Chapter Text
Marie had just been standing there for Cod knows how long, staring off into the freezing cold Alterna water and the oh-so-familiar sky dome and thinking about everything that had ever happened to her ever. Like. Ever.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a panting Callie who had just... appeared out of nowhere, as she does. She was leaning on Marie's shoulder, catching her breath.
" hh- Hi Marie, h-have you seen- "
" Catch your breath. I can barely understand you. "
Callie ignored her and kept going.
" Hhave you seen Neo 3? "
" ...weren't you watching them? "
" THEY SCURRIED OFF SOMEWHERE AND I LOST THEM. OKAY. "
Marie snorted.
" Wow. Some agentsitter you are. "
" I'm literally neurodivergent. Leave me alone. "
Callie sighed dramatically, flopping face first into the fake snow.
" ...ow. This stuff hurts. And it's cold. D'you think real snow was like this too? Cause that would have sucked. I'd hate that. Not the cold part. I mean the uncomfortably hard part. That part sucks. Boo. "
" Mmmmmhm. Me too. "
Marie was not paying attention. At all. Callie just kept going, getting progressively more off track.
" D'you think I'd be able to get that one other Octoling to watch them? Eight? They're probably good at Neowatching. They can probably keep up. They took on evil possessed Captain and made it out fine, they can keep up with whatever's going on with Neo 3! "
" Callie, you can't make Eight do your job for you. "
" YOU AREN'T MY MOTHER! "
" We're still related. Plus I won our Final Splatfest. And I'm Deep Cut's bo- "
" YOU HAVE NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER! Actually, remember my CallieTracker idea? We should make one and tape it to Neo 3. "
" ...wow, your brain goes fast. Okay, yeah. We'd have to make s- "
" Make sure it doesn't fall off! Yeah! Uhuh. Put more tape on them. "
" You sure they'd like that? Have we tested this yet? They might just chuck it into the water. "
" Then I'd be sad. I'd look like the frowny face. That'd make them feel bad and they would keep wearing it so I don't feel sad! "
" ...Callie, I don't think that'd work. "
" How do you know that? You're not Neo 3. We also haven't tried it. "
" Don't think I'm saying they don't care about you, but I don't think they'd care if you wanted them to wear it. "
Callie frowned, glancing away.
" ....well, what if I said pretty please? "
" It's like a 50/50. They might listen, but they might not give a damn. You never know what to expect out of them... "
" I WILL FIGURE THIS OUT! "
Callie declared triumphantly, throwing her hands up into the air and grinning.
" ...alright. If it goes horribly, don't blame me! I tried to tell you! "
Marie smiled slightly, watching her cousin sprint away again. She might be able to make it work. Maybe Neo'd listen. They're pretty good at that, after all.
Suddenly, 3 familiar figures popped out of the kettle from Splatsville to Alterna. Marie sighed. It was them... Deep Cut. She may be their boss, but she didn't particularly like them.
" BOSS!!!!!! HI BOSS!!!!!! "
Dear Cod. That was Frye, who had just scurried over to Marie. She was as energetic as usual.
" I WON THE GAME, BOSS!!!!!! ARE YOU PROUD OF ME???? "
She had a grin plastered across her face. Her fists were clenched, her eyes wide... she looked very excited. Marie flinched.
" ...why are you yelling? What game? Yes, I'm proud of you. Is... Is that all? Is that what you wanted to tell me? "
" Uhuh. "
Frye nodded vigorously before running back over to the rest of Deep Cut. Shiver looked incredibly unhappy and Big Man was just standing there, zoning out. Marie sighed. Actually, why was she even the boss of them? She didn't need interns or whatever. She was one of the Squid Sisters! Or, well, Squid... cousins. Cephalopod Cousins. Whatever. Squid Sisters sounded better anyways.
Marie was an independent lady! She didn't need whatever was going on with Deep Cut. They weren't very helpful anyways. Although they all had different strengths that would mesh together really well if they could actually collaborate for once in their lives, they barely ever collaborated. They argued a surprising amount for how close of friends they were. It was obvious they all still loved each other, but they had their conflicts. Which is normal.
She watched all 3 of them scurry off to the transportation pipe between Future Utopia Island and Cozy & Safe Factory. What could they possibly be doing? Where is Captain? Where's Neo? Where did Callie go??? She sighed and kept waiting. They'd be back eventually.