Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Reef, by all means, was not at all confident in their ability to be Captain of the New Squidbeak Splatoon.

They’d taken the role when Craig Cuttlefish, the previous Captain, had finally stepped down after a hundred years of work. Reef at the time couldn’t believe they’d been the one chosen instead of one of his granddaughters, but after reflecting on their recent endeavors in the Octarian domes during the last five years (which included Reef doing a whole lot more missions than necessary), they came to a wise understanding.

It hadn’t exactly been Reef’s dream to be Captain of the Splatoon, mainly because they didn’t believe Cuttlefish would ever retire. Also, who were they even supposed to be Captain of? Agent 8 had left Inkopolis years prior, Agent 4 had been climbing the ranks of baristas in the world (and was now what they would consider a final boss of her café), and Agents 1 and 2 were busy trying to find a new job that suited the both of them (that wasn’t being mainstream pop idols, because fame had quickly become tiring to them. They still sung though). And of course, Agent 3… Well, there was no more Agent 3, because Reef was now Captain. 

So here they were, alone, at Tentakeel Outpost, wanting to sneeze because of all the plants (which were currently blooming flowers) their best friend adopted years prior. It’d been five years since Agent 4, also known as Sunny, had joined them in the Splatoon, and her main duty no one had asked for had been making the floating rocks outside of Tentakeel Outpost into a floating forest. 

It was alright though; Sunny was the kindest Inkling in the whole world, and Reef would rather her be gardening here, in safety, than be out on the field. It wasn’t that she couldn’t fight—rather the opposite (even if she insisted otherwise, she could really pack a punch if she needed to, and if she wasn’t fighting Reef)—they just wanted her safe. 

Reef wanted every agent safe, for that matter. Lotus, also known as Agent 8, was off living her own peaceful life on the surface in another city and hadn’t been an agent for years, so there was no worrying to do on her end. Agents 1 and 2, Callie and Marie, didn’t do any missions underground anymore unless they suspected Reef was overworking themself again. Reef winced internally, remembering all the fretting of the other agents when they were alone in the domes for too long (including and especially Lotus’ worry), as well as what the two cousins had been through while they were gone. Reef never wanted to upset anyone like that ever again, and yet simultaneously wanted to do everything for everyone so the rest of the Splatoon could relax, enjoy life, and not worry about Octarians invading and kidnapping anyone they thought of as important. Very, very important.

They’d been Captain for a good while, but since there wasn’t much to do or anyone to lead, Reef didn’t have much practice being a leader. They were certainly not ready at all for the letter that came from the previous Captain one afternoon.

It took squinting to read his messy handwriting, and when Reef had finished reading the paper, they didn’t know what to think.

In a city across the sea called Splatsville, domes existed, but these were filled with Octarians unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. They were covered in a substance Craig described as ‘hair’ and ‘fur’ that apparently humans and other mammals had once grown naturally on their bodies. Something called ‘furry ooze’ had been growing and spreading in those domes, and had infected its octopus inhabitants whenever it happened to touch them. It sounded gross.

Reef placed the letter aside and heaved a deep sigh. It was their job to discover what was causing the furry ooze to exist in the first place, as well as find a cure for the Octarians living there, but where would they even start? Whatever had happened, Reef knew that this was a mystery they couldn’t solve on their own, and the rest of the Squidbeak would be furious if Reef even attempted to go by themself.

But they just couldn’t call Sunny or Marie right now. The two were away on their honeymoon, and if they were to be disturbed, Sunny would be sad and Marie would come after Reef with her charger. Sunny was Reef’s childhood best friend and the last Inkling Reef wanted near any mammal goop, and Marie, despite her attitude sometimes, was one of the Inklings that Reef trusted most and a long time friend. Though they tended to butt heads at times, they didn’t want her near trouble at all either.

Then there was Callie. She was in Inkopolis right now, busy helping pack Marie and Sunny’s stuff in their apartment into boxes for the big move that would happen when the couple returned. Cod, Callie was so happy, and had been through so much underground already… There was no way Reef wanted to bring her out of all Inklings into this.

Cod, do I feel hopeless right now.

~~~

Reef ended up having to bring Callie into this, because they couldn’t come up with any idea whatsoever of what to do on their own.

Agent 1 was sitting beside the Captain on the Cuttlefish Cabin bench, humming and swaying her legs happily. Reef, despite their anxiety, found this incredibly cute.

“Geez, it’s almost like you got married instead of a certain cousin,” they snorted. 

“Well, I’m happy for her! And Sunny too! Marie’s twenty-four and Sunny’s twenty-three now, so I was wondering when she was going to finally propose.” Callie rolled her eyes and purred.

“Aren’t you still sad they’re moving away though? I know I am…” Reef gazed up at the late afternoon sky. And the amount of conversations we’ve had about this… “Inkopolis will be lonely without them.”

Callie stopped fidgeting for a moment. “Yeah, I’m upset…” A brief flash of unhappiness flew across her expression. “But I’m also glad that they’ve found somewhere nice to live back home. Sunny’s excited to start her own café business there and Marie… Well, I still don’t know what either of us are going to do for work. I think we need to finally admit to each other that we have different plans for the rest of our lives now.”

You’re right, Reef thought. I don’t want to see you worrying about that anymore. It’s been five years now since the whole incident, after all. They reached out and gently held one of Callie’s suction cups with their palm. They slid their other hand under her tentacle, squeezing it. It was a simple but comforting gesture. “You’ll both be fine. Maybe Marie can work with Sunny, if she doesn’t have other plans.”

(Image ID: A sketch of Reef holding Callie's tentacle on the Cuttlefish Cabin bench. Art by Thunder_Jake)

Callie swooned. “Yeah, they’d both love that! That would be soooo adorable…”

Reef purred as they watched Callie drift away into her thoughts. It was evident by expression alone that she was imagining their two friends having a happy life together, in a peaceful place where Sunny and Marie could sit and watch the waves of the Calamari County sea from their home nearby. It was sweet.

“So, uh, I hate to ruin the mood here, but I called you over for a reason.” Reef heard themself grimace at their own tone; cod, Callie was the last Inkling who should be frowning about anything, especially right now. “Here. From Gramps.”

They let go of her suction cup and handed her the letter gingerly. Callie raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. Reef closed their eyes and breathed in and out, hoping she wouldn’t react too terribly. She had many Octarian friends, after all.

“Oh…” Reef opened their eyes to find Callie shivering, and they spent no extra time waiting to embrace her. They weren’t normally a hugger, but she needed one, and Callie always deserved warm hugs.

“This is horrible! I don’t even know what to say. And the furry stuff is making them act all vicious? And making them forget who they are?!” Callie burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. “Reef, what do we do?!”

“I don’t know! That’s why I called you! I…” Reef’s voice trailed off as they realized they probably shouldn’t have reacted like that, considering what Callie went through several years prior. “Shit. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this. Right now you should be celebrating.”

“You should be celebrating too, Reef! And it’s fine. I’m okay. I just… What in shell is going on over there?!” Callie reached out and took her turn at squeezing one of Reef’s suction cups. “I’m relieved you didn’t run off to Alterna by yourself and made any attempts to fix all this by yourself, because cod…”

Reef’s ears drooped. I should have some kind of answer, right? Something I’m confident in, and I say it in a commanding way… 

“I guess we just… Go over there? And see what’s up?” Reef knew that they didn’t sound like a Captain at all. 

“Yeah. I don’t see what else we can do.” Callie lifted up the note and read over it again. Reef watched as her golden eyes scanned the page. “So if an Octarian touches the furry ooze, they get all hairy and forget everything? What would happen if an Inkling or someone of mixed species touched it…?”

“I don’t know the answer to that, and I don’t want to know the answer to that.” Reef gazed up at the sky, wondering if there was actually something they and Callie could do to help. “Should we tell Sunny and Marie about this…?”

“If we’re going to be gone on a long mission, absolutely.” Callie placed her foot on the ground in a determined way. “Maybe they’ll want to help us! I don’t want to cut their honeymoon short, though…”

“I don’t either. Marie will yell at me, and Sunny will be so sad…” Guilt surged through Reef at the thought of the inevitable happening. 

“Yeah… But they can always celebrate after we’re through with our mission! You can buy them a gift or something. Alterna is said here to be underneath Splatsville, and I’m sure there’s plenty of fun things to do up there! And we can visit Lotus!” Callie started pumping her fists, and Reef began to smile. “I’m sure things will work out just fine!”

Reef purred, hugging their friend again just for the sake of hugging. It was hard to not be reassured by Callie’s endless enthusiasm, and Reef allowed themself to feel a little more confident about their first mission as her Captain.

Chapter Text

Marie, to keep things simple, was mad.

She’d been having the time of her life alongside Sunny during their honeymoon. Sure, she already spent a significant chunk of time everyday with her new wife, because they’d been living together for years, but they’d just gotten married and it was a big deal and Marie just wanted to kiss the most precious Inkling in the whole world all day long during the remainder of their honeymoon and in their new home. This was her job now, her sacred duty. And now she was distracted from her sacred duty because out of all the times the Splatoon had long missions, it had to be now.

That precious Inkling was dozing on the seat next to her, in a traincar Marie had grown to despise over the past few hours. She rested her head on her wife’s shoulder, feeling instant comfort. Sleepy…

Eventually Sunny opened one green eye to look at her. “Hi, baby.”

“Hi, seabunny.” Marie let out a purr as Sunny wrapped her arms around her. “I’m mad.”

The taller Inkling yawned. “How come?”

“Because we’re here and not at home smooching. I want to start our future, which mainly consists of relaxing together by the sea already.” Marie gazed out the window, watching the land fly by. “Aren’t you upset too?”

“No, because we have the rest of our whole lives together, Marie.” Sunny nuzzled her cheek, sharing a content purr of her own. “Reef needs us right now, but we’ll have plenty of time afterwards. We’ll be alright.”

Marie couldn’t help but proceed to purr back, even if she was still unhappy. She gazed off into space at the blue afternoon sky, and before she knew it, Sunny had fallen asleep again with a tranquil smile on her face.

Despite your optimism in this situation, and how contagious it always is, I’m still going to bug Reef about it. Reef’s my friend too, and I’d like to help them, but cod, why now? If you had just said no to them… then I wouldn’t have had to tag along with you, because I love you and I want to be with you always. Oh, I’m such a sap…

The train soon screeched to a halt at the Splatsville station, and out stepped the most graceful and pissed off Inkling the city had ever seen. The evening light shone down on her as she made her grand entrance, followed by her wife, the world’s sleepiest Inkling.

“Hey!” Sunny exclaimed as Marie took her hand and dragged her and their suitcases through the station. Cephalopods left and right scurried away to avoid running into them. “Slow down! It’s gonna be alright!”

“No! I really would like an explanation from Reef as to why we’re missing three whole days of our honeymoon,” Marie snapped, stomping towards the bench where her cousin was waiting. A flicker of movement next to her alerted Marie that Reef was there, too—the inkling had the ability to change the entire ink color of their body, allowing them to camouflage themself whenever they wished. Little shit. “Hey!”

Callie’s ears perked up at the familiar sound of her cousin’s voice and she immediately leapt to her feet, waving through the busy crowd. When Marie reached her, her cousin took her baggage and hugged her tight.

“Hey, I missed you too!” Marie purred as Callie adjusted the cap on Marie’s head. “Thanks.”

“Callie! How are you?” Sunny embraced her cousin-in-law after Marie let her go, purring alongside her wife. “Thanks again for helping with all the moving boxes and stuff while Marie and I were gone. I can’t wait to get all our stuff out of the apartment.”

“You’re welcome! I’m well, and always happy to help the world’s cutest couple!” Callie clapped her hands enthusiastically, causing Marie to roll her eyes affectionately and Sunny to blush. Callie then turned to the seemingly empty bench and reached for an invisible tentacle. “Reef!”

The quiet Inkling changed to look like a normal cephalopod, minus an expression of worry. “Hey.”

“Hey!” Sunny was smiling ear to ear as they stood up and faced her. “What’s up with the frown, Reef?”

“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Marie gave Reef a glare of disapproval. “What and where’s the emergency, hmm?”

Reef gulped nervously, before successfully intriguing Marie’s interest, “Can we talk somewhere more private?”

~~~

When Reef had finished explaining at the hotel room they’d rented for the night, their friends’ reactions were simply mere expressions of disbelief. 

“I know it sounds unreal, but listen.” Reef’s ears drooped as they shifted in place on the edge of the mattress. They felt Callie snuggle next to them in squid form on their blind side. “I didn’t know who else to turn to.”

“Reef.” Marie was sitting across from them on another mattress, with Sunny right next to her. “I don’t like this, but thank you for not running off on your own to do all this. Your story is illogical but you yourself aren’t this time.”

“Thanks, Marie.” Reef said, their voice flat. “I appreciate hearing your thoughts.”

“A good Captain takes criticism from their senior agents.” Marie covered her hand with her mouth as she yawned. “So we’re going to see the area that Gramps told you about tomorrow?”

Reef nodded, ignoring her matter-of-fact tone. Cod, she’s really in a mood today. I still feel so bad for calling her and Sunny here and ruining their vacation. “Yeah. Be ready in the morning.”

Sunny started gently ruffling Marie’s tentacles with her hand. “I will, Reef. I’ll always be there to help you out. I don’t know if someone else here will, though.”

Marie yawned again, then stuck her tongue out playfully at her wife’s teasing tone. “Depends how sleepy I’ll be. Bedtime. Goodnight, everyone.”

She let herself fall backwards onto the rest of the bed, and purred as Sunny slid her arms under her and repositioned her so that her head would be on the pillow. Reef thought the sight was adorable.

“Alright, time for you to move, too.” Reef turned their head so they could see Callie, who was still curled up next to them as a squid. She blinked up at them. “Unless you’d like to fall asleep next to my feet.”

Callie let out a laugh as Reef scooped her up in their arms. “Thanks, Reef. I’d rather not lie next to your feet.”

“I thought so.” She was placed gently onto the pillow next to theirs. There were only two beds in the hotel room, so they had to share. Callie had mentioned earlier that she’d planned to stay in squid form during the night to give Reef the space they were used to, which they greatly appreciated. “Goodnight, all. I hope this goes well.”

“It will, Reef! We’ve got you.” Sunny was busy tucking herself and Marie into the blankets, but had her ears pointed in the direction of her friend. “Everything will work out in the end, I guarantee it.”

~~~

Marie was in complete bliss; sound asleep, snuggled in her wife’s arms, under the covers of a soft bed. This was certainly a moment that she didn’t want to wake up from. 

Marie was content. She was eager to start the next step of her life with Sunny by her side, in their new home. It would be peaceful, and she had family near, and everything would be okay. This wasn’t the first time she dreamt of her and Sunny gazing across the Calamari County sea on the beach near their home, though something felt… different, about this particular vision. Marie could’ve sworn she was holding something, but when she glanced down at her hands, there was nothing there. 

“Marie,” murmured a soft voice. Her ear twitched. “It’s time to wake up.”

Marie opened one golden eye to watch as Sunny rested her cheek against hers. “Mmm… no.” Sunshine… I love you. 

“Please.” Sunny started rubbing her face against her wife’s. “It’s time to start the day.”

“Not this one.” Marie whined when Sunny lifted her head. “Don’t leave me.”

“I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry.” Sunny gave her a quick peck on the cheek, then rolled out of bed. Marie whined again at the sudden loss of snuggles. 

“Seabunny, come back…” she pleaded, burying her face into the pillow as Sunny walked to the bathroom to get ready for the day. “Pleaseee.”

“Marie, Callie and Reef are already up and grabbing breakfast. I can’t snooze with you forever.” Sunny kept the door open partially as she placed a towel under the faucet to wash her face. It was terrible because she was several feet away but also simultaneously wonderful because Marie knew that Sunny could hear her continue to beg for attention. 

“But you could feed me breakfast in bed.” 

Marie heard Sunny let out an affectionate sigh. “I’ve been bringing you breakfast in bed for weeks, Marie. You can’t get up without it anymore?” 

Marie stretched her arms and yawned. “Yeah, because I’ll starve to death.”

“You will NOT starve to death when physically moving to get your morning meal. You don’t even eat in the mornings most of the time, because you’re asleep.” After she had brushed her teeth, Sunny poked her head around the door to see her wife still laying in bed, smirking. “Marie!”

Marie purred as Sunny walked over and scooped her up in her arms. “Sunny! I’m the tired sleepy!”

“I’m the wife of the tired sleepy! And I’m going to wake her up!” Sunny spun her around in a circle, lovingly placing kisses all over her face. “You’re so silly, Marie. I love you.” 

“I love you too, Sunshine.” Marie purred again as Sunny placed her back on the bed in a sitting position. “Alright, I’m awake… for now.”

“For… now?” Sunny crouched down and gave her a questioning look. “How can I keep you away from the tired sleepy?”

“Don’t let me touch the pillow anymore,” Marie said as Sunny reached out to squeeze her untied tentacles with her hands. “Mmm… feels nice.”

Sunny gave her a nuzzle. “Carp, we’ve got to actually get ready soon—Reef wants to get to wherever we’re going as soon as possible. Sorry, seabunny.”

Marie overdramatically sighed and lowered her head in reluctant defeat. “It’s fineee. I’m going to snipe Reef, and then things will be fineee.”

“Hey, save the violent tendencies for when we run into enemies.” Sunny gave her one last kiss before turning to where her clothes for the day were. “Please don’t snipe Reef.”

“Mhm.” After they make us leave our honeymoon early, and then ask us to wake up early… Unforgivable. I have full intentions to annoy them about it repeatedly. Marie reached to grab Sunny by the arm, causing her to stumble back towards the bed. Marie clung to her wife, purring so loudly to the point where she caused the mattress itself to vibrate.

(Image ID: A sketch of Marie in bed, clinging to Sunny, who is standing next to the same bed. Art by Thunder_Jake)

Sunny rolled her eyes, but there was so much love in her gentle, green gaze. “Come on, let’s get ready for the day.”

Chapter Text

The crater below the four Inklings’ feet was a disaster, if Reef had ever seen one.

The Splatlands were the worst place Reef had ever been to. Desert. Dust. Heat. No thank you. This stupid crater was certainly no oasis, and that wasn’t even the beginning of the actual issue here.

The strangest substance any of them had ever seen was everywhere, covering the vast area. It looked like it was alive, and yet it wasn’t—the rainbow-furry-thing pulsated, but didn’t do anything else. Reef felt chills down their spine when they walked over to observe it, only to leap away in fear when it started to slowly lurch forward to grab them.

The four Inklings were standing on a metal platform above the crater itself, and Reef was cowering in the corner of it pathetically on their knees. Sunny walked over to stand beside and be a comfort to them, while Callie and Marie observed the furry ooze closer (if ‘closer’ meant standing just a mere four feet away from the other two squids).

“What kind of fur is this? It doesn’t look like the Judds’ fur.” Callie was taking pictures of it with her camera, and taking wise advantage of the zoom-in feature. Reef could see her gripping the device tight with her black gloves; she was certainly no fan of heights. “I wonder how Gramps found out about it.”

Marie adjusted the white sleeves of her coat and shrugged. “The government probably told him, since we’re the New Squidbeak Splatoon, and we do secret agent stuff. I guess they just expect us to fix… whatever this is, before the public finds out.”

“Well, uh, what do we do, then?” Sunny asked. She glanced down at Reef, who was still huddled in the corner under their Captain’s hat. “Was he sent instructions?”

“...No. He just said to come here.” Why can’t I have the answer to this?! I’m the Captain; I’m supposed to know the answers to everything!

“Well, maybe we can find something that’ll get rid of it!” Callie clapped her hands together and purred. “There’s gotta be something out here! Maybe if we can find a weak spot…”

“Er… Maybe let’s not hurt it with anything yet, until we’ve explored some more,” Marie placed her finger on her chin, thinking. “Don’t wanna get too ahead of ourselves, since we have no idea what we’re dealing with.”

“Well, then, let’s look!” Callie turned around to see Reef still cowering. “Reef? Are you okay?”

“This stuff is gross,” they hissed. They slowly rose to their feet and reached up to grab Sunny’s shoulder, who stood strong as they stumbled. They gripped her arm underneath the yellow jacket tight. “I hate it. It makes me dizzy just to look at it.”

“I agree. It’s disgusting, just like a certain someone who brought us into this mess.” Marie narrowed her eyes at Reef and crossed her arms. “It’s so hot out here, I hate it.”

Reef winced, but also knew exactly what Marie had chosen to wear that day. “Sorry. Not my fault you’re wearing a literal coat. And I didn’t know who else to call. I—”

“My coat’s not important. Maybe you could’ve call—”

“Marie,” Sunny began, a slight bit of exasperation in her voice, “It’s not Reef’s fault all this weird ooze is here. If we don’t find a way to fix it, it looks like it’ll spread and interfere with our lives one day, so let’s just take care of this now.” She took Reef’s arm and walked with them over to where the two cousins were standing. Sunny leaned down to give her wife a kiss on the cheek. “Right?”

“Right!” Callie echoed, while Marie muttered the same word reluctantly. Reef was too busy nervously eyeing the mesmerizing fuzz nearby to reply. 

“So let’s go explore, then! And find the cure!” Sunny led the way, and together the four Inklings journeyed through the furry mess. They were careful to stay close together, and to avoid being tripped by ooze. 

Just one touch of this awful stuff… and who knows what’ll happen? We’ve heard about what happens to Octarians, but not Inklings… and I can’t forget that one of Sunny’s parents happens to be half Octoling. Great. 

Reef clung to their friends closely, keeping their seeing eye on each of them, and prayed that they’d all be alright by the end of this. 

~~~

It took most of the morning, but soon the Splatoon had reached the bottom of the crater, and were horrified to discover that the furry ooze continued underground in a downward spiral. A large hatch leading into the darkness was broken, with ooze being the only light. The damage seemed to be recent, too, so Reef wondered if someone was already down there.

They let out a long, exhausted sigh as they observed it. “Well, this is disgusting.”

“Should we continue climbing down?” Callie asked, her gaze filled with worry as she glanced at them for guidance (Reef did not think she should be doing that). “Or should we stop here and go back?”

“I say we set up camp, but there’s way too much of this stuff around us…” Marie had her fingers interlaced with Sunny’s and was squeezing her beloved’s hand tightly. “We either go up or down. What do you think, Reef?”

“Uh.” Reef glanced back and forth between the two cousins, then at Sunny, who just shrugged. They turned their head around to observe the path behind them, and the concerning realization quickly dawned on them.

“Well, we, uh, can’t go back.” The ooze had spread just enough so that no one could squeeze in between it safely anymore. “Looks like we have no choice but to go underground.”

The anxious twitching of four sets of triangular ears (including their own) told them that this was a bad idea, but Reef knew well that they had no other option than to lead their only family into increasing danger.

(Image ID: A sketch of Marie, Sunny, Callie and Reef (in that order from left to right) venturing through the bottom of the crater, surrounded and frightened by fuzzy ooze. Art by Thunder_Jake)

~~~

When they entered the underground world below, Reef, surprisingly enough, became relieved. 

It looked like an Octarian dome—a place as familiar to them as the surface—only somewhat bigger, and much more flooded. The sky panels on the ceiling hadn’t a single flaw in them, minus the glitchy spot the Splatoon had destroyed in order to enter the place. There were multiple islands covered in what appeared to be snow (it was cold here, thank goodness!), and Reef chose the one closest to set up base on. 

There were shelters here—orange buildings that were long abandoned. When they entered a large one, they found what looked to be a preserved, ancient human house. Objects that looked strikingly similar to Inkling furniture were everywhere, and after testing appliances and discovering plenty of preserved food (Reef wasn’t really sure if it was a good idea to eat it after thousands of years, but hopefully they wouldn’t need to, considering all the food they had already packed), the shelter was officially proclaimed as the New Squidbeak Splatoon’s temporary camp.

“This is wonderful, Reef! It’s like Sunny and I never left our vacation home early!” Marie clapped obnoxiously in Reef’s face in the main living room, but underneath her sarcasm, they could tell she was pleased. Thank cod. Maybe now she’ll leave me alone and focus on the mission we have here.

She’s been an absolute grump lately, but I don’t want her to be uncomfortable in our current base. Reef watched as she took Sunny’s hand, and the couple disappeared down the hall to unpack the things they’d brought and choose a room to sleep in. She’s still one of my top three most trusted friends. The other two are right here with us. 

Their ears twitched when they heard Callie suddenly start to purr beside them. “Hey, what’s up?”

“What’s up?! You purred!” Callie beamed. “I haven’t heard you purr since you told me about this.” She spun around in a circle, and if that wasn’t an indication that she was happy, the tips of her tentacles were sharing a faint glow. “This is the easiest camp we’ve ever had to set up! And we didn’t even have to set it up!”

Reef laughed as their friend skipped to the nearby kitchen, where she’d placed their food supply. “Looks like we have a place to store these! Ooo, and we can keep cold stuff, too! The fridge is cooling right as we speak! Woo!”

They watched as Callie bounced around, then turned and headed for the hall where Sunny and Marie had disappeared. There were three bedrooms—perfect. Reef had a whole bed to themself to flop around in.

They glanced through the just barely open door of one of those rooms to observe it, and proceeded to make a big mistake—carp, a kissing couple—and Reef immediately scurried away on all fours, their body camouflaged with the carpet below. 

With good luck like this… Well, minus almost intruding on my friends’ makeout session, surely this long mission will go well.

Chapter Text

It was early morning—or at least the dome was displaying the sky that way—when Marie woke up. Or rather, she’d been awakened by Sunny, who was already getting dressed in her Hero Suit. “Mmm…”

“Good morning, Marie,” Sunny said as she zipped up the yellow jacket in front of the mirror. “How are you?”

“Once again, the tired sleepy.” The Inkling buried her face into her pillow, heaving a heavy sigh. “Why must we get up this early…?”

Marie felt the mattress shift as Sunny sat down next to her on the bedside. “Because Reef wants to scout out the area, dear.” 

“But whyyy now?”

“Because the earlier we start, the more daylight we’ll have. Or technically, just light. I dunno. Domes are weirdly beautiful.”

Marie purred as her wife rubbed her back. “Hmm… I suppose so.”

Sunny’s hand continued to massage her, before she eventually stated a horrific sentence. “Then let’s get going, seabunny.”

Marie huffed, rapidly rolling over and grabbing her partner’s arm the moment she felt herself no longer being pampered. She yanked Sunny into bed with her, and smirked as she landed with an oof on top of her.

“Marie, please—” Sunny’s plea was cut off as she was passionately kissed right on the lips. “Carp. You got me.”

“I sure did!” Marie dove in for a second kiss, but as their lips once again met, she felt warm arms wrap around her body—uh oh, she was being lifted out of bed! She thrashed around as Sunny carried her to the dresser. “No!”

“Yes!” Sunny set her wife down on the edge of the mattress and reached for the white coat hanging nearby. “It’s Splatoon time!”

She grabbed the rest of Marie’s outfit and handed the clothes to her, only to discover that her wife had dove back onto the mattress head first while she had looked away to retrieve her gear. “Maarrieee. This is getting boooring.”

“The world is boring. And too cold. Bedtime is where it’s at!” Marie was fully awake by now, and knew very well that this joke was growing a beard, but messing with her beloved was just too much fun. 

When Sunny finally managed to get Marie dressed, the latter was carried in her lover’s embrace to the kitchen table. Callie was doing stretches nearby in the living room and Reef was adjusting their Captain hat on the couch. 

“Well, look who decided to wake up.” Reef crossed their legs and made an awful impression of Marie’s smirk. “I can’t believe she was capable of it.”

“You hush,” Marie snapped as Sunny placed her in a cushioned chair, though there was a mischievous glint in her amber eyes. You may have timed this whole thing terribly, but you’re still number three on my list of the Inklings I trust the most.

I still want to annoy you, though.

Callie smiled and finished her last stretch. “I’ve started making waffles! Your favorite, Marie!”

“Oh, thank you.” Marie watched as her cousin entered the kitchen and lifted the lid of the waffle maker (wait, where did she even get one of those in the first place?) to reveal the fluffiest waffle Marie had ever seen. “Did you find that in the cupboards? 

“Sure did! There’s so much stuff here! Perfectly preserved! So strange…” Callie placed the waffle aside on a vintage plate. Marie licked her fangs as her cousin began pouring more batter into the machine. “I’ll make one for all of us!”

Sunny beamed. “It smells wonderful, Callie! So fluffy!”

The four Inklings sat down at the table, and happily enjoyed their waffles together. As they were eating, Reef in between bites told them their plan.

“I want us to start scouting out this island in pairs,” they explained. “So we can each watch out for each other in case one of us lingers too close to the ooze.”

“Sounds good.” Sunny gave them a thumbs up, while Callie and Marie both simultaneously shook their heads yes with their mouths full of waffle. “Maybe the cure to getting rid of it is closer than we think!”

They all made sure their hero gear was ready, grabbed their weapons, and emerged into the cold dome. Reef led the way down the metal staircase, and Marie could see their regret in every footstep. Did Callie not mention to them that it’s a bad idea to wear sandals in this kind of weather?! We’re literally stepping on freezing metal and now snow! Oh, Reef. If only I felt like arguing with you right now and not snuggling with Sunny.

Marie stayed close to her wife, grateful for her warmth. It was in her name, after all. 

“Something tells me you two are going to be too distracted by each other to work together,” Reef pointed out as Sunny leaned down to give her wife a smooch on the forehead. Callie was clearly trying to hold back giggles. “You two are just ridiculous.”

“What? We’ll be fine,” Marie retorted. “The fuzzy ooze can forlornly watch us makeout in front of it.” She took her wife’s hand and led her away from the other two Inklings. Sunny gazed down at her lovingly and kept pace with her. “See you later! Stay fresh!”

Reef stomped in frustration, sending snow flying. “We’ll still hear you over headphones!” 

Callie was just laughing. “They’ll both be fine, Reef! They’re just as experienced as us! Stay fresh!”

“You heard her!” Marie yelled. She rubbed against Sunny’s side as they walked, purring loudly. “I love you, Sunshine!”

“I love you too, Marie!” Sunny squeezed her hand, and together they ventured through the snow. It was a confusing walk, considering the presence of the fuzzy ooze on every ledge. Well… At least it doesn’t appear to be slowly spreading, like the ooze in the crater was. 

Marie briefly reported those observations to Reef over headphones. There wasn’t much data to grab other than that, since two couldn’t exactly venture very far on the island. The only other thing worth noting was that when Marie shot a blob of ink at the ooze to see if it would do anything in response, it seemed to make a sound similar to a growl at her.

Well… Marie exchanged a worried glance with Sunny. That doesn’t sound useful at all!

~~~

When Reef and Callie had returned to camp, both were pacing nervously in circles around each other by the time Marie and Sunny joined them. A wave of disappointment flowed through Reef when they saw nothing in their hands, other than the usual brush and charger.

“There’s nothing!” Callie cried when she spotted her cousin and cousin-in-law. She picked up and flung her roller onto the ground in frustration, nearly crushing Reef, who scurried away from her in a panic. “We can’t find anything to get rid of the ooze! We can’t even go very far!”

“We didn’t discover anything, either.” Marie’s ears drooped. “I don’t know how we’re supposed to get anything done here.”

“Well, surely we’ll find something eventually!” Everyone gave Sunny a tired glare. “Okay, listen. If there’s a disease, there’s gotta be a way to treat and control it, even if it’s not a complete cure. Maybe we can use scissors?”

Callie spun in a circle and made scissor shapes with her hands. “Giant scissors! For all this fuzzy mess! But… Where would we even find those?”

Sunny shrugged. “Maybe we can build something out of the things that are here in Alterna? Although… I think we’d need more things.” Her ears twitched, and fear flashed through her gaze when she turned her head around to look behind the group of Inklings. 

“We certainly would,” Reef sighed. They opened their mouth to say something else, but then their gaze followed their friend’s, and their jaw stayed unhinged. Oh my cod… 

“What’s wro—Holy CARP!” Callie screamed as she and Marie simultaneously turned around, too. The fuzzy ooze was suddenly spreading towards the group of four at an astonishing speed. H-How did it DO THAT?! “RUN!”

They all turned to leap towards the staircase of the shelter in order to enter it and hide within its orange walls, but the ooze had already covered the metal staircase. In a flurry of tentacles, they all turned to squid and super jumped towards the door to avoid using the stairs. Reef reached it first and yanked it open, ushered Callie and Marie inside, and was turning to grab Sunny when they heard a scream of agony.

Sunny was hardly a foot away, but her lower leg had been caught in the rising fuzzy ooze. Marie and Callie turned around and simultaneously screeched as Reef reached to grab her anyways. 

“No! It’s not touching you! Reef!” 

And then she shoved them into the shelter, slammed the door shut, and disappeared in a tide of ooze. 

(Image ID: A sketch of Callie, Marie and Reef (in that order from left to right) screaming as Sunny is taken away by the fuzzy ooze. Reef and Sunny are reaching for each other. Art by Thunder_Jake)

Chapter Text

It was silent, other than the sound of heavy breathing and the thump of fuzzy ooze as it hit the door and walls. The three Inklings laid on the floor, shivering in a pile of shock and fear.

Reef was curled up in squid form on the floor, eyes closed, and they felt themself violently trembling at what they had just seen moments prior. That… That wasn’t real, was it? Sunny’s inside, she’s with us, she’s right here next to Callie and Marie and me and nothing is wrong and—

A horrible sound reached their ears, and they opened their good eye to observe Marie bending over and heaving onto the tile. Callie held her cousin steady, and Reef turned back to Inkling before hauling themself over on all fours to help Callie hold her cousin.
This isn’t real. This isn’t real. Sunny’s here, she’s not outside, she’s not in danger, we’re all just in her and Marie’s new house in Calamari County and right now she’s doing some gardening outside! Yeah, that’s where we are! Cod…

They heard a whimper, and Reef could tell Marie would’ve collapsed right there and then if she wasn’t being supported. Without a word, she was helped to her feet by the other two Inklings, and placed on the couch. 

“Th-Thanks,” Marie whispered. Her voice was hoarse as she continued, “That… That wasn’t real, was it?”

“I-I’m not thinking about it. I’m not.” Callie sat down next to her, and Reef on Marie’s other side. “It’s not real. Not to me. No, I’m not thinking about it!”

Reef tried their very best not to replay the scene of Sunny getting swept away in a tide of fur in their head as the three sat there in a prolonged silence. 

Marie soon let out a sob, clutching her cousin in a hug, who burst into tears too. Then Reef joined them, and they felt themself turn blue, into a deep pool of sadness. They closed their eyes and felt one of Callie’s hands squeeze their suction cup. 

They didn’t even begin thinking about how they would get out of the shelter.

~~~

The next few days were spent taking in the shock. If Reef could have opened the door to a world free of fuzzy ooze to search every corner of the islands for Sunny, they would have. But it was still blocking the exit—and every window showed displays of pinks and purples. Their device couldn’t pick up any signals on Sunny’s location with the ooze in the way. 

They had plenty of food they’d brought, and lots more preserved in the house replica already, so there wasn’t much worrying to do on that end… yet. It was hard to find the strength to eat anyways; all three Inklings had taken their turn at reminding the other two to have meals. Marie was particularly avoidant of anything given to her, and Reef or Callie would have to leave a plate of something near her until she finally felt like taking a bite. 

No one knew how many days it had been, until one morning, an obnoxious sound of… well, Reef didn’t even know how to describe it, but what they did know was that when they glanced up at a window in the living room, the ooze was at last… gone.

Reef screeched. 

They raced to the door and took a peek through the peephole, head spinning. It was just… all gone! Not a scrap of it remained in the area. Reef flung the door open and raced outside. 

Forgetting there was a step, and a step after that step, they tripped and comically rolled down the stairs, before landing face first in the snow (if it even was actual snow. Reef didn’t know what was going on anymore). 

They coughed and shakily lifted their head, only to be greeted by an Octoling.

Reef would’ve screamed again, had it not been for the outstretched hand in front of them, signaling that this cephalopod wasn’t a threat.

“Hi.” The stranger was tall—nearly as tall as Lotus, for that matter—and had Tentatwists tentacles, which were the deep purple of a blue… “My name’s Sage.”

(Image ID: A sketch of Reef lying on the ground after tripping. Sage is crouched on their knees and reaching out to them, with a Smallfry on her back. Art by Thunder_Jake)

“Hi.” Reef didn’t take their hand, their body rippling with an instinctive effort to camouflage, even if she didn’t seem to be dangerous. “Have you seen her?”

“Seen who?”

“My best friend. Have you seen her?” Reef clumsily rose to their feet and spun around in a circle, taking in their surroundings. The fuzzy ooze on this part of the island was completely gone. Reef turned back to Sage, amazed. 

“How’d you get rid of the ooze?!”

Sage raised an eyebrow, a sly grin on their face. “I didn’t.” She rotated her body and pointed towards a small grey fish resting on her ink tank. “He did!”

The Smallfry, after popping out of said ink tank, was like a speedy shovel as he raced through the snow and took a great leap. He landed right in front of Reef, scattering snow everywhere, despite the fact that they previously weren’t far apart at all. “Meet Sprout!”

Reef observed the baby fish for a moment, briefly wondering why this Octoling had a Salmonid with them of all things, but their mind was already focused on the loss of their friend again. “Hey Sprout. Have you seen her?”

A bunch of incoherent babbling reached Reef’s ears. “Thanks, that’s very helpful.” 

Their sarcasm earned a snicker from Sage. “I’m assuming this ‘she’ is another Inkling? Unfortunately I haven’t seen any other cephalopods out here besides you and the two sisters who are staring down at us from up those stairs.”

Sure enough, Callie and Marie had their heads poking out of the shelter. 

“Good news!” Reef called out. “I found someone who can clear the ooze for us!”

Sage’s tentacles curled up in delight as the Squid Sisters fully emerged into view and made their way down towards them and Reef. “You’re trying to get rid of this stuff? Thank cod. I wandered and fell down here in the first place because Sprout is always hungry. Maybe once he’s finally full of this stuff, we can all find a way out of here.” 

Sprout made a noise and began scurrying towards Callie and Marie. He started jumping up and down next to them, and Reef could see a hint of a grin appear on each of their faces for the first time since Sunny had disappeared

“We’ll gladly direct you to every splotch of ooze there is,” Reef declared, placing their hands on their hips and sticking their chin up. “And find her along the way.”

“…Who?! And just who are you, anyways?”

“The one who was once known as the very scary, terrifying, awful Agent 3, but who is now the mere Captain of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. Agents 1 and 2 are currently babysitting your son over there. Our mission is to rescue our agent who is numbered after Three, and since I’m not Agent 3 anymore, you can have my title.”

Sage stared at Reef for a long while, then covered their face with her hands and let out a deep, long sigh.

“…Is that a no—”

“I’ll absolutely help you, Reef.” Sage lifted their head, patted the Inkling’s shoulder and turned towards the rest of the Splatoon. “Let’s go clear that fuzzy ooze together.”

Chapter Text

The world was… nauseating, to say the least.

Blues and pinks and endless other colors surrounded her as she swam through it. It was too much; she had to get out of it. The alien desires of something that clashed with her very being urged her to run. 

When she was at last able to stick a claw above the surface, the world was cold and lonely.

She rolled out into the snow in a mess of limbs and fur. She could sense the ooze she emerged from longing to grab her again; it slowly reaching towards her was visual proof of that. She closed her eyes and scrambled to her feet, fearful of seeing the world again, or herself.

When she dared to open her eyes again, she was met with a horrible sight.

The fuzzy ooze had completely covered the shelter that her companions had settled in. Her ears drooped, and her hands reached upwards instinctively to cover her eyes, but her head jerked away from her palms when she saw their furry and clawed condition. 

“Oh…” came her only whisper.

~~~

Things weren’t any easier emotionally with Sage or Sprout around, but having their help in exploring the islands was an infinite blessing. Callie couldn’t imagine going on this journey without them anymore; shell, without Sprout’s hunger and immunity towards the ooze, there wouldn’t have been any hope to begin with.

The Octoling and Salmonid had needed a place to stay after their arrival, and Callie was more than happy to give up her bedroom. Sharing with Reef was no problem, and she had wanted extra excuses to check up on them anyways. Their expression rarely changed from that stoic face Callie knew all too well.

Marie wasn’t faring well either; most days, it was hard to even get her out of bed at a decent hour. Callie couldn’t be upset with her though; all three of them were going through similar rollercoasters of emotions, and even Callie’s fake smile towards Sage wasn’t something that appeared often. My acting skills can’t cut it anymore.

Oh, Sunny, what happened to you? 

Callie felt as though all three of her hearts were bleeding as she emerged into the fake sunlight of Alterna a few days after the shelter had been freed from the ooze. Her slow footsteps down the metal staircase of the shelter echoed throughout the lonely dome. She felt chills.

Sage followed her, with Sprout in his usual spot in their bag. Callie gave them a small nod, and waited for Sage to stand beside her before together they journeyed through the snow. 

“Reef said to me this morning that their device still can’t find any of Sunny’s signals. I guess that means her own device broke.” Sage narrowed her gaze towards a line of Moai in the distance. “She… must still be somewhere around here though, right?” 

Callie could barely make herself say, “Right.” Sage gave her a warm smile of support, and while Callie appreciated it, she felt numb. 

Sunny… 

When Sage reached a kettle she hadn’t explored yet, she gave Callie a thumbs up and dived in with Sprout. Why the little Smallfry needed so many power eggs to eat the ooze was beyond Callie, but whatever made him eat it was fine with her. As long as it goes away… I just hope… Oh, Sunny…

The lone Inkling climbed onto a ledge nearby to rest on, far from any remaining ooze. There was still way too much left for comfort, though. 

Callie’s gaze lifted to the ceiling, and wondered how the screens had been made. They seemed less pixelated than the ones the Octarian domes had. I’d rather be there, in any other dome besides this one. It’s me who should need to be rescued, not Agent 4!

Her thoughts wandered, and tears began seeping out of her eyes as she daydreamed of when she’d awoken to Marie’s relieved expression and Sunny’s new face. She was always so happy to see me, even though I was obviously intimidated by her initially. And she took such good care of Marie while I was away, while simultaneously searching for me, too… I owe her so much. She’s always been a wonderful friend to me over the years.

Callie was so lost in the past that she didn’t hear the footsteps approaching from behind until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

The agent whirled around, already reaching for her roller, but couldn’t wrap her fingers around its handle when she saw—

The Mammalian looked… well, Callie didn’t know how to fully describe how her missing friend’s new appearance shocked her. The entire body was covered in dark brown fur, minus some of the face; there were patches of fur all over her tentacles (particularly the ends of them), her cheeks, and her chin. Furry, triangular ears with strands of fur hanging off of them twitched, as did the rest of her face as she sniffed Callie with more curiosity than wariness. Her agent suit was tattered and torn apart; how it still managed to fit her, Callie didn’t know. 

The Mammalian was significantly taller, too. Callie could see a golden, crescent shaped marking reaching around and below the tattered collar. A furry hand with longer, sharper claws reached out to hold Callie’s glove. 

She couldn’t move. “S-Sunny?!” Callie began to weep as her hand was squeezed. “Is… Is it really you?”

(Image ID: A sketch of Callie facing Sunny with her back turned towards the viewer. Sunny looks significantly different, as previously described, and is holding her hand. Art by Thunder Jake)

Her eyes were so full of tears that she didn’t even fully register the existence of Sunny’s more pronounced fangs, but they sure as shell were there when Sunny gave her a wide grin and squeezed harder.

Callie let out a sob and moved closer to hug her, but Sunny backed away. “… Sunny?”

A tired sigh reached her ears as Sunny turned around, and Callie covered her mouth in a feeble attempt to hide her gasp.

There was a splotch of fuzzy ooze stuck onto the Inkling’s furry back. 

Sunny turned back to face her friend, and sat down with her hairy legs crossed, a much more tired expression appearing across her facial features. Callie noticed that her eyes were still green, but they now had bits of purple around their edges.

“Oh, Sunny…” Callie reached out to hold her hand again. It was the former who squeezed this time. Her hand feels so strange with all this fur covering it, but so familiar. “We’ll find a way to fix this, I promise.”

She could see a hint of a smile returning to Sunny. “Cute tail, by the way. Is… that a bear tail?”

A nod yes, although Sunny seemed slightly annoyed now. Next question.

“Have you eaten recently?”

A nod no. “Then I’ll have to bring you something. How… long have you been out here? Everyone else and I were stuck in the shelter until we were rescued by an Octoling with a Salmonid, so we couldn’t watch the day and night cycle.”

Sunny’s fuzzy ears perked up. “Salmon?”

Callie gasped. “You are NOT eating our little buddy! Even if I’m glad to hear your voice!”

“I sound different. Don’t wanna hear it,” came her muttered reply. She was right; her voice was definitely somewhat lower and more… Mammalian. Mammalian is the only word I can think of to describe… a whole lot about your physical appearance now.

“Maybe you can write stuff down instead, while we find a way to fix this. Let’s go to the shelter and find some scratch paper. And a proper meal for you, too.” 

An excited purr reached Callie’s ears, though like every sound Sunny had made so far, it was different. That’s okay. She’s here, she’s alive… That’s all that matters. 

Sunny is still one of the Inklings I’ll always trust the most.

Chapter Text

The world was cold. Colder than the world above had ever been.

Marie’s four blankets used to keep her warm in bed weren’t ideal at all. Nothing could ever replace the warmth Sunny had. Too few cephalopods cuddled with her. 

The sound of knocking was heard, and Marie muttered a tired “what” before Reef came in with a bowl of soup. They placed it beside her on the nightstand and sat down on a chair nearby, their gaze empty.

Marie groaned as she forced herself to sit up to eat. She reached for the bowl and placed it in her lap.

“Thanks,” she murmured to the silent Inkling. The soup felt comforting as it slid down her throat, but Marie missed how Sunny made it. There was something so peculiar and precise about the way she cooked that made everything right. Reef added a bit too much of this, and a bit too little of that… 

Marie felt too exhausted to argue with them, though.

A buzz was heard, and Reef reached to turn on their Hero Headset. “Callie?”

“Reef, I need you and Marie to come outside with food, soon as possible!” came the Inkling’s voice. Marie’s ears perked up at the distressed sound of her cousin. “Sage’s on the way back from a kettle right now. Hurry!”

Marie exchanged a confused glance with Reef, but nevertheless they both rose to their feet. She heard their footsteps grow distant and the sounds of pots clanging as they hurriedly poured another bowl of soup. 

Marie’s body ached as she got dressed, but cod, if there was a chance that Callie had found a trace of the warmest Inkling in the whole world…

Reef was already by the doorway with the soup bowl ready when Marie joined them. She’d thrown on her coat and gloves over her pajamas, but still hissed when the cold air reached her. 

Reef led the way down the steps, and when they rounded the corner, they saw Callie running towards them, with a Mammalian trailing behind her. 

Wh—

“Marie! Reef!” Callie skidded to a stop in front of the two inklings. “I found her!”

Behind Callie was…

Marie stared.

A very fuzzy Sunny hesitantly approached, every muscle trembling.

“Oh my cod,” Marie gasped. Immediately, she started racing towards her, wanting to cuddle and comfort her in the condition she was in, but Sunny started scrambling away. Marie tripped and fell forward, flat on her face in the snow.

“She’s got ooze all over her back, Marie,” said her cousin’s quiet voice as Callie helped her back to her feet. “She doesn’t want it to hurt us.”

“I…” Marie lifted her tired head and met Sunny’s gaze—her green, gorgeous gaze—and saw the color of intruding purple in her pupils. She was several feet away again, closer to Reef, who was shedding their own tears in silence. “What happened?!”

Sunny stared at her quietly for a long moment, before letting out a deep sigh. “You attacked the ooze,” she muttered, her claws—holy carp, her claws were so much longer now—“and you… you upset it.”

“I… What?”

“You shot a blob of ink with your charger at the ooze, before it chased after us and took me.” Her gaze was unwavering, despite her voice— her voice— shaking. “And it… it did this to me.”

“Oh… Oh Sunshine, I’m so sorry!” Marie once again reached out instinctively to embrace her wife, but Sunny bared her fangs— holy carp, her fangs were so much longer too!— causing Marie to freeze in fear. Sunny’s expression became increasingly distressed at the sight of her beloved trembling. What have I done?!

They stared at each other for a long while, unsure of what else to say or do, until Reef walked up to Sunny with the soup bowl. Marie couldn’t move as they handed it to her, careful to not let the tips of their fingers brush each other’s (Reef wasn’t wearing gloves, like Callie).

Everyone watched in silence as Sunny ate. Reef was now curled up in squid form in between Callie and Marie, eye focused on Sunny. Marie wanted to tell her how much she had missed her, to sing to her, but Sunny needed to focus on eating. How much has she ate since…

Sunny was slurping the soup greedily, but she did take a moment to glance at Marie. For the first time in far too long, she gave her a grin.

“Sunshine…”

“Marie…” Sunny’s nose twitched, and she hesitated before saying her next words. “You’re… Do you know what you’re sick with?”

“I’m suffering from Sunny withdrawal, yes,” Marie stated matter-of-factly. She could hear Callie chuckle next to her, and saw a hint of a smile appear on Reef’s stoic expression. 

Sunny grinned even wider, and her fluffy ears perked in excitement. “That’s certainly a way to put it.”

Marie longed to go up to her and give her a smooch, but she was already back to finishing her meal, and was definitely still covered in ooze. That’s for the best right now…

When Sunny was done, Callie asked,

“How long has it been?”

Fuzzy ears began to droop. “It’s been around a week since we arrived here together. You were in the shelter for several days, and I was worried sick about all of you… I tried to think of ways to free you, but I don’t like touching the ooze, and I don’t know if it would’ve done anything to move anyways. It feels… odd, against my skin.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. How long has it been since you’ve last eaten?”

“…Not much.”

Callie placed her hands on her hips. “Then you’re going to stay here. No ifs or buts or anything.”

“But I… I found something!”

“Oh? Like what, in this barren wasteland?”

“Tomatoes! In the buildings of Site 5! The one with the windmills,” Sunny said hurriedly. “I…It’s a long walk, though…”

(Image ID: A sketch of Sunny stating “It’s a long walk, though…” in the upper panel. On the lower panel, Callie, Reef, and Marie (in order from left to right) are facing Sunny, who has her back turned. Callie is upset, Reef is crying, and Marie looks concerned. Art by Thunder_Jake)

“It’d take so much of your energy, huh? And you aren’t even a tomato fan! You know how Marie here won’t let either of us have any tomatoes in the apartment anyways; you’re not even used to eating them either.”

“…”

“So you’re going to come by here three times a day to have meals, got it?” Marie had to admire Callie’s resistance to Sunny’s excuses.

“I…It’s getting worse.”

“What’s getting worse?! I know what’s getting worse, and that’s your hunger!”

The tall, furry Inkling sighed. “Alright. That’s fair. But if it gets too bad, and I lose control…”

Marie wanted to desperately hug her, to cover her in kisses and insist everything would be alright—they’d get through this together, after all!—but the sound of Sage’s footsteps and Sprout’s babbling caught Sunny’s attention before Marie could think of some way to do that that didn’t involve any physical touch whatsoever.

Everyone turned to see Sage approaching with the little Smallfry in her hands. “Hey!”

Before anyone could react, Sunny started growling and her eyes turned a deep purple. 

Everyone gasped (minus Reef, who was frozen) as her claws extended to vicious lengths, and Sprout was snatched from Sage far faster than they could run. 

Sunny held the confused Salmonid in her palms, before saying one word that explained her instinctual, Mammalian motives,

“Salmon.”

A splash of yellow ink covered her before she could take a bite, and in a frenzy to clear her sight, Sprout scurried away.

“Sunny?!” Marie heard herself and others cry, but Sunny seemed to be aware of what was around her again, as evidenced by her eyes returning to a mostly normal green. They seemed more purple than before to Marie, though. 

“Keep that thing away from me! He smells delicious, and—” Sunny cut off her own sentence as she swung her head around and spotted the pipe leading to another island in the distance. She began running towards it, and the rest of the concerned Squidbeak followed in her furry footsteps.

By the time they had reached the pipe, Sunny had already raced away on top of it, sharp claws keeping her steady. Her blurry figure could be seen in the distance.

Coddamnit! Marie was about to race after her, but Callie placed a trembling hand on her shoulder. “What?!”

Her cousin’s grip grew firmer as Marie wiggled her arm to force her to let go. “She said you were ill with something, right?!”

“If I am, I don’t care right now,” she spat, before letting out a wail of longing. “I need her!”

Marie’s gaze turned towards Site 2. “No matter what you look like, or what that ooze does to you, I love you, Sunshine! We’ll find a way to fix this, I promise!”

Chapter Text

Despite huddling in blankets made of ancient, warm wool, Reef felt cold. It was so, so cold. 

They felt the mattress shift as Callie did her best to silently curl up next to them. A noise was heard as Reef reached to pick up the squid and place her closer to them.

“Sorry,” they muttered.

“No worries! You took me by surprise, that’s all.” Callie had her eyes closed, but by the sound of her voice, Reef could tell she wasn’t going to fall asleep anytime soon. “Do you want to talk about…”

“I hate the furry ooze.” I hate what it did to her. She’s not—she’s not supposed to look like that. And it made her afraid of herself.

I know I look different, but at least I’m able to hide it. It’s just a scar over my blind eye, not some weird substance from the ancient past that’s all over my body.

Cod, I miss the Sunny I know.

“Me too.” They both fell into silence. Sleep never came to either though, until Callie asked,

“Reef, can I give you a hug?”

“That’s fine.” Reef felt the squid climb on top of them and tentacles wrapping around their body. “…Thank you, Callie.”

Had things been less heavy, they were sure she would’ve purred quietly in response. They might’ve not heard it though, because by the time Callie had flopped off of them to her side of the bed, Reef had finally dozed off.

~~~

Marie sighed as she threw on her coat that morning, longing to curl up in squid form and fall back asleep in bed. She wanted nothing more than to cuddle next to Sunny and sing to her that everything would be alright; but Reef wanted help in searching for her, and Marie had of course said yes. She just… ran off like that. I don’t know how much help I’ll be since I’m not feeling well, but… Sage and Sprout deserve a break, I think.

Cod, I wish I wasn’t so tired all the time.

“After you.” Reef moved aside to allow her to enter the kettle first when they had reached one in Site 2. Marie prepared herself to leap in, but instead of dissolving through the grate like normal, her head hit the metal. 

“OW!” Marie cried. She felt herself rolling away from the entrance to the dome, and the world spun as a blurry Reef rushed to her side. 

“Holy carp! Marie! Why didn’t you change forms?!”

“Why don’t you mind your own coddamn business?!” Marie shot back. She was still dizzy, but thankfully she hadn’t clashed with the grate too hard. Nausea rolled around inside of her. Oh cod, not again… “Leave me alone, you piece of carp.”

“I won’t.” Reef helped her to her dizzy feet. “You’re not bleeding, but holy carp Marie, you look awful. I knew I shouldn’t have asked you to search with me.”

“I can’t tell if you’re mad at yourself or at me,” she muttered in reply. Reef led her aside to a decent spot to sit. “Just… leave me alone.” 

“Alright. I’ll go take a look inside this kettle. Can you make it back to the shelter?”

Marie shook her head yes, despite her dizziness. She closed her eyes and waited for the feeling to leave her.

You know what? No one’s regularly checking this dome, and are instead searching the other domes it leads into. It wouldn’t hurt if I decided to look around the other islands… Marie’s thoughts wandered. Reef’s taking the time to nose through every kettle on this island, and everyone’s following in their footsteps… all so slow… so I’ll just go look for Sunny by myself!

Marie adjusted her headphones, proudly proclaimed that she was gonna look around by herself because Reef was a slow sea snail to whoever was listening, and then turned hers off. Reef wouldn’t turn theirs on until they started the mission, so a certain someone else must’ve heard it instead. Sorry, Cal, but I needed someone to yell my frustrations at.

She rose to her feet and took one step in the snow before remembering that she…

Frowning in concentration, she focused all her thoughts on becoming a squid for a brief moment. When her body didn’t listen, nausea and panic rose in her throat.

Oh my cod… Is this what Sunny meant?

Marie felt herself begin to run across the snow, despite her body crying out for her not to. Run, run, run, until she reached the pipe that led to Site 3.

Okay, try again. Try really hard this time, because that metal looks miserable to crawl or walk across. Don’t even dare to think about how Sunny would’ve loved to t-pose while making her own way across it if she were in a better state of mind.

Grunting, Marie tried one more time to concentrate and achieve her second form…

…and at long last, she was a grey and yellow squid on the ground.

Without wasting another second, she wiggled into the pipe, and passed out from exhaustion when she flopped out on the other side. 

~~~

“Agent 2? Earth to Agent 2? Marie? Squid Sister?” The voice of a familiar Octoling reached Marie’s ears before she had opened her eyes to find a babbling Salmonid in her face. “Great cod, are you alright?!”

“Where’s she…” Marie raised a hand to her face, and realized that she had changed forms in her sleep.

“I don’t know. I sincerely wish to stop being asked this question.” Sage wrinkled their nose. “Agent 1 said you said something about finding Sunny on your own, and Reef said you were sick, so I came to fetch you upon request.”

“Ah…”

Sprout stared down at her. Sage extended a hand, shooing him away. “Do you need help?”

(Image ID: A sketch of A sketch of Marie lying in the snow on the top panel. Sprout’s shadow covers her face. In the bottom panel, Sprout is staring at Marie intensely. Art by Thunder Jake)

“I need my wife.”

Sage’s purple tentacles twitched. “I miss my partner too. But I have to feed Sprout, before he eats our flowers again. Everytime… he really likes the ones that grow in our pond.”

“…Your partner isn’t struggling with Mammalian fur.”

“No, that’s fair, but if you think I wouldn’t do anything to not be down here and up on the surface with her instead, you’d be terribly wrong.” Sage sat down next to the squid, and Sprout leapt into her lap. “This place… The more my little buddy and I uncover, the more horrified I am. This is a literal graveyard for an extinct species.”

Marie continued to lie in the snow, not saying anything in reply. It was all too much.

“I’ve been thinking about how my little buddy here could help with the ooze on her back,” Sage continued. She began forming a snowball next to the tired Inkling, who was staring at the dome ceiling. “Since Sunny’s got a whole splotch of it, maybe we could attack her.”

Marie’s head shot up. “I’m sorry?”

“We can make it so that it wants our ink instead of Sunny’s,” they explained. “It wanted more of yours when you shot it, right?”

“That’s…” It was all my fault. I never should’ve attacked it. Oh, Sunny… “…right.”

“Once it senses ours, it’ll come after us, and then Sprout can come and feast.”

Marie shivered. She was still processing this plan. “Shoot her…?” I…

“Yup. It chased you last time you shot the ooze, so I don’t have much doubt it’ll do so again.” Sage scratched her chin thoughtfully with a curly tentacle. “I know the solution to the problem is the exact same as the initial cause of said problem, except with a Salmonid now, and that this sounds incredibly morbid, but… Hey! I don’t think there’s a better way for you to eradicate the guilt I know you’ve been feeling ever since.”

Marie bit her lip. Her voice came out strained as she stated, “Well… if that’s all we can do, then I’d do it.”

Sage chirped, the Octoling equivalent to an Inkling’s purr. The high-pitched sound rushed through Marie’s head; it wasn’t a vibration she heard too often. I wonder how Lotus is doing. Thank cod she’s not here to worry about Sunny… cod, I hope she never finds out about this disaster.

“Thank you,” she murmured quietly as Sage helped her back to her feet. “Reef chose the right agent for this.” The only one available, of course, but you’ve been so helpful and kind to all of us… even when I wanted you and Sprout to have a break today. Cod, I messed that up.

“I’ll always find it funny that they named me after their old title.” Sage let out an amused snort. “But thank you. I’m always happy to help the Cuttlefish family.”

Sprout scurried happily underneath their feet and babbled something. Marie felt herself smile a little. I wonder what this little guy has to say. 

Together, the three of them journeyed back to the shelter. Sage had soon offered for Marie to rest on their back, because cod, was it that obvious that she wasn’t feeling alright physically?

Doesn’t matter that I’m all sick right now… all that matters is that we’re all together again, and Sunny is safe and sound, free from ooze, Marie thought as she did her best to turn squid and curl up on Sage’s head.

Chapter Text

Callie had paced in the snow so much that by the time Reef returned from a kettle after hearing her cry over radio waves, she had managed to make a circle free of slush. 

“Callie? What’s wrong?!”

“Marie went to go search for Sunny by herself, and she turned off her headphones!” Callie buried her face in her hands. “I thought you were going to a dome with her?!”

Reef bit their lip. “She wasn’t feeling well right before we were going to enter one. I went on ahead, and she said she was okay enough to come back here by herself… Reef, you piece of carp.”

Callie grabbed her suction cups, and began to tug on her tentacles. Reef pried her hands away and replaced her palms with their own before she could accidentally hurt herself. The chilly wind of the ancient past wisped through their clothes and ruffled their sets of tentacles.

“I sent Sage and Sprout to find her,” whispered Callie.

Reef squeezed. “I’m sorry. I should’ve walked back with her. If she hasn’t returned soon, then together we’ll go looking for her, too.”

Callie wiped a large from her eye. “Okay,” she whispered. Marie… I can’t lose you too! Please be careful out there… Cod, and she’s been sick… I want to cuddle with her and Sunny in our squid forms and tell them both that they’re both gonna all be okay.

Sage soon returned, a babbling Salmonid on her back and a non-furry Marie by her side, looking as if she’d just woken up from a brief nap. Callie immediately ran to meet her.

Marie’s ears perked up when she saw her cousin, and Sage and Sprout hurried away as Callie tackled Marie and gave her the warmest hug she’d had since Sunny had disappeared.

“It’s been minutes, Marie!” Callie wailed. Marie’s limbs flailed as Callie spun her around, but it wasn’t hard to tell by the look on the former’s face that the latter had been missed. It also was extremely obvious that Marie wasn’t looking any better healthwise, so Callie let her go.

“I missed you too, Cal.” Her cousin sounded tired. She straightened the wrinkles out of her coat with her palms and coughed. “I realize I must’ve worried you, Cal, so I’m sorry. I hope Reef’s alright.”

Callie reached out and gave Marie a much gentler hug. “It’s alright, Mar. I forgive you. I know why you did it.”

Marie squeezed, before letting go of her cousin. “Well, here I am.” She then frowned at the suspicious, supposedly empty gap that was now in existence in between the Octoling and the Salmonid. “Reef?”

The invisible Inkling let out a deep sigh. “…What?”

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault, and I’ve been a jerk to you ever since we met up to go on this coddamn mission and—”

Her voice was cut off with Reef growling at her. “It wasn’t your fault, Marie. You didn’t know. It’s fine, it’s fine, I’m a terrible Captain. I should know how to handle all this, but I don’t, and I don’t know how to take care of any of you, I—”

“Get over here, you piece of carp,” Marie snapped. Reef turned to the colors of a normal Inkling instantly as she stomped over to them and placed her hands on her hips. “Let’s make a deal. I stop talking about how I blame myself for shooting the ooze, and you stop saying a coddamn word about how you’re a bad Captain until we rescue you-know-who. You didn’t know any better, either. Got it?” 

She extended her hand, and Reef took it. “Got it,” they muttered.

“Louder!”

“Got it!” they yelled. Callie and both Sage chuckled.

“Well, we have an idea on how to remove the ooze from Sunny’s back,” Sage said. Sprout babbled along. “We might be able to get the ooze to rise out of her and attempt to attack us by shooting ink at it. Then Sprout can have his dinner.”

Marie nodded along, ears drooping, but her gaze was filled with determination. She was the one who initially upset the ooze… and now she’s gonna make up for it. Oh Mar, you’re the bravest cousin I know.

“Can we do this a biiit later? And maybe once more ooze is cleared, so this won’t happen again? Marie, you look tired,” Callie reached out her hands, so her cousin could leap into them in squid form. “I’ll carry you inside.”

“No thanks,” she muttered. “I’ll walk. I’m okay.”

Callie frowned; Marie never turned down a chance to be carried, and seemed to have something on the tip of her tongue, but Callie didn’t pry. 

~~~ 

Over the next several days, the entirety of Alterna had been explored, and the ooze cleared, thanks to the help of everyone (particularly Sprout’s endless appetite, and not particularly Marie’s drowsiness). Well, minus the island with the rocket in the middle. That was still an issue, though Sage claimed that they had been gathering some stuff that might help remove it. 

In the meantime, they’d left food all around the islands for Sunny. Much to everyone’s relief, they found plenty of empty plates when returning to where they’d left meals. Whenever she could catch her, Marie would watch from a distance as Sunny ate. I miss you so, so much, but thank cod you’re eating enough to survive. Cod, you deserve so much good, high quality food once we rescue you.

Then, at long last, Sage had presented the rest of the group with…

“This is the solution? For eel?” The Squidbeak had all gathered around a bunch of what appeared to be complete junk in its present state to Marie. They were in front of the shelter, and the artificial light of the sunset glimmered. “I just know this would be useful somehow if we could combine it all…”

Callie was walking in a circle, observing it from all angles. “You’ve always got the answer, Marie!”

Before Marie knew it, and long before she could figure out how to use a wrench, they had some kind of… giant scissors? Then, for some coddamn reason, Reef had thought it was a good idea to lift the entire thing by themself and give the rocket island the cleanest shave anyone in cephalopod history had ever seen. Well, the only shave. Marie remembered how Reef had been absolutely terrified of the furry ooze when they’d first entered the crater together, and she couldn’t blame them.

After we save Sunny from it, I never want to see any fuzzy ooze ever again. Thank you, Reef, for speedrunning its demise just now.

“You did it, Reef!” Callie exclaimed as she super jumped away to the island. Marie concentrated, and after a few moments, she was able to do the same (though she didn’t feel good at all afterwards).

Sage and Sprout were already going on ahead when Marie landed in the snow as a squid. She reverted to Inkling as soon as she hit the ground. Cod… I need to see a doctor about this.

“Reef? Reef! Are you okay?” Callie was fussing over Reef, who looked as if they’d sprained their leg. “Do you want me to car—”

Marie watched as Reef grunted and turned squid with ease, before climbing onto Callie’s back and wrapping their tentacles securely around her waist. They squeezed in behind her ink tank. “I’ll take that as a yes, then!”

Marie raised an eyebrow at the sight. “Clingy.” Suspicious. Reef isn’t ever that touchy with anyone, except for Sunny whenever they’re having a play fight. After all this… I have some very specific questions I finally want some very specific answers to.

Callie ignored her cousin’s comment and instead pointed to the entrance to the space station. “Let’s go catch up with Sage!”

As the three of them followed the footsteps of their companions, they encountered something they completely didn’t expect to see—

“THE GREAT ZAPFISH?!” Marie, Callie, and Reef simultaneously exclaimed.

“This is a joke. This is absolutely a joke.” Marie stomped away, with Callie right behind. Reef was still clinging to her back. “Cod, how many times do we have to save this thing?! Every time one or more of us goes missing…”

Callie and Reef gave her exasperated glares. “What? I’m not saying a joke.”

Before anyone could reply, the sound of something heavy being slammed against metal caused the entire structure to shake.

The three Inklings ran. Reef slid off of Callie and changed back to their other form to run alongside the Squid Sisters. They all ran so fast, despite Reef’s leg injury (Marie would share her worries with them about that later, even if Callie looked as if she was about to), that they were able to catch up to Sage and Sprout near the top of the building.

A scream of agony reached Marie’s ears, and her hearts stopped as she recognized the voice.

Cautiously, the group approached the platform that led to the rocket entrance. 

Furry ooze was scattered everywhere.

Marie locked eyes with a dead bear.

(Image ID: A sketch of a Mammalian standing over another. Fuzzy ooze is everywhere. Art by Thunder_Jake)

Chapter Text

Sunny slowly stepped away from the bear, as if he would twitch back to life the moment her claws left his fur. She gestured towards him with her hand; her claws were glittering with ooze.

“Mr. Grizz was going to send the rocket into space to spread fuzzy ooze all over the world.” Sunny met the gazes of Sage, then Callie, then Marie, and finally, Reef.

“I can’t let anyone else go through what I have.” Her claw then pointed towards the Smallfry clinging to Sage’s back. “I’m going to lose myself soon. Please… remove the fuzzball from my back before I—”

Sunny’s knees suddenly buckled from underneath her, and everyone watched in horror as she let out a gasp of pain… and of new life. 

Sunny leapt back up to her feet, and her eyes, once a loving green, became identical to Mr. Grizz’s. 

Glowing, white orbs, surrounded by purple ooze.

Sunny then let out a growl so deep, so Mammalian, and before anyone could think of what to do, 

Reef camouflaged and charged. 

“Reef!” they could hear multiple voices crying out, but Reef already had their Hero Shot out, and ready to fire. Every other cephalopod quickly backed away as the metal platform caused echoes to spread. 

Golden ink began to fly.

Reef ducked under a claw swipe, before turning squid and swiftly sliding through the ink they’d just shot onto the ground, but Sunny was fast. She turned around with them, making it impossible for them to aim at her back.

What? How does she see me?!

Sunny’s aim was frighteningly accurate—well, almost accurate, but she was still just barely missing—but this was the only time Reef had ever come close to being attacked. They could feel the brief wind the sharp, long nails left behind in their wake.

“Sunny, please. Let me help you,” Reef begged, even though it seemed like that would do no good. Their best friend let out an alien roar of agony that broke Reef’s hearts. 

Then they noticed her nose twitching. 

Oh.

She’s scenting me.

…I probably don’t smell too great, huh.

Some more dodging, and then, with another roar, Sunny leapt off the platform and began climbing down the side of it.

“No!” Reef screamed as the Mammalian rapidly scrambled away. 

They didn’t even register the presence of Callie and Marie weeping on either side of them as they trembled. 

~~~

There was nothing but sobbing for the next several minutes as Sunny’s figure became one with the distance.

“Well… The rocket’s stopped, but it does need to be cleaned.” Sage’s voice finally tore a tear in the sad atmosphere. “And this platform as well… cod, it’s like she tore him to pieces. But Sprout and I can work on that later.” 

Reef felt a tap on their shoulder, and she turned to see Sage smiling at them, determination in their gaze. She held up a babbling Sprout. “You ready to get your best friend back?”

Callie turned around as well. Her eyes were glistened with as many tears as Reef’s were, but strength to match Sage’s own was clearly present. “With that silly thing on our side, absolutely!”

Sage then turned to Marie, who was silently gazing across the sea, eyelids narrow.

It took her a moment to respond, but when she did, there was a deep admiration in her voice. “Let’s go rescue her.”

~~~

After everyone had stepped back onto the snow and leapt across the ocean in pursuit of Sunny, the group split up to search.

Sunny had first been caught rummaging about an empty building in Eco Forest TreeHills, with no vegetables in sight. When Callie had cautiously approached, she ran off immediately. The sound of her footsteps in the snow were haunting to Marie over the headphones. 

Reef had then discovered her in Landfill Dreamland, but Sunny had dashed off again, racing towards Cryogenic Hopetown, meaning that Marie, and Sage, who was heading from Cozy & Safe Factory, would have to confront her. 

There was no way in shell that Marie would ever let Sunny leave her side again after she found her.

~~~

Down here, in the snowy domes of Alterna, it was cold. Colder than the world above had been in thousands upon thousands of years. The moon shone, and the light purple sky of dawn was freckled with stars. The lake before her was frozen over, layer upon layer of glittering ice. And too many cephalopods near it.

The Mammalian slid across the ice, the new textures on her feet allowing for easy travel. In the distance, she could spot a yellow hue racing towards her, and their scent reached her nostrils far faster than it would have before her transformation.

The furry creature felt nothing but rage and hunger as she raced on four mighty legs to meet the Octoling. This one too would be useful to taking back yesterday. There was no other train of thought in her mind other than:

Kill it. Better yet, infect it.

Kill it. They should not exist.

Kill it. We should still rule.

Kill it. This cannot be our end.

Dodging the ink coming from some kind of bow-like weapon was the only thing stopping her from advancing faster. Claws extended, she leapt ferociously at the Octoling when in range, but a flash of yellow hit her in the chest before she could bite.

The Mammalian could hear both herself and the octopus yelp in surprise as a third party joined the fray. The fuzzy creature stumbled to her feet as the Octoling with the bow backed away, careful not to slip on the ice. Squinting her eyes, she could make out an Inkling with a charger in hand. 

Before the Mammalian could react, she felt something hit her back, and she spun around for a few seconds as the scent of Salmonid overtook her. The little Smallfry was gulping the fuzzball that had appeared on her back whole.

When he was through with her and was busy scurrying away towards the Octoling, the Mammalian’s attention returned to the newcomer. For a brief second, she thought this Inkling was familiar, but her desire to fight was suddenly magnified. Licking her three long, sharp, crooked fangs, she dashed forward, meeting the squid in the middle of the frozen lake. The scent of marine life had made her hungry.

Something was changing. The Mammalian felt that those grey and yellow tentacles were familiar. Familiar? No, that was impossible. Squids were just another food to mammals such as herself. 

As she was preparing to jump and attack, the Inkling shot at her again, knocking her backwards. The ice was thankfully more than strong enough to handle the impact of the fall.

Stumbling back to her fuzzy feet once more, she glared up at the squid, feeling bruised in multiple places. But that didn’t matter. All that mattered was—

The prey was crying.

The Mammalian paused. She… knew… that sound. Somewhere, something clicked. 

A noise that sounded like garbling reached her pointed ears. Was it trying to communicate with her? Why? It was going to be eaten anyway. But it kept repeating the sound, and the furry creature could hear desperation in its voice. 

“Why?” she hissed, fully on her hind legs now. Her voice was a beautiful, low growl. “Why?”

“Sunny,” it said again. “Wake up, baby.”

It stood in front of her with its sniper raised.

“Well,” she snarled, “we will play this MY way.”

Before it could move, the Mammalian tore the weapon from its hand and held the smaller palms. It let out a scream of gorgeous terror as it was spun around the ice, unable to be freed from furry claws. 

The prey was cute, the beast had to admit that. It had very pretty eyes for an Inkling—kind of similar to her own. No, wait, she shouldn’t be able to think this. What was happening to her as they danced across the ice? Why was it not trying to make her let go, despite the claws holding her hostage? She suddenly felt a little smaller. 

Its voice was becoming more and more understandable; it was calling her by a name she didn’t fully recognize. “Who is Sunny?”

“You are!” it screamed. “They took you away from me—I need you back.”

“You speak nonsense,” she growled, lifting an arm and spinning it in a circle. Why did it dance with her so well? It was almost like they wanted to. “I have always been a Mammalian.”

“No, you haven’t—you’re an Inkling who’s been infected by the fuzzy ooze. You didn’t always have this fur on you.” It—no, she —had such desperation in her voice that it made the beast pity her. 

“Then you’ve got the wrong one,” she spat, wanting desperately to let the Inkling go, and yet she couldn't form the courage to do it. What a dramatic end to her life this is. “You are literally my dinner.”

“Not for much longer. The Salmonid Sage attacked you with—he’s freed you of the fuzzy ooze. You’re slowly coming back to your senses,” the squid insisted, leaning forward a little. The furry creature found herself leaning forward in return; why was she so fascinating? And why was she suddenly so much easier to understand? Maybe she wouldn’t taste so good as a meal. I should keep her. 

Her warm, amber eyes were glittering with love and care. “And I’m seeing change in you.”

~~~

Marie could see the rage and confusion in Sunny’s eyes, but beyond that, she sensed that Sunny DID recognize her, even before the ooze had been taken from her. Was it her imagination, but did she just now become a little shorter, closer to her original height? Her voice was becoming more intelligible every second, that was for sure—and she was beginning to understand. 

“Sunshine,” Marie said. “I love you.”

The transforming Inkling was glaring at her in complete utter confusion. “Why?”

A tuft of brown fur flew by her face—great cod, was she shedding?! Marie had let the Mammalian dance with her on ice that was really, REALLY making her cold because she knew it would take a bit of time for Sprout’s bite to take full effect. What a blessing it was that it was working this fast. “Because you’re not who you think you are. You’re Agent 4, the Inkling that I came across in Inkopolis Square one day.”

More fur flew by. “You’re the one I recruited to rescue my cousin Callie—do you remember her? She was brainwashed like you are now—only her experience didn’t involve her changing species. Ha.”

Was it Marie’s imagination, or did a small smile appear on Sunny’s face? Her fangs are still so much longer… It’s kind of adorable, actually. Adds some extra charm to her appearance. “It was unbearable , really, to find out that my favorite squid had ended up in a similar situation. Except now you’re a hairy mess—you’re going to really need a good bath after you finish shedding all that fur off. I’d love to help you with that if you’d let me.”

Marie’s sarcastic and flirtatious tone seemed to really be jogging Sunny’s memories. Well, sort of?

“I’d love to eat you,” Sunny replied, and her voice was becoming less of a growl with every word. “…if you’d let me.”

Marie’s eyes widened, more fur flying past her again. “You know, if you didn’t want to do that, I’d let you keep your fur, because you look very warm and cuddly. Are you becoming colder?”

Sunny stared at her intensely, her grip tightening. “Your hands are warm,” was all she said in reply. Patches of skin where there was no fur at all were appearing. Marie placed her hand on Sunny’s bare cheek, and she felt her shiver under her touch.

“Just dance with me,” Marie whispered as the wind whistled around them. They’d long forgotten about the other cephalopods on the shore, waiting for them. “Until all of the pain is numbed.”

Sunny was nearing Marie’s height as they continued to ice skate, and by the time Sunny had returned to her normal stature—or rather, what would be her normal height forever, which was now ten inches taller than Marie instead of eight—most of her fur was gone. Gently, Marie let the remaining fur on Sunny’s other cheek fall into her glove. She clutched it, then put it securely in a pocket. 

“Look at you,” the grey and yellow Inkling purred, cupping Sunny’s face in her hands as they slowed down on the ice. A faint smile was arising from the Inkling Marie cared about most in the middle of the lake. “You’re back, Sunny!”

“…Marie?” came her whisper, and she leaned forward to stare at her companion with wide eyes. “I don’t unders—”

Marie took her chance. Sunny’s lips were still soft as ever, and Marie felt the other Inkling melt under her touch.

(Image ID: A sketch of Sunny (left) and Marie (right) kissing on the ice. Their arms are wrapped around each other, and Sunny’s fur is flying off of her. Art by Thunder_Jake)

Chapter Text

So… It’s been a while. Initially, it was just going to be a hiatus due to mental health and life going waaay off track. However, after over a year of chaos and me still adjusting and learning so much in my personal life, I’ve decided to end this story here. I’m still keeping all of my notes in case I do want to pick this story back up again—but with what I’ve previously mentioned, and with it being so long since the last update, I’ve decided I’ll just post those notes here instead for y’all. I want to still share the ending with all of you—I despise leaving uploaded fanfics unfinished, and poor Sunny especially doesn't deserve that. 

So, here are the last four chapters I have planned out. I wrote these notes back when outlining the whole story. Chapter 11 is actually just about done—I wrote down that I wanted to edit it some more, though. There are bits and pieces of the other chapters done as well. I hope you will enjoy what I managed to finish before life decided I must catch every curve ball imaginable. Good, good grief.

Chapter 11 - Just Worry About Us and Our Cuddles

The world was warm. In the blankets, it was so, so warm. Warmer than it had been in so, so long. The Alterna sun shone through the window when Marie opened her eyes, and when she saw her glowing arms wrapped around Sunny…

…she noticed that her wife had latched onto her in the same way in her sleep, too.

Marie couldn’t help it—she couldn’t help but burst into a song of joy. She hummed a soothing tune, just like she had when she, Callie, and Reef had carried Sunny back to the shelter. The latter had passed out from exhaustion not long after she and Marie had kissed for the first time in far too long. Oh, Sunshine… I missed you.

After Marie had finished her song, she left a kiss on her wife’s cheek, and saw that a smile had appeared. 

“Sunshine,” came her whisper, “you’re safe.”

A pair of brilliant green eyes opened—completely free of purple ooze—and Marie realized that the both of them had been crying.

“I missed you so, so much, and I’m so sorry,” Marie went on. She adjusted her position to where she and Sunny touched foreheads as their heads rested together on the same pillow. “I never should’ve attacked the ooze. I didn’t know, but… Shell, I’m still going to take responsibility.”

Sunny slowly blinked at her. Marie pulled their bodies even closer together. “I love you, Sunshine.”

The two stared at each other for a long while, enjoying the silence. There was so much adoration in Sunny’s gaze as she eventually let out a whisper,

“I love you, too, Marie.”

~~~

Marie and Sunny dozed together for a while, until the former had brought up her guilt about shooting the furry ooze again.

The yellow Inkling’s nose twitched, before she let out a breath and murmured, “Marie… I want to argue with you about this… but I just woke up from the best sleep of my life.” Marie felt Sunny’s arms around her tighten. “And I’m at peace.”

“Ah…”

“I don’t hold you at fault for it, how about that?” Sunny nuzzled her cheek, and Marie noticed that her fangs were still longer than they had been before the ooze. I guess there’ll still be some aftereffects… but that’s okay! She’ll always be my Sunshine, no matter what she looks like. “I love you, Marie.”

“I love you too, Sunshine.” Marie purred louder than she had in weeks—no, wait, when was the last time she even purred at all?!—as Sunny’s hands moved along her body. Much to Marie’s confusion though, Sunny started leaning forward to sniff her wife.

“Your scent… it’s so sweet,” marveled Sunny. “I can smell a lot better now… and wow! I’ve been fairly certain that… Well, maybe this is for later. Anyways, does my voice still sound a bit off to you?”

“…What?”

“Don’t worry about it yet. Just worry about me and my cuddles.” And then Marie was crushed by Sunny rolling on top of her. “I missed you, Marie!”

“SUNNY!” Marie squeaked as her limbs flailed. “That coddamn ooze made you heavier, you know! All those bear muscles!”

“All my mammal muscles to use to take care of my wife’s every need!” Sunny was purring her heart out as she and Marie playfully rolled around on the mattress. “I LOVE YOU, MARIE!”

“I LOVE YOU TOO, SUNNY!” Marie cried. “I think I might just turn into a blob of ink underneath you, though!”

“What, and you can’t just turn squid and wiggle away?” Sunny teased. “Or can you not, just like I sus—”

“SUNNY!!!!” Callie burst through the bedroom door and launched herself at Sunny, effectively knocking her off Marie. “THE WORLD’S WARMEST SUN IS BACK!”

Marie scurried away as Sunny and Callie started their own play fight. 

She’s really here… Marie wiped a tear from her eye. So much care…

Marie glanced down at her tentacles, and saw that they were glowing as bright as the sun herself. The other two Inklings were too busy shedding happy tears and hugging to notice, so Marie decided to just let herself glow without any fear of hurting their eyes.

Cod, I love her so, so much.

~~~ 

By the time Reef heard Sunny and Squid Sisters finally finish their reunion, the sunniest Inkling in the world was stumbling into the main room of the shelter, with an Inkling on each side of her. Reef rushed over as Sunny was finding a seat on the couch.

“Oh my cod.” Reef’s rough purr vibrated the air as Sunny reached for them. “Sunny, I’m so sorry. I’m the worst Captain ever. It should’ve been me who was taken by the fu—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Reef!” Sunny was purring too, so much so that she was starting to sound out of breath. “Marie’s already blaming herself for it! I don’t hold either of you accountable! And I took the time to save you from the ooze, too, with a great shove! So shut the shell up!”

Reef couldn’t reply as the warm sensation of their best friend embracing them overtook them. They instinctively turned to squid, let her hold them close, and felt their tears fall into the fabric of her night shirt. I missed you with all of my hearts.

“I’ll bring breakfast!” Callie patted Sunny’s shoulder, then gently tapped Reef. They felt the couch shift as Marie sat on Sunny’s side. The purring had stopped at this point, but Sunny was grinning ear-to-ear as she was cuddled by her loved ones.

A small cough was heard, and Reef turned around to see Sage quietly sitting on the chair across from the couch, with Sprout protectively swaddled in their arms. “Hi. I’m Sage, and this is Sprout. Please don’t eat him.”

Sunny glanced over at Sage, and gave the Octoling a friendly little wave and smile. Her nose crinkled in amusement. “As long as I’m fed in the next few minutes, sure.”

“Coming!” came Callie’s voice from the kitchen.

Sunny laughed, then leaned over to whisper in Reef’s ear, “She kinda reminds me of Lotus. Maybe they just have similar scents, I dunno.”

“Tall octopus,” Reef muttered. They heard Marie snort. “That’s all I know.”

A bunch of babbling interrupted everything, and Reef squeaked as Sprout suddenly leapt into Sunny’s lap, attempting to knock the squid over by nuzzling them.

“Sprout!” Sage cried, jumping to her feet. “She’ll eat you!”

“Mamamama!” Sprout warbled as Marie scooped him up into her own lap.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got him.” The Inkling smiled down at the Salmonid as he gazed up at her, excited. He then curled up against her stomach. “Oh… Well, that’s that, then.”

Sage was still frowning, particularly at Sunny, but they sat down again once Callie returned with a tray of waffles and cookies. Said tray was empty of waffles in approximately four seconds because Sunny was now stuffing her face.

“Sunny!”

“Haven’t eaten good in days, Marie,” came her muffled voice. “That salmon still smells good.”

Sage’s mouth gaped in horror, and they immediately rushed over to grab Sprout and several cookies. She sat back down in her chair aggressively and Sprout chomped on his treats without a care in the world.

The rest of the meal was relatively quiet. Sage had retreated with Sprout in their arms to their room by the time the cookies were gone. Reef was in Inkling form and was resting in another chair. Sunny dozed on the couch, clearly tired from all of the excitement. Callie and Marie were arguing about what to make for lunch in the kitchen (Marie wanted more sweets; while Callie kept insisting she eat something healthy).

I’m so glad you’re safe, Reef thought as they gazed at their best friend. They began to doze off with her until they heard a bunch of babbling and a microwave humming.

“SUNNY!” Their ears perked up at the sound of the cousins’ fret. They raced into the kitchen and found Sprout scurrying away wildly and Sunny being restrained by the arms.

“What in the name of cod—”

“I was still hungry!” Sunny cried. She pointed as best she could while being held back by two worried Squid Sisters to the escape route Sprout had taken. “And he was right there! And smelled really tasty!”

“Sunny, this fish is a friend, not food,” Marie said gently, patting Sunny’s arm. “Now be nice to him. Or else Sage won’t be nice to you.”

“Oh, yeah? What weapon do they main?”

“Charger,” came the snickers of both Squid Sisters. Sunny’s face became several shades paler.

Reef gazed up at their friend’s eyes. No ooze. “Once you’re feeling up to it, I think we should do some exercises,” they suggested. “Just to make sure you won’t go feral when we move back to the surface.”

Sunny frowned. “I’m fine, Reef. I don’t feel the urge to bite you.”

Callie tugged on her arm. “I think someone will finally like participating in Salmon Run,” she teased. “Although… What will happen to Grizzco now? Since, you, uh…”

Sunny freed herself from her friend’s grip. Marie let her go as well. “I don’t want to think about that anymore, Callie. Please don’t remind me.”

“Ah, okay. I’m sorry, Sunny.” The mood suddenly became solemn. “I think Reef’s idea is a good one, though, if you’re willing to try.”

“It’s okay.” Sunny gave Callie a small smile, then turned to Reef. “I guess you’re right. I just hope nothing bad happens when we train together.”

Marie stood on her tiptoes to kiss Sunny’s cheek. “Everything will be fine. I know it will. Just worry about us and our cuddles.”

Chapter 12

The next week was spent resting. Well, minus Sage and Sprout initially, because they had had to finish cleaning the space station. 

“He’s finally full!” Sage had exclaimed when they shoved open the shelter door even stronger than when Sunny had slammed it shut. “HE’S FINALLY FULL! WE CAN GO HOME! AND HE WON’T EAT ALL MY FLOWERS!” She jumped around in circles, hugging their baby tight. Everyone else had purred at the sight.

In the meantime leading up to that miraculous moment, Reef and Sunny began to train together; they both wanted to be sure that nothing strange was still in effect after the ooze removal. 

The Alterna sky showed the exact same cloud pattern it always did as Reef led the way outside and into the snow outside of the shelter. Sunny stumbled behind, worry on her face, while Marie gently but firmly pushed her forward with one hand on the former’s back.

“Day Two of Sunny being freed from that terrible ooze—not day one, because you needed nothing more than rest yesterday.” Reef directed Sunny to stand several yards away from them, then asked Marie to stay near Reef in case anything dangerous happened. 

Marie was jotting down any observations that they stated into her Factopedia. Why Marie still had that old thing with her all of the time, Reef didn’t know. 

“Well, the first thing to note other than your fangs is that you’re two inches taller. I think you were even taller while the ooze…?”

Sunny let out a long sigh. “Yeah… I’m already tall enough.” 

Reef wrinkled their nose affectionately. “You know, I’d love to have your height.”

“You know, I think you should stay short!” Sunny playfully stuck out her tongue, before they both laughed. 

Marie raised a hand. “May I give my opinion?”

Sunny buried her hands in her face. “Ma—”

“My wife being taller means that I have more wife! This is actually a win for me!”

“Ma…Marie!” Sunny was blushing furiously. “That’s not how I view it!”

“And soon that won’t matter, because I love you so much, and that will overshadow any doubts you have about yourself.”

“Doubts?!”

“Doubts about you being my amazing wife every single second she exists. Now, why don’t you show us your cute squid form? I haven’t seen it in soooo long…” 

“Ah… my squid form. Right.”

(When they ask her to squid form, she turns into a bear instead, she already knew (?) but this is first revealed to the others. Sunny has returning fur. Establish what’s going on with Sunny’s body. This chapter is about her being shy, hates her body, doesn’t think Marie and others will love her anymore. She’s very wrong when Marie and others pet her fur. Marie says she’ll always be one of the inklings she trusts the most.)

(Sunny and Marie leave the Splatoon (Marie insists))

~~~

(Reef is sad they didn’t get to see Lotus. Sage introduces everyone to her girlfriend when the Squidbeak is about to board the train, who is revealed to be Lotus. Lotus and Reef just stare at each other for a long moment. Reunion! Oh dear. Vine boom)

Chapter 13

(Marie and Sunny have returned to their new home. They both break down into tears. Long conversation about everything. Marie teaches Sunny to play piano as she recovers, as she promised years ago. Quote from Sunshine: “After the agent stuff is done with, and we have all the zapfish, then I’ll pay you for piano lessons. And never charge you a fee for coffee ever again. If that’s okay with you.” They play the piano together; Marie finds ivy and other flowers to decorate the room with (she just thinks of it). Marie also mentions she’s seeing a doctor soon, and Sunny just casually mentions that Marie is pregnant because she smells so sweet. Her grief distracted her from her symptoms; Marie tells Sunny all about how it’s hard to change forms, explain how the hormones do this. Sunny is overjoyed and a bit scared, but they’ll get through this together. Firefly squid glow combined with pregnancy glow)

“You’re my moon, you know that?”

Sunny took Marie’s hand and squeezed it, before resting her head against her wife’s stomach. “And you’re carrying our little star…”

“Sunshine…” Marie’s eyes welled with happy tears. Sunny closed her eyes and began to purr. Marie joined her, and felt herself glowing as she drifted away to a warm peace.

~~~

(Reef visits Callie in her lonely apartment, Callie’s very lonely and on the phone with an angry Marie who’s craving sweets, “Wait until this weekend! I’ll come over!”, and Callie and Reef talk. Reef asks why she’s still in Inkopolis, and Callie reveals a bit more than she’d like. She’s secretly had feelings for them for years but prevented herself from making a move because she knew they weren’t ready yet. They have a nice moment and get together! It’s Chapter 13… like Agents 1 and 3… Callie starts calling Reef “slow sea snail” as a reference to seabunny, and the chapter 8 title, because they took forever to confess)

The end note for this chapter I prewrote: 

Some details from research I did that I’d like to mention:

• Some animals can scent pregnancy hormone changes.
• Nausea can be both a symptom of pregnancy and grief.
• Did I fool you? Or was it obvious? :p 

Since I can’t put a pregnancy content warning due to that spoiling this chapter, I’m not going to write any more about it. Next chapter is Marie revealing to a certain pair of inklings that she’s expecting, and then a time skip to the egg hatching, but that’s it. I know I just spoiled the chapter, but… I think it’s obvious that both of those are coming next XD

What’s going on with Marie’s body? Her hormones have been making it difficult for her to change forms, because she’s carrying an egg, and it’s dangerous to shift so often. The egg doesn’t need that much movement. 

Chapter 14

(Continuation of Chapter 13: Marie shows up at the door, angry she doesn’t have any cookies, so Callie gives her food and announces she and Reef are moving in with her. Marie thinks Callie is alone, Reef is invisible, so she reveals after Callie says something like, “Well, nothing big will happen again for a while! Maybe forever! I hope!” that she’s pregnant. Show Callie and Reef’s reactions. Callie gets so excited she gets stuck on the ceiling as a squid, referencing the green squid flop tumblr post. “…While they’re my best friend, they also have their camouflage ability, and I don’t want them… Uh, you know, stepping into a room and discovering Marie and I kissing.” Sunny can scent Reef in the house now! Problem eliminated!)

~~~

The warm breeze of spring ruffled Marie’s tentacles as she sat on the edge of her and Sunny’s garden, gazing out to sea. She was content.

“I’ve gone through the list, checked it four times today… I think we’re ready for her arrival.” Marie turned her head to see her wife approaching, with an extra blanket in her hands. “How’s she doing?” 

(Marie and Sunny’s egg suddenly hatch while they’re sitting outside, with Callie and Reef around. Mention Callie walking on Reef’s blind side up to the couple, as a sign of trust. Mention Cuttlefish Café as a future plan somewhere. Ivy purrs loudly like Marie when she’s held up to the chest. Marie sings!)

(Image ID: Everyone is in the grass, surrounded by bushes and a tree, having a picnic on a red and white checkered blanket. Callie has her arm around Reef, who are both to the front left, closest to the viewer. Sage is behind them, lying on the blanket, and holding Sprout up with one arm. He is resting on her palm. Marie and Sunny are behind her to the left, playing with their newborn, who is already full of energy. Lotus is to their right, eating a piece of cake. Everyone is happy. Yay! Art by Thunder_Jake)

End Note for the final chapter:
I wanted to do a bit more with this, to be honest. I wanted more Sage and Sprout scenes, and more time with Lotus. Oh, and Deep Cut… Originally, I wanted to include them, but with the pacing I established, I decided not to. There just wasn’t enough screen time for them, and I like working with a smaller cast of characters to explore each of them more deeply. I’m still really happy with how it came out though; I’ve established what I wanted to, said what I wanted to, told the story I wanted to. I’ve been wanting to complete this since October 2021, but Splatoon 3 took forever to come out, university happened, and… yeah. Here it finally is though: Taking Back Yesterday! 

Misc Notes (for me as I write):

• Remember to add Jake’s art!
• Marie and Sunny are married in late spring, with Marie becoming pregnant in summer during their honeymoon. Early autumn is when Hero Mode 3 is. Hero Mode 3 ends ??? after it begins. A month? 
• It’ll be around a week in Chapter 7. In Chapter 8, it’s not much longer afterwards. In Chapter 9 and 10, it’ll be around two weeks since they’ve arrived. After Sunny is rescued, they’ll be there for a third week? On the surface…
• Marie’s pregnancy glow. Really talk about her glowing in chapters 12-14.
• Callie finds an old human hairbrush, uses it on Sunny, she’s surprised at first but likes to be brushed.
• Sunny to Reef: “And there are others like you in this world. Others who can camouflage completely. But me? I can always be seen like this. I’m one of a kind.” (oh no)
• Callie and Reef have a chance to bond over their scars (Callie’s tattoo) and being formally brainwashed.

~~~

Okay, we’re back in modern times again. Present me here.

Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me this whole time, to all of my friends, and especially Thunder_Jake, who drew all of the wonderful art for the chapters. I am so glad I got to share so many Splatoon stories with y’all—seriously, I wouldn’t have had the inspiration to make this many without y’all. So, thank you. Y’all are so awesome and I’ll always love Splatoon, even if my long-lasting fixation has finally faded. Maybe it will come back again one day. My fixations sometimes do that. Who knows! I want to write about Off The Hook and Deep Cut and whatever idols are next too! Love those guys. They are so fun and delight :) 

In any case, I’m marking this as done. Phew. What a relief. Oh, and the baby was a lesbian miracle, by the way. Yay!

~ oceansea