Chapter Text
Watch her things. That’s what Marina asked Acht to do before the night’s festivities began. When they prodded why she couldn’t just keep it in her trailer, she gushed on and on how it was possible someone could take them, or how if she lost them in there she’d never get them back once the festival was over- and she was barely in there anyways so why even rush over when she didn’t have enough time to.
Acht sighed, eyebrows knitting with slight annoyance. They’d given up on their dignity a while ago and settled to fan themself with Pearl’s self promotion. If they were unlucky, someone would spot them from within their VIP tent and assume they were a mega fan of Pearl’s- but who was looking for them? Certainly not DJ Octavio, who was hunkered down in a booth not too far away, grumbling and passing out Squid Sister’s merchandise with about the same amount of enthusiasm as them.
An ironic twist of fate, Acht thought, hiding behind the curtain of the tent. Although fanning themself with the girlfriend of their old friend wasn’t much better. Acht let another breath go. Nearly half a decade had passed in a blink of an eye. Their years in the metro were such a dream, that it only felt like yesterday that they were dreading Marina’s disappearance after that blasted song.
They were happy for her. They were. Marina looked more alive than she ever did in the domes. It was strange how she did everything right, and they did everything wrong, and still she was just as unfulfilled as they were. But the sting was still, uncomfortable, to say the least. It was probably just the prolonged hours they spent hearing the two lovebirds flirt with each other still having an effect. Thank the heavens they calmed down since then.
...Or maybe it was their other unsettled regrets. Acht’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Awcht?” Marina’s laptop flicked on and Acht turned around to see the image of Smollusk appear on the screen with a childish wipe of its eyes. Acht sat down and propped one of their knees up for comfort.
“I’m here buddy, what’s up?” Acht voiced softly. They’d long since reunited with Paul again, but seeing him all grown up- they hadn’t quite accepted that this teenager who nearly beat them in height was their little brother who hadn’t gotten his fingers yet. No wonder why it was a little too easy to fall into this tone.
Smollusk stretched its little tentacles out on screen, Acht wondered how detailed of an AI Marina got the little guy to be if it needed to stretch for comfort. It perked up quickly, and floated around with excitement.
“My schedu-wel has infowmed me that Mawina and Peawl will be awn soon!” Smollusk chirped, tapping its tentacles together. Acht leaned their head out of the tent again and watched as Deep Cut soon gathered themselves into their assigned places and posed, smoke screen about to go off in just a few seconds.
“Seems like it, huh, bud.” Acht leaned back with a little smile. It was funny how endeared one could get with their past captor. Maybe imagining Smollusk like it was Paul way back, or Marina when they were young and too stupid to be sad- maybe that’s what helped. “You excited?”
“Mhmn! Mhm! Mawina said I could watch through the camewas of evewyone’s phones! So I get to have multipwe angles!” Smollusk exclaimed with excitement. Acht’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Did Marina say you conceptually could, or you were allowed to?” Acht asked solidly. Smollusk tapped its tentacles together unsurely.
“Um...” It began. Acht lifted their glasses down on their nose and gave the AI a hard look.
“That’s not very Orderly of you, Smollusk.”
“Waahh-!! Okey I’m sowwy!” Smollusk wailed, tiny body squashing and stretching to express its emotions. “Mawina only told me I could if it was youw phone! An’ Peawl told me I could have the official recowdings after but I didn’ wanna wait!”
“Hey now, shh shh shh, it’s okay buddy.” Acht sighed, patting the laptop. Hm. Was that weird to do? Oh well. They pulled their phone out of their pocket and waved it. “You hop in here okay? I’ll record their set for you. It’ll be our little secret.”
“Yaaay! Youwe my favowite, Awcht!”
Nice. That’s something to rub in Marina’s face later. Although, she might just coo over it. Smollusk’s image fizzled on the laptop and they took it as their sign to step outside. There was a certain beauty in the sunset setting of the Grand Festival.
Never in Acht’s life did they imagine they’d get to see something as joyous as this. All the pinks and yellows, the mixes of blues and whites- all spilled together amongst the sky. They closed their eyes for a moment, and listened to the distant songs wrapping up and mixing together with a fragrant overlapping melody. Like multiple waves crashing together at once.
“Awcht!”
“Right right, I’ll get your video, Smollusk. Just wait a bit, they're going on their breaks.”
Ebb and Flow started up about ten minutes later and Acht nodded their head along to the bumping beat that made their slow hearts feel like they had their kick again. It’s a melody they’d heard too many times before, but they could see why Marina and Pearl treasured it, their lightning in a bottle. They couldn’t quite see Smollusk from their phone but they could imagine the way the little guy would bounce around and shriek with excitement. The occasional buzzes their phone would make backed it up.
Eventually, Marina and Pearl disappeared with a flawless performance but a few glitches in the smoke screen. Acht held their phone up to their ear to hear Smollusk’s excited cheers.
“Thawt wasss.. So cool!” It squealed. Acht’s lips quirked with amusement, when was the last time Paul was like this guy? They sighed sadly. Years. Nostalgia took hold of their heart like a new pair of chains and no matter what they thought or treasured, those moments were long gone.
“You wanna zoom over and say hi to them before they leave for the Big Stage? I bet it’ll take them a bit since Marina’s gonna fix that smo- Oomf!” Acht asked, walking along on the path behind the tents only to slam hard into an unknown force.
Fuck that hurt. Was this jelly made of pure muscle? Well, the security guard ones sure did- but whoever they bumped into was a bit bigger and—
Oh that’s a person. The inkling lifting her head up dizzily with visibly long dark tentacles tucked into her pink hoodie. On her face was a pair of large shades that were- Acht held their smirk- that were very crooked on her face.
“Sorry,” Acht remembered to say, the inklish still foreign on their tongue. The inkling blinked to attention and gave them a up-and-down look with wide eyes. Then she smiled and opened her mouth. Aw crap- Acht dreaded. Did she wanna talk? They didn’t wanna grab their translator with some random inkling- ..Random chick. The little Marina that constantly lived in their head was politely lecturing them that referring to an inking as just their species was rude. A quirk they hadn’t noticed they’d inherited from the military until Marina called attention to it. How embarrassing.
“No no! I’m sorry for bumping into you!”
“Oh well that’s—“ Acht blanked out on their thoughts. That’s octarian. That’s- a great change of pace. They last weeks had been a drilling of inklish on inkolingo- and while Marina and Pearl always snapped to octarian around them- bahh who cared about the details. Acht didn’t have to try too hard with talking now. And this girl’s accent was pretty damn good. That was impressive- I wonder if it’s just common around Splatsville. Acht considered, before remembering to continue speaking, “—that’s alright, then, I guess.”
“..You must be Dedf1sh!” The inkling readjusted her shades, smiling brightly. There was interest in the way her lips curled and her hip popped to the side. Acht’s eyebrows shot to their forehead as she swayed with elation. “Wow! I listened to Onward on the news and binged the rest of your Deepsea album! Big fan!”
“Ah- woah- well—“ Acht nearly stumbled. What were the odds of that? A fan. Every time anyone recognized their beats it was like a Jumpscare. They never thought anyone would bother listening long enough to their material to like it, imagine their surprise when the royalties came pooling in. They glanced the lady up and down, very pink for someone who liked their music apparently. Pink sweatshirt and tights? Wild.
Their fan's smile was far too bright to keep staring at so Acht snapped their eyes down at the sand, not that anyone close enough would notice, thanks to their glasses.
“That’s uh, really cool. I hope-“ Acht began. Hope? Are they hoping? How did Marina act with fans? They mostly ignored how she responded to the many inkfish that worshiped her like a goddess. She was nice. They can be nice, “I hope you’re enjoying the Grand Fest.”
“Hah! You can sure say that.” She hummed, kicking the ground where their eyesight landed on. It was cute, like she was drawing, “I’m hoping all the attention on the next set here will let me get the jump on some busy booths. I’m surprised you don’t have any sets during the fest!”
“Yeah, um- sorry to disappoint. Just lots of big names out here already.” Acht crossed their arms comfortably, and adjusted their headphones to hang comfortably around their neck, “I’m uh- just here for a friend.”
Acht glanced back at the tent. This conversation was lasting multiple sentences longer than they had expected, and it was about to keep going if they weren’t careful- despite how weirdly enjoyable it was getting. Maybe they were too easy to please with attention, too easy to trust. Acht pulled themself together.
“Speaking of- I’ll uh- have to go meet up with her soon.” They held up their phone to their ear, the sooner they got out of her was probably for the better, “I don’t have any pen to give any autographs if you’re looking for any. Or uh- any merch to sign. Sorry.”
“Awcht!” Smollusk’s voice came in with a whine, “They’we fliwting over the smoke scween the recalibwation!”
Acht stared hard toward the stage ahead. They did not want to be in the middle of that. They flicked their eyes to the cute inkling in front of her and snapped their phone shut.
They should be watching Marina’s things. They should be going to the tent to say hi to her after a successful performance. They should be responsible and not hang out with the first fan they meet during this musical festival like a sleazy over popular musician (something they weren’t).
But they decided breaking all three rules was better than an entire potential hour of;
“Damn, Rina… you grind those gears so well.”
“Oh Pearlie~! You’re just so cute when you guess what I’m doing?”
“Of course, and guess what, you’re always on my mind.”
“Oh Pearlie!”
Acht frowned intensely and as the inkling began walking past them they shoved their phone in their pocket and hurried after her.
“PLEASE LET ME JOIN YOU-!”
“WOAH OKAY!”
‘Aori’ as she introduced herself explained they had to hurry due to amount of time they had- after all, if Marina was fixing the smoke screen herself it may be done quickly, and then the Squid Sisters would be up to perform and-
“I uh- just can’t miss them! I’m a big Marie fan!” Aori exclaimed, holding up one of the small idol plushies with a flashy smile, a contrast to the more subdued expression the doll had.
“I don’t see the appeal but,” Acht, patient and a bit endeared, reassured, “If Pearl is there, she may buffer the time to something more reasonable. Chill.”
“Ha! Yeah, that sounds like them,” Aori sighed too knowingly, not that Acht cared much. Let the fan think she understood the idols. Aori giggled, jingling the small but heavily dedicated and decorated keychain she’d added another charm too. A little skeleton of a fish, reminded them of Orderland. Aori tilted her head, admiring it, before grabbing it’s pair, “You should get one, DJ, before they run out.”
“Sure if you buy one for me.” Acht snorted, all too used to the elbowing and jabs they had accustomed themself to with Pearl- with the inkling usually calling their bluff and getting them whatever it was anyways with her endless wealth. The realization hit, and Acht turned fast to Aori with a, “Wait that was a—!”
“Ha?” Aori looked up, shades falling down her nose as the jelly at the stand happily gave her sparkling credit back with an almost mocking ka-ching sound. Acht felt their stomach drop. Oh god they made a fan- possibly their only fan in existence (despite their profit saying otherwise)- pay for them. That was a cardinal sin against being a musician wasn’t it? Or a person?
“I was joking!” Acht hissed.
“Sorry! I was excited.” Aori pouted her lip.
“Can you at least return it?” Acht asked. Aori winced and pointed at the ‘no returns’ sign that hung next to her head. Acht covered their face with their hands. “Oh my cod.”
“It’s fine really, I expected to pay a lot during this festival and, if it’s for you, it’s worth it.” Acht could hear the smile in Aori’s voice, urging them to look. And so they did, eyes focusing on the little fish that dangled before their face. Acht’s face tingled warmly as they took it from her hands.
“Now we match,” Acht mused. What a chance meeting. If this was the kind of people that liked their music, “I hope that makes up for the lack of an autograph.”
“Nah, this itself is enough, spending time with you has been a really nice break from the rest of the night,” Aori tilted her head, lowering her shades to wink at Acht. Something about that made their face prickle with something warm. Too amused by this stranger to really process anything else. Was their presence that enjoyable to her? Was that her truth? Why was that so believable for once. It was only when the crowd started ramping up again did Acht realize the stage was finally setting up its band members and Aori squeaked. “I gotta go!”
“Hang on, we—“ Acht blinked. They were about to offer watching the show together. Acht couldn’t care about the Squid Sisters long enough to listen to an entire set. Not that they’d finished listening to the Calamari Inkantation without their head hurting before. But- if Aori was excited about it—
“Sorry DJ, I can’t wait!” Acht’s hand fell, an answer already given as Aori dashed her way through the festival grounds and soon out of sight. A bit wounded, they shook off the sting and clipped the small keychain to their phone. Hah. A dead fish. Cute.
Acht sighed. Aw fuck.
They kicked the ground before making their way slowly back to the tent. The Squid Sisters would start up their spicy remix soon, they’d watch for a bit before returning to their own headphones, and be on standby for anything Marina needed. That was the plan. And they’d hold onto that keychain probably for the rest of their after life thinking of the nice time a fan shopped with them and treated them like a friend they’d always missed.
However fate had other plans.
“Acht!” Marina whisper shouted when they snuck their way back into the tent. Acht let her hug them, her livelier tentacles able to wrap around theirs better than theirs could with hers. They separated and Marina bounced in her spot. “So tell me how did it go?!”
“How did what go?” Acht asked, eyebrows furrowing with confusion. “Shouldn’t you be on the big stage right now?”
“Yes but just let me know!”
“I really don't know what you’re talking about,” Acht sighed, taking their hat off and fanning themself with it. They thought for a moment and squinted, “What did Smollusk tell you?”
“Well it said; Awcht—!”
“Don’t do the voice.”
“It said that you made friends with Callie Cuttlefish and went shopping with her! Acht I have her contact, I’ve celebrated holidays with her— and I’m still a little jealous of you! Uahh I’m so proud you’re making surface friends! With the Callie Cuttlefish!” Marina squealed in her spot, hands clasped over her chest. Acht blinked.
Callie Cuttlefish?
“Are you guys ready~!”
The crowd outside the tent screamed and- there she was. The same smile and sparkle in her eyes as they’d seen just a few minutes before. Sweater fuzz still clinging to her tentacles. Acht’s stomach dropped to their heels, the beat to the Calamari Inkantation radiating through their skull.
“Yo yo, heard you makin’ friends, Acht?” No. No. No.
“Shut up Pearl.” Acht immediately grunted.
“Smollusk said you and her were hittin’ all the busy spots together after bumpin’ into each other! Almost rivals me and Rina’s meet cute.” Pearl grinned toothily. Acht shot a glare that she could sharply feel and she threw her hands up defensively, “It’s cute! That’s what I’m saying! Nothing else I swear I’m just teasing. I’m glad you’re making friends.”
“Uhuh.” Acht rubbed beneath their shades. Pearl propped her chin up and began playing with one of the doll replicas of herself.
“Didja give her your autograph? Did she give you her’s? That can sell for a lot dude. Like. Like I know money- that can sell a lot.”
“Shut. It.” Acht buried their face with embarrassment.
Maybe it was the bitter dumbass still in them- still stuck in the deep dark underneath domes playing tunes to cope, sulking over Marina’s disappearance, and just a step away from death- but something in them was heavily annoyed by the prospect of getting roped along by the inkling that set off the entire trajectory of their current life by the single hum of music note.
“Aw fuck, Rina! We gotta get to the stage!” Pearl exclaimed. Oh thank god. Marina squeaked and dropped into octo form with a splash.
“We’ll see you soon, Acht! Text us if you need anything! Or if you want Callie’s numberrrr rr…!” And they were gone, super jumping out of the tent with a display that jostled some festival goers but not the performers.
No. Acht stepped out of the tent and only then did Aori- Callie break from her intense yet chipper focus to meet their gaze. She waved, and they tilted their head with a slight scoff.
They waved their phone, letting the charm jangle in her line of sight and she beamed through her lyrics, looking like a damn shooting star in the way she glowed in the spotlight. Crap this song was gonna be an ear worm for the rest of the fest wasn’t it. What an overplayed piece of— Acht sighed heavily. It was catchy enough for Marina. And it’s catchy enough for them to go rabid in the head.
Acht didn’t like Callie. They didn’t like that they liked Callie. Acht pressed their forehead hard against their knuckles. Now this was far too complex and convoluted for them to take seriously. What were they gonna do? This couldn't be happening. And if it was, they refused to let it go far.
Just avoid her. Then any desire to become friends or anything more would disappear. Perfect. Cause if there was one thing that was clear; Acht wasn’t going to keep to the curse. Acht refused to become the eight thousandth octoling to fall in love with the first inkling they became friends with and if that meant not becoming friends at all, fine.
I mean. Acht thought. I already won since the first one I met was Pearl.
So how hard could it be?