The Brothers and the Others

Jinxed Jelly Jamboree

Willie wished he had called in sick today. Traffic was one thing, as driving to work was hardly a problem. Mostly because he lacked an actual car. Foot traffic, on the other hand, was rough.

"We've got an order! It's a tall one!"

Carrying Zip through hordes of excited jellyfish was difficult, incredibly tedious, and… Well, slow, but still worth it. As he reflected on it, Willie rubbed his cheek and sighed dreamily. Zip had a way of showing her gratitude.

"Definitely worth it," He thought to himself.

Unfortunately, explaining why they were late was a chore. Pela was hardly in a mood to tolerate excuses.

"We've got another one."

The first hours were uneventful and tranquil for lack of a better word. Inklings came and went at their leisure same as always. It was only during the late morning that it seemed that the orders had started to pile up. Willie sighed as he glanced to his side. A trash can filled with balls of crumpled paper laid nearby, completely filled.

"We've got another one! And another one!"

He leaned on the middle countertop of the kitchen with his elbow and bit his lip. Maybe he could convince Pela that he had a spontaneous case of food poisoning had arisen and could leave early.

"We've got another- Hey, Willie! You listening?"

He could even say that Zip had caught it. Somehow. Although, Pela might blame it on PDA. He was unsure whether or not to risk that.

"We have… A lot! There's a flood of 'em!"

"Willie!"

Willie shook his head and grumbled. Pela was difficult, to say the least. He waved her off and continued to brainstorm as he leaned on the countertop. However, before he could try to think up a good excuse, his brain's thought process was rudely impeded by a crash.

Willie clutched his ears and yelled, "Ow!"

His eyes spun about in his head as his ears rang. As he reeled from the noise, Willie noticed a blurry white toque, a bright tint of cyan and a smirk. His head felt as if the cyan was burning his brain as he looked at it. Willie reached up to his face, removed his Retro Specs and rubbed the glasses irritably.

Dazed, he shouted, "Pela! How the shell am I going to..." Willie paused and rubbed his head, "How am I going to cook if you keep doing that!"

Willie placed his glasses back upon his face. As his vision cleared, Willie's first glimpse was of a chef as she innocently stood beside the opposite side of the counter. Atop the counter, a frying pan laid face-down nearby with a few scratches on the alloy material. Pela examined a small metal spoon in her right hand and rubbed the pan's smooth surface almost reassuringly.

After a few seconds, she finally glanced up at Willie and smirked at him. "Not planning on daydreaming anymore, huh?"

Willie's expression soured. "That's a sea devil's smile."

"Mm," Pela hummed, "You made a good point. Maybe I should have you two wear earplugs."

Willie rubbed his head and grumbled, "You mean 'have me wear earplugs'."

"Maybe if you actually worked, you wouldn't need them," replied Pela with a shrug, "Actually… No, you need to hear me."

Willie scowled and turned away. "Worst part of the job."

He shut his hands over his ears once more as Pela bashed the small, black gong over his head. Willie rubbed his ears with an annoyed whimper as Pela glared at him threateningly. She rubbed the spoon up and down across the pan dangerously.

As Willie stood indignantly but silent across from her, a satisfied grin spread across Pela's face. "We'll talk about that later. Right now, we have tons of customers and they're annoying as all shell."

Willie reluctantly agreed with a sigh, "Right."

She smirked back at him and pushed the frying pan onto the counter and to the side. Hands on her hips, Pela gazed at Willie who could only stare back at her incredulously.

"What was that?" he chirped in bewilderment.

"What happened to that chipper attitude?" Pela wondered aloud as she twirled one of her tentacles with a finger, "Those customers aren't going to mind."

Willie's shoulders hung as he sighed, "It's been a long day. Sorry. Also, it might have to do with the temporary hearing loss!"

"Yeah, I agree, these six hours have been going on forever," Pela replied and rolled her eyes, "C'mon. We're all tired, Willie."

Willie turned away towards the kitchen door. "I know, I know! It's just…"

"We're ALL tired," Pela repeated and nudged her head to the door.

The both of them glanced out through the glass porthole within the kitchen door. Outside of the kitchen, the tables were barely visible. As a matter of fact, everything past the counter was practically submerged. Jellyfish clogged the walkways and filled several tables. The front door of the restaurant was wedged open with two lines of jellyfish filing in and out like a long conveyor belt.

Willie and Pela glanced to the right of the counter. To the right of the door, Zip stood behind the cash register with her nose buried deep in a notebook and scribbled in it extraordinarily quickly as a jellyfish stood in front of the counter. The jellyfish's right tentacle stretched and jabbed at lightning speeds.

"Oh, my Cod," Willie muttered, It's-"

"It's ordering." Pela scowled at the jellyfish.

Willie eyes narrowed. "This can't be good"

Pela pressed her finger to her mouth and shushed him. Willie's shoulders hung as he and Pela continued to stare outside of the window. Across from the counter, the jellyfish's tentacle retracted back to its side and hung plainly. As the jellyfish waited patiently at the counter, Zip nodded slowly and made her way over towards the door.

"Here comes the bride," Pela remarked grimly.

She and Willie stepped away from the door, the latter with an uneasy frown. As they backed away, the door immediately swung open and in stepped Zip.

She smiled as she inquired, "Hey hon."

"...Hi?" Willie greeted her and waved back.

Her eyelids drooped and her posture deflated as she walked over and pushed her notes into Willie's arms. "Customer two-thousand and eighty-five's. Wants extra everything."

"Two-thousand and what?" Willie asked.

Before he could press further, Zip began to spin. Willie gawked at her as she turned and swerved about the tile floor like it was a ballroom. As she made her way through the kitchen, both of the onlookers watched in silence. Eventually, one of her own yellow tentacles drooped low and in front of her feet right in front of her path.

Quickly, Willie jumped in front of Zip and extended her arms to catch Zip as she tripped and fell. "Whoa!"

Zip swooned and rested her head back on Willie's chest. "Wake me up… When my lunch break's over."

"Zip?" Willie muttered and shook her back and forth, "Zip!"

Pela shook her head and rested her hand on Willie's shoulder. "Let her rest. She's had enough for one day."

Willie stared down at Zip as she rested in his arms. As if nothing had happened, her eyes were gently closed and her body rested peacefully with both of her hands draped over her chest. Her uniform, on the other hand, was ragged and ruffled.

"Drama queen," Pela sighed and dusted off the uniform.

"Did I oversell it?" Zip cocked one eye open with a sheepish smirk.

Pela scowled and shook her head. "Just go enjoy your break."

Zip gave a polite wave and stood up with a small, tired smile. She stumbled out of Pela's grip and waltzed over to a stainless counter with a ditzy grace. Zip reached down below the counter and dug around for a few seconds then paused, her smile still glued to her face. She pulled out a brown sack from underneath, laid it out on the counter and promptly buried her face into the surface of the bag. As a result, her tentacles flopped over onto the clean surface of the counter as she landed fell face-first. As she watched, Pela shook her head disdainfully.

"You're cleaning the counter and scrubbing those potatoes after you're done!" Pela instructed shrilly.

Zip waved back with her face still buried in the potato sack. "Mm-hmm."

"Hmm-hmm-hmm," Pela grunted mockingly back at her and turned to Willie, "Well, Prince Charming, looks like it's just you and me."

Willie stared at the floor and lightly kicked. "Man…"

"Listen to me," Pela demanded as she suddenly gripped his cheeks and pulled him close to her face.

"Ow," Willie murmured.

Pela's glare hardened. "We work now, complain later. This is still a business. We will serve those jellyfish out there even if it kills me."

Willie blinked. "You mean if it 'krills' you."

Pela's chef hat seemed to rise, as did her tentacles. She pinched his cheeks tightly.

"Mmph!" Willie complained and reached up to his face, "Hey!"

"I know what I said!" Pela growled and narrowed her eyes with her hands still glued to his face, "And it doesn't matter! This is the biggest lunch rush we've ever had here. Heck, if we pull this off, I'll even give you a day off."

Willie frowned. "Well…"

"Also I can fire you," Pela stated and glanced away, "Probably should've lead with that."

"Alright, alright!" Willie exclaimed, "I'll cook for the jellyfish!"

Pela gawked at him, when all of a sudden, she smirked again. "You sure?"

Willie nodded firmly. "Yes."

"Are you sure?" Pela asked, crossing her arms.

"Yes!" Willie cried out, "Fine, let's serve those jellyfish!"

"That's the spirit!" Pela grinned and marched towards the door.

The poor door was practically bashed in as Willie and Pela kicked it. They stood outnumbered two to a few thousand. Despite the odds, the chefs grinned and turned their attention to the crowd of jellyfish, several of which had begun to stare. A few seconds passed as the employees continued to pose in the doorway.

"...Wait, shouldn't we serve the order we just got first?" Willie inquired.

Pela bit her lip. "Oh, right. What'd it order?"

Willie frowned and stared down at the notebook. "Let's see…"

Willie's eyes nearly popped out of his glasses. Pela cocked an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder and examined the notepad curiously.

"Better get started!" Pela announced.

-ONE EXPERTLY CRAFTED COOKING SCENE LATER-

"Man, that wasn't so tough," Willie remarked giddily, "It only took us, what, five seconds?"

Within the kitchen, several ingredient scraps consisting of vegetables, fruits, and seafood coated the once pristine counters and floors. A fire had taken it upon itself to burn uninterrupted atop a stove. Amidst the chaos, Willie stood proudly with a bright smile on his face as Zip snoozed nearby face-down in potatoes. Regardless of the appearance of the kitchen, Willie's smile was wide and undeterred. Then the spoon attacked.

Willie rubbed his sore crown and glared at the wooden spoon as it landed by his shoes. "Can you stop doing that?"

"What am I paying you for? Help me with this!" Pela screamed and pointed towards the inferno.

Willie's smile disappeared. "Whoa! Turn off the flame!"

"I already did! It's just like this!" Pela shouted back.

"Why is it like this?!" Willie asked frantically.

"This is what happens when we cut corners, Willie!" she shouted as she searched around the kitchen, "You can't expect a masterpiece in five seconds, y'know!"

Pela switched into a squid and dived through the chaotic mess. Scraps of food and various dining utensils sprung up into the air as she dug through the kitchen. Finally, Pela popped back up out from the mess in Inkling form with a ginormous pot. She trudged back through the tiny path she made back towards the stove, cocked one eye at the flame, then suddenly slammed the pot upside-down on top of the fire. The fire billowed inside of the pot fiercely but futilely. Pela wiped the sweat off of her forehead.

Pela patted the pot lightly. "Phew. We'll check back on that later."

"This is crazy! What'd we even make out of this again?" Willie wondered aloud.

Pela pursed her lips and retrieved the notepad. "According to Zip's scribbles-"

"Was in a hurry," Zip mumbled from the potato sack.

"Clam it Sleeping Beauty," Pela barked and stared back at the notes, "Okay, so according to this list, that jellyfish ordered…"

Pela's eyes narrowed down at the list. Her expression darkened as she scanned through. She flipped the page over.

Pela looked straight towards Willie. "Everything on the menu."

Willie simply stared back and brushed off his white apron. Aside from the roar of the flames and the sound of marching from outside of the kitchen, it was nearly dead silent.

She glanced down at the list again. "Twice."

"How can they even eat that…?" Willie muttered and shook his head, "Nevermind that, what did we make so far?"

Pela glanced around the kitchen. "Hmm, from the looks of it, I'd say that- I don't flipping know, you look!"

Willie took another glance at the mayhem. "So… Nothing?"

Pela pursed her lips and picked up a container filled with small green plants. "No, not really. We managed this in five seconds."

"Alright, well, let's find the tomatoes and get some bread then!" Willie smiled and quickly peered at the giant pot, "Hopefully ones not on the floor or on fire."

"I'm not one to skimp out on this food, but..." Pela trailed off, squished something beneath her Blue Moto Boots, and glanced down, "Find some sea-horseradish sauce."

Willie nodded and changed into an orange squid and dove into the floor's clutter. Not long after he had dived in, there was a rapping noise coming from across the kitchen. Pela gawked at the kitchen door and Willie poked his head out from the scraps.

"Ship," Pela cursed, "We might not have enough time. Hand me a frying pan."

"Huh?" Willie wondered aloud with a scowl as he stepped out of the pile.

Pela glared back at him. "I've dealt with unsatisfied customers plenty during my career. Just trust me, I know what I'm doing."

Willie bit his lip and reluctantly glanced at the countertop. Both Zip and a frying pan laid face-down on top of the counter across from him. He shot a look at Pela, who simply nodded and outstretched her arm.

Willie reached up to his head and brushed down his tentacles. "This ain't going to end well."

He leaned on the counter and reached across. Quickly, Willie picked up the skillet, turned to Pela, then reluctantly offered her the frying pan. Pela glanced down at the frying pan then gave Willie a soft smile.

"Thanks," she said as she picked it up and began to wave it about as if it were a sword.

Her weapon now in hand, Pela's eyes narrowed. Willie watched silently as he shuffled quietly towards the kitchen door, frying pan at the ready. The sound of knocking continued to reverberate through the room as she inched (centimeter-ed for other countries) closer and closer to the door. Pela reached for the doorknob, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and pulled the door open in one swift jerk.

"Wah!"

Someone fell through the doorframe and landed on the kitchen floor in front of Pela, who certainly did not hesitate to strike.

Pela raised the frying pan over her head. "This'll teach you to order-"

Before she could strike, Willie leaped in front of her and raised his hands in front of his face. "Whoa, wait!"

"...Oh!" Pela murmured and swiftly stowed the skillet behind her back with a grin. "Thank goodness. Regular customers!"

Willie shot an incredulous look up at her. "Pela!"

"What? I didn't hit them," Pela explained with a shrug.

Willie sighed, shook his head, and stared at the people sprawled out upon the floor. To the left, Dosio was completely frozen in place with bug-eyes like a deer caught in the headlights. Laid out on his chest, Sharq was stuck underneath him, yet waved enthusiastically at the restaurant's employees.

Sharq beamed. "Hey, Willie."

"Shady!" Willie greeted with a smile, then peered towards Dosio, "And… Goggle guy."

"Hi," Dosio grunted.

Dosio pushed himself up off of Sharq, dusted himself off, and turned around out towards the rest of the restaurant. Willie bent down, took Sharq's hand and pulled him up.

"So," Willie coaxed, "Didya get the munchies again?"

Sharq nodded at him and answered, "We were actually hoping you'd be able to help us."

All of a sudden, a cyan squid jumped in between the two other Inklings. They gasped in surprise as Pela reformed into an Inkling in the middle.

Pela readjusted her toque and smiled at Sharq, "Help you dine?"

Sharq grinned back at her. "Nope! We-"

"Oh," Pela remarked plainly and walked away.

"Wait!" Sharq piped up and reached out for her.

Pela simply huffed and walked back towards the stove. Immediately as she approached the stove, she edged away from the ginormous pot and continued on towards the back of the kitchen.

"Can't seem to get one normal customer today," she complained.

Willie sighed and turned to Sharq. "Sorry. Honestly, we're a little strained today."

Dosio poked his head out the door frame and examined the crowds. "How far do these things go?"

Sharq peered at the door frame. "They're really filling it up out there."

"Not much courtesy to their hosts either," Zip announced from the back of the kitchen.

"Zip," Sharq greeted with another wave.

Zip lifted her face from the potato sack and waved back. "Hi. I swear if these blobs don't start paying for food, I-"

Sweat collected underneath Willie's forehead as the kitchen began to feel unnaturally warm. A sound similar to a boiling kettle filled the otherwise silent room.

Sharq took off his cap and began to fan himself with it. "Whew! Uh, is it always this hot in here or is it just me?"

Dosio gave Sharq a cursory glance and rolled his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself."

"No, no, it's really like… Hot in here." Sharq admitted.

Zip suddenly perked up. "Oh, my."

She and Willie slowly turned their heads towards the back of the kitchen. Pela stood and literally steamed, plumes of smoke blasted out of her ears as she stood. The pot had been removed from the stove and the fire was nowhere to be seen. The pot had also been haphazardly left on the floor with a small dent on the bottom.

After what felt like an eternity, Pela spoke up, "Zip, hon, excuse me?"

"Yeeeeesss?" Zip crooned uncertainly.

"This entire day we haven't made a single G? Is that what you're telling me?" Pela inquired.

Zip bit her lip, then sighed, "Not… Really."

"This entire day, at least six hours, and nothing? Not a coin? Not even a passing glance?" Pela quizzed while she faced the back wall.

"No, no, and…" Zip bobbed her head back and forth, "Well, the jellyfish can certainly stare."

There was a loud thud. Everyone in the kitchen turned to the back and saw Pela as she gazed back with a menacing scowl.

Her eyebrow twitched. "Wait here."

Pela stormed through the kitchen and picked up her frying pan as she moved towards the door. She kicked scraps of food out of her way, some of which seemed to sizzle after being kicked. Without hesitation, Sharq, Dosio, and Willie scurried out of her way as she marched onwards.

"Pelaaaa?" Willie called nervously, "Don't do anything nuts."

Pela paused at the door, turned around, and flashed a smile towards the others. "I would if we had any in stock."

They simply stared in silence. The silence apparently seemed to only irritate Pela more. With a huff, she reached for the door's handle, yanked the door open, and left the kitchen. She slammed the door shut behind her with her free hand as she wielded the frying pan fiercely with her right. All was quiet once again.

Sharq turned to Willie with a frown. "Maybe I should ask her later."

"Ask her what?" Willie questioned.

Sharq twiddled his fingers. "Well, it's about her sister-"

The sound of plates shattering boomed throughout the restaurant. Tables could be heard being toppled as well as the frantic clicking of cameras. Each and every time something—or someone—was shattered, the Inklings inside the kitchen flinched and cowered as if they were standing right in front of the massacre.

Out of the chaos, all that could be discernible from the racket was, "Don't order it if you can't-"

The racuous noise continued for quite some time. The Inklings in the kitchen listened intently and patiently until all of a sudden, the noise stopped. There was nothing.

After a short while, a voice trilled out, "Alright, I took care of it!"

All four of the Inklings turned to one another, each one with a face that spelled out "hesitation".

"Can't be worse than what you did," Dosio suggested as he turned to Sharq with a shrug.

Sharq simply smiled sheepishly. "Yeah…"

Willie pursed his lips, then lowered his head. "It's Pela. What's she going to do?"

Zip glowered grimly at the door. "Mm. What is Pela going to…"

They slowly turned to one another. Without another word, the both of them bolted for the door. As they reached the door, Willie and Zip shared another short look at each other, nodded once, and swung the door open. A few seconds passed until finally, the two sighed in relief.

"Freeloaders!" Pela screamed as she bashed her frying pan into the front doors, "Loiterers! Buy something or get out!"

A set of blue tentacles attempted to re-enter the restaurant and wriggled as they tried to squeeze past the vertical space between the doors. Their attempts were met with cold alloy as Pela hammered the tentacles back out into the outside. Each swing she made reverberated throughout the restaurant, as did her frustrated shouts and cusses.

A full minute passed by before the tendrils finally retreated. Cyan sweat dripped down her forehead as the back of Pela's head hit the door and she slid down to the floor. With one final scream of frustration, she let the pan hit the floor by her side.

"Pela?" Zip interjected, "Are you okay?"

Pela answered back, "Groughhaaaaa."

Her employees quickly ran past the overturned tables and fallen silverware over to her. Out from the kitchen, Sharq and Dosio poked their heads out and stared out at all of the destruction. Several postcards and discarded napkins littered the floor. Anything past the service counter not attached to the ground was either upside-down, on its side, or somewhere in between. A few cell phones laid about with their camera apps reflecting the ceiling or the floor.

However, despite all the lost possessions, not a single crumb of food laid outside the kitchen.

"You alright?" Willie inquired.

Pela reached up and removed her toque. "I'm great, Willie."

"I'm sorry," Zip insisted, "I let it get to my head."

"No, Zip, Willie, it's fine," Pela lamented, "It's… You did fine."

Immediately, Willie and Zip began to reassure her, babbling excuses and promises. Pela heaved out a sigh and rested her chin on top of her toque. Standing across from them, Sharq and Dosio watched awkwardly.

"Psst," Dosio whispered and pulled his Splash Goggles over his head, "Sharq, we should leave."

Sharq jolted upwards and murmured, "What?"

Dosio rubbed the back of his neck. "They're… Having one of those moments, you know? We should just go find her sister ourselves."

"How?" Sharq frowned.

"It's just awkward. Listen, Sharq, I came along so that I could actually go to Turf Wars again, not interrupt other people's drama or anything. Can't we just… Go?" Dosio asked.

Sharq narrowed his eyes. "Dosio."

Dosio shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just saying, we might be able to find her now if we get going."

"Dosio."

Dosio sighed, "I just really, really don't want to-"

"Dosio!"

"What?!" he shouted, much to the surprise of the three others sitting by the door.

Sharq glared at him. "I don't care."

Dosio scowled. "...Huh? What do you mean you don't-"

"We are not going to find Lalai on our own," Sharq stated with certainty, "Suck it up, you're stuck with me and I know that we will never find Lalai without even a hint."

Dosio rolled his eyes. "Okay, calm down, I was just-"

"Ah!" Sharq shushed him.

"I'm just-"

"Shh!'

"But-"

Sharq shouted, "Would you clam up?! This is final: we're asking Pela where Lalai is, we're finding Lalai, and we're going to solve this migration problem! But so far, all you've been doing was doubting me! So shut up, calm down, and please just TRUST ME."

Dosio stood frozen with his mouth wide open. Sharq stood with his arms firmly planted on his sides. Willie, Zip, and Pela gawked at him from the floor. Regardless of the reaction, the lot of them were silent.

Sharq blinked, then rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah… Anyways, sorry, but I-"

"Octo Valley," Pela admitted.

Sharq tilted his head. "Hmm?"

Pela's eyes remained firmly fixated on her toque stood up and dusted it off. "Lalai said she had to prepare for an expedition. Said it was important. Nothing else."

She glanced up from her toque and stared at the others. They were all quietly gazing back at her.

Pela continued, "She was packing up at her place one night for a trip. I thought this whole agent stuff was insane and that the whole 'Great Turf War' thing was over at least a hundred years ago or something…"

Pela paused, looked around the restaurant and chuckled lightly. Willie and Zip backed away slightly and stood together to her side.

"I wanted us to work on this together," Pela sighed and shook her head, "I guess she never felt like the waitress type. She never looked right at a receptionist's desk either."

Sharq folded his arms. "I see…"

Pela's blue eyes seemed to flash. "I'm boring you, aren't I? Sorry, just a crazy older sister fawning over her sibling here."

"No, I think it's sweet!" Sharq argued and smiled, "You're looking out for her, even if she wants to do her own thing, it's… Right. Right?"

Pela sighed and placed her toque back on her head. "Sure, right."

Sharq beamed. "If anything, she must still think highly of you!"

"...Mm-hm," Pela sighed.

"...Oh! But, um, thanks for the tip!" Sharq spoke up as he stared out towards the glass pane windows, "Ooh. That's a lot of them."

Willie stepped forward. "You need some help?"

Sharq perked up and turned towards him. "Sure!"

"Zip?" Willie spun around towards her.

Zip nodded and walked towards the door. "Pela?"

"Alright," Pela muttered and shook her head as she brandished her frying pan, "No food sold, little to no cooking, hardly a fresh new G to my name, and I practically preached my life story…"

Zip gave her a hopeful smile. "I thought it was nice."

Pela examined her smile. "...Mm. Maybe a raise is due."

"Heartfelt," Willie added hopefully.

"We'll discuss this later," Pela muttered and eyed the doors, "You all ready?"

The Inklings stared out the clear windows and doors at the hordes of jellyfish. The blue blobs peered inside at the restaurant hungrily, cell phone cameras at the ready and tentacles waving erratically. Armed with her frying pan, Pela took on a batter's stance with the rest of the Inklings forming up behind her. Cautiously, Pela stepped forward, reached for the doors, and gripped both of their handles simultaneously.

Pela cleared her throat. "On the count of three. One… Two..."

The floodgates slammed open.

AN: These chapters are getting more drawn out than I would have anticipated.

Thanks write n wrong for reviewing. Luckily, it seems that the jellyfish levels in Splatoon 2 aren't as crazy as forecasted, so Sharq may have some merit yet.

Thanks for reading, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle.