blocked her view, but the whistle was unmistakable.
There was still an active kettle somewhere, and she was certain of it.
Lalai's grip on her weapon tightened. She began to walk over around the perimeter.
"...I'm just worried about them." A voice suddenly echoed throughout the air, "The two of them have been gone for a while…"
She froze instantaneously. Lalai shivered, one foot still in the space above the ground.
"I'm sure they're fine. This is Tai and Auss we're talking about." Another voice chimed in.
From behind the ruined building, the sound of footsteps on dried cement tapped ever closer. An added sound accompanied it, something like a helicopter made a noise like blades as they chopped through the air.
"Ship!" Lalai's eyes widened in shock.
Her first instinct was to take aim, but as she did so, the sound of the helicopter blades became increasingly louder and louder. Fearing the worst, she dive towards the nearest thin tree and switched into a small squid. As if she were nervous that they brought the largest assault vehicle of the skies as if expecting her, she poked her head out cautiously, expecting the worse-
"...I know." She heard the other female sigh, "But I'm also kinda worried about your propeller, Jerry. It's been making that noise for a day now." The feminine voice remarked with a frown.
Lalai pursed her...squid lips and stared at the strange duo that walked out from behind the decayed structure. An Octoling walked out, her hands folded behind her back. For whatever reason, her Octoling Goggles were only covering half of her face. Her eyebrows and top half of her eyes were obscured but her blue irises and her mouth folded in an upset expression were exposed.
Next to her, Lalai noticed another Octarian force that stood, or rather hovered adjacent to her. Jerry the Octocopter seemed to shrug with his...no shoulders. "Yeah, ever since the Skell was let free to roam, it's been kinda hard to keep this thing-" He pointed as best as he could with his tail to his propeller which kept him aloft, "Keep it in one piece with that thing in the loose."
"Really? I think it's fine." The Octoling remarked.
"That's only because you don't share an airspace with it, Chi." Jerry grumbled in indignation, as his head propellers spun faster, "Still don't see why we need a defense mech anyways, no one visits anymore."
"I'll say." Chi bit her lip and glanced around, "...Though isn't that a good thing? That just means the Inklings are sticking to the truce."
Lalai's...squid face lit up from behind the tree in surprise. She morphed back into an Inkling and holstered her weapon behind her back. She continued to watch curiously as they walked around aimlessly in the crisp air.
"Gives us the freedom to fly around," Jerry emphasized with another spin of his propellers, which sounded like a lawnmower at this point, "Though not much."
"I guess we should count our blessings…" Chi sighed to herself as she glanced up at the sky. "At least we don't have to deal with any agents. Thank Splin and Sharq for that."
"Splin?" Lalai wondered to herself. "...No way."
With a frown, Jerry swiveled back at the other Octoling. "You were never here for that!"
"...Er…" The Octoling's cheeks flushed in a bluish violet. "Right, not for the whole agent thing, but...it's nice. It's nice not cowering."
A tinge of guilt bit back at Agent 3. She furrowed her brow and stayed silent as they continued to walk- And hover about.
"Splin and Sharq...I guess not all Inklings are too bad." Chi admitted and looked up at the sky with a small, yet fond smile.
"I guess you could say Tai's got good taste in friends, huh?" Jerry spoke up with a playful nod.
"...Yeah." Chi rubbed her arm somewhat awkwardly.
Agent 3's mouth gaped open. As they continued on their walk and edged dangerously close to her own hiding spot, Lalai shrunk behind the tree as she heard them and sat still behind the trunk, eyes still wide. She bit her lip and looked up at the sky. The sun above them seemed to pass by the center of the blue canvas. With one last stare, she glanced at them as they began to round a corner by the ruined building.
She shivered, and eyed her Hero Charger. Lalai's eyes narrowed and her trigger finger twitched. After a moment of hesitation and as they rounded the building, she shook her head suddenly.
Quickly, she took off running with her Hero Charger strapped to her back and took off. Lalai was a blur as she ducked into the ink sphere and travelled the line down from the large platform without a moment to spare. Chi perked up at the sound of footsteps. She spun around in fright and glanced around.
"You alright?" Jerry asked as his propellers screamed above him.
She cringed and ducked underneath him. "...Yeah, thought I heard something."
Jerry huffed and crossed his- Again, NONEXISTENT ARMS. "I'll get it fixed soon!"
"Stay fresh!"
Callie and Marie posed, their gloved hands dangled as they stood poised in front of a camera crew aiming boom microphones and cameras, as standard. A beep noise permeated the multi-colored studio room from behind the filming devices.
"That's a wrap, good work again today ladies!" Someone called out from the other side of the set.
As the equipment began being stowed away, Callie dropped her pose. She stretched her back out with a sigh, "Whoo! Well, you know what they say, the eighty-thousandth time's always the hardest."
Next to her, Marie ceased her pose and arched an eyebrow at her cousin. "Who said that? The jellyfish?"
"Mm." She shrugged and walked off while a large shrimp packed away a camera in the background.
"Hey, where are you going?" Marie inquired, her round white eyebrow still raised.
"I wanted to check on 3- Er, Lalai." She admitted with a smile. "She's been kinda down recently. So I wanna see if she's cheered up yet!"
"Hm. Alright." Marie shrugged and readjusted her gloves until they fit on her fingers nice and snug.
She walked up to her bubbly cousin with a curt nod. Callie ran up towards a door in the back painted blue which stuck out like a sore thumb in a room full of bright pinks and greens. She opened the door and Marie followed; the duo descended down a flight of stairs quickly. They came across a door frame at the bottom after a while.
"After you!" Callie offered with a grin and pushed the door open.
"...Alright, whatever you say." Marie shrugged and walked on through.
As her cousin walked through into the lobby, Callie soon followed shortly after. She shut the door behind her and turned to the front. She blinked in surprise at the scene.
"...That's basically the gist of it." She heard someone say.
"Really?" Lalai hummed in delight as she sat at her desk, a discarded piece of paper crumpled on the side. "That sounded exciting. I wish I could've been there."
"Eh." A familiar Inkling in blue adjusted his headphones around his neck. "Honestly, it was terrifying and uncomfortable. I hope I never have to work with 'Agents' ever again."
Splin leaned on the other side of the desk as Lalai listened on with her face held between her hands. She had a small smile on her face whereas Splin looked as though retelling the events was somewhat strenuous. He leaned on the other side of the desk with one arm, the other stretched at his side.
Without warning, Callie came up to the desk and laid her right arm on it. "Who's your friend?"
Lalai turned in her swivel chair and waved. "Hello Callie."
She waved to her receptionist with a smile. Callie then turned towards Splin. "Hey Agent B! What are you doing here?"
Splin quickly stood up straight; he made sure to remove his arm from the desk rather swiftly. "Oh, uh, Lalai helped Sharq and I win a Ranked Battle."
"In exchange for telling me about how he caused the truce." Lalai beamed much to Callie's surprise. Agent 3 turned back to Agent B and pursed her lips. "But what about the Skell? You said something about it having lasers or something?"
"The Skell…" Splin just shook his head and sighed. "I have no idea."
"Look, this is nice and all, but I think we're overdue for lunch." Marie spoke up and gestured to the clock above Lalai with her thumb. "I'll be splashed if I don't fuel up. C'mon you two."
Callie could not help but sigh and rub where her...stomach...probably was? (Darn it, Inkling anatomy.) "She's right...let's grab a bite!"
Lalai just sighed and nodded, then turned back towards the younger Bate Brother eagerly. "Promise to tell me the rest later?"
Splin shrugged and walked towards the doors. "Sure. Maybe after Shalloween."
As he pushed the glass panes of the door open, a gust of wind blew in. The wind rustled around everyone and prompted Callie and Marie to hold on to their respective headgear.
The wind furled around Splin for a moment and ruffled his tentacles. He scowled as he left the building. "What do you mean it's called 'Squidoween' now?"
The doors shut behind him. They could still see Splin from behind the glass panes as he walked out, past the train tracks. Lalai got up out of her seat and joined the two squid pop stars as they readjusted the flat fast food and calamari resembling headgear on their heads.
As they began to leave the studio, Marie could not help but smirk. "I think you could do better, Lalai."
Callie snickered by Marie's side as they pushed the clear glass doors open. "Aw, I don't think it matters much! Splin's probably a good match."
Lalai just rolled her eyes. "You two matchmakers are out of luck. He's just a friend."
"A friend that you just made today?" Callie squealed dramatically. "It's practically love at first sight!"
"Alright, that's enough Callie. She might wanna take it slow, you know?" Marie joked alongside her.
"1, 2," Agent 3 stated with a scowl and pretended to click something on the side of her ears, "Save the chit chat for when we get to my sister's place."
They walked, and Lalai could not help but smirk alongside them as they made their way for lunch as the afternoon sun lazily hovered above. The Squid Sisters laughed for quite a long while on the way there, and Lalai just could not help but sigh and smile as well.
"It's better than nothing, I guess." She thought to herself and continued to walk along.
AN: Sorry for the delay. Hopefully I can get the Halloween chapter out soon. Apparently Halloween is today, or the Monday on October on the twenty-third here where I live. Which is either a lie fabricated by some tricksters or it's just really inconvenient, especially after aspiring to make a Halloween chapter and confessing to someone else that I would.
If I fail to make it, I'll be downright embarrassed, that's for sure.
Embarrassment aside, let's take a look at those wonderful reviews! Thanks Dread Angel and write n wrong for reviewing!
Whatever you say, Dread. I hope those aren't bad tears, the last thing I'd want is something I've created to cause extreme distress in someone. But who knows, its the spooky season. Perhaps not all is what it seems…
Thanks write n wrong, I really liked the flashback formula. I'm glad that someone *hint hint* suggested the flashback idea. I felt like adding extra tidbits of dialogue made it feel extra nice, and I'm glad you liked them.