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"THANK YOU NEW INKSHIRE, AND GOOOOOOD NIGHT!!!"
And just like that, it was done. The World Tour that she and Pearl had dreamed of for years now. After thick. After thin. After a minor stint in the hellscape VR world of order and control. Especially that last one, best not to question it. After all of that, it was over. One final, bombastic night in New Inkshire. And for a bunch of people that those Deep Cut types had moaned were a bunch of spoiled, fancy rich types, these Inkshirians knew how to PARTY! The sky had been lit with dancing lights across all of town! It made Splatsville's own Splatfest festivals look like a quiet night in! And this was it; one more round of "Into the Light", and that was all she wrote.
Marina's back ached and her mind buzzed as she finally slipped backstage and collapsed onto the sofa at the back. She said nothing; she had nothing to say, perhaps. After months and months and months of travelling, setting up, singing, packing up and travelling again, at the very end there was...nothing. Just the oppressively heavy weight now laying on her mind. Everything she had done, everything she would ever do. It all lead to this. And what a ride it was! Meeting Pearl, meeting Eight, saving the world TWICE, finally seeing Acht again. She had done so much. Her life was a non-stop roller-coaster of trials, tribulation and sheer, unending joy.
And now it was over. The change was scary. Every day she felt like one day she would take her goggles off, wake up, have a pot of last night's moss soup and get back to work. Despite creating an entire new world (that nearly killed her, whoops) to escape it. Despite everything to get over it...
She never wanted this life to end.
"Helloooo..." there was a tapping sound and feeling as someone rapped politely on her head. Marina felt almost paralysed with her exhaustion and fear, but she already knew who it was; it was Pearl, of course. Dressed as she was in her gold dress, big boots and MASSIVE jacket. She had taken her shades off, however, and was gently prodding Marina's face. She looked worried, and she spoke in a voice that ironically screamed “burnt out”; "Hey! Earth to Marina! Those SplatAM idols wanna do an interview with us."
"...Mom?" another familiar voice as two more people approached the duo. It was Eight, former Splatoon Agent and Marina's adopted daughter. Last time she saw her, she was dressed in that weird Order leotard that left...very little to the imagination. Now she was wearing more casual clothing; jean shorts, Red Vector Tee and Squidvader Cap. She looked very worried as she pressed her hand to Marina's head, "Mom are you okay? Are you warm?"
Eight...her sweet baby. She shouldn't have to her mother mid-silent-breakdown like this. The second in the approaching two was an Inkling. Male, tentacles styled as spikes as was common in the Square, dressed in a headset, yellow ski jacket with a reflective stripe across the shoulders and chest, and two large snow boots with orange rails. He held a standard Splattershot in his hands, and wore sunglasses and an earpiece on his face.
"Sorry that leery idiot got near ya," the Inkling spoke in a dry voice that was like a cheese grater to Marina's already aching ears, "Was a little too slow on the draw, didn't see him come up on stage. I hope you forgive me..."
"Don't worry about it, Four!" Pearl turned and gave the Agent a wink, "You saved our butts from enough stans for one tour. I'mma make damn sure those others don't forget you after this performance!"
"Heh, thank you!" Four said confidently, tipping an invisible cap towards her as a sign of respect. He paused, however, looking at Marina. He approached until he was close like Eight was, and leaned in to look her over, "Is...she, okay or...?"
Ahh the voices why the voices wasn't it over why were there voices why was it so LOUD IN HERE-
"Mom, can you hear us?" Eight cooed in worried tones, softly stroking Marina's cheek as she did so, "She's...is she-"
TOO CLOSE TOO MANY PEOPLE GET AWAY GET AWA-
Pearl whisked and pushed the two away from her beloved with a slight anger to her voice, "Naaah don't worry about it, kids. She's just havin' a funny five minutes, is all. I can handle this. Go tell those SplatAM folks we'll do the interview tomorrow, yeah?"
"Yes Dad!" Eight did a mock salute with a giggle, before taking her room-mate by the hand and dragging him away further into the New Inkshire Tower, "Come on Four, let's go!"
"She's the dad?!" Four cried out incredulously as he was dragged off, pointing at Pearl in shock. Pearl simply flashed him a smug grin and Four's expression dropped as he rounded the corner; "Actually, no that makes perfect sense..."
"Finally...aight," Pearl sighed in annoyance. Marina's breath, unknowingly tense and short after all the pressure around her, slowed to normal breathing as she realised the voices and the people were gone. Only one short Inkling remained in front of her. Who looked around to make sure they were alone, then leaned in close...and spoke; "'Rina? Rin-Rin? Can y'all hear me, girl?"
Marina's hearts fluttered almost as fast as her mind was racing. Pearl was doing her soft spoken voice. To hear the squid, often so loud, so loud she once destroyed an evil robot with it...speak barely above a whisper. Soft, hissing tones racing from her and into the Octoling's ears. Coddling and comforting them like a warm blanket was being wrapped around her eardrums. After the loud, unending screams and cheers and music and lights and...oh, it was Heaven.
Tears came to Marina's eyes as she softly cried from the elation, "H...hrrrrr..."
Two soft hands clad in rough gloves clasped her face, slowly bringing them up to meet the Inkling's face. Pearl was also twisted into a look of worry, looking at Marina as if she was walking on eggshells around her. She whispered again, "Rina? It's okay. I'm...here."
All of a sudden, the horrible thoughts in her head ceased. The Spire was but a distant memory, the stress of the World Tour fading away. Now, all that was in her reality was herself and Pearl. And she loved that. She reached up to grab Pearl's hand and take it in her own, finally speaking with an utterly ruined voice, "...Pearlie~"
"Burned out, huh?" Pearl asked, switching to speaking normally. Or, she tried. Her voice was coarse and rough. Seems her voice had gone as well, and it made Marina flinch a little. She seemed to notice, looking displeased with herself and switching back to whispers. She stroked Marina's tentacles, smiling a little as the tensed up appendages slowly softened until she were like cooked noodles in her hands. She got in close and whispered in her ear, "I'll make it up to you later, I promise. Just try to get some rest, okay?"
Ooooh Pearl was so good at making Marina shiver like that. She looked up at her wife and smiled lovingly, "...Okay."
Pearl softly kissed her Veemo's forehead, "Good girl," she got up and started to walk off, "I'll talk to you later, yeah? I love youuuuuuu~" and she left the room, turning off the light, leaving it pitch black and deathly quiet. It was...perfect. Marina smiled softly to herself as she finally swivelled around and laid down on the couch. It wasn't super comfortable, but after three straight nights of partying, it would have to do. Her mind felt clear for the first time in a week, for how long for she didn't know. Alas, she slowly closed her eyes and nodded off within minutes. All that could be heard in the dark room, now that the crowds below the stage began to disperse, was the soft snoring from the Octoling as she drifted off into dreams.
...Not good dreams, however.
===
"YOU DID THIS, CREATOR."
Marina was running. What from, she wasn’t really sure. But she knew she just had to keep running. Because if she didn’t, if she stopped, she was almost certain she’d never recover from whatever was affecting those poor squids. This wasn’t the Memverse, not anymore. If it was she still might have had a chance to fix all of this. Instead, it was all in the Square. Probably beyond by now. The world around her was cold and grey; the bright lights of the square had long been cast aside for the desaturation of the curse she had inflicted upon the world. Everywhere she looked, the greying citizens of the square slowly going limp, frozen in place like robots. Even as she checked her phone, she could see those Deep Cut guys, halfway through another spiel demeaning Inkopolis out of petty-minded inadequacy, slowly peter out and faceplant onto the floor of their studio.
"Pearl? Acht?! EIGHT?" Marina screamed as she rushed through this dying world, WHERE ARE YOU?!" there was then a sudden yelp as she tripped on a coral branch and was thrown head over heels to the ground. She groaned, nursing her bruised side as she got to her knees and looked up at where she had stopped. Her face dropped into an expression of pure terror, "No..."
She was at the Tower. What in the Memverse would be the Order Spire. But here, it was the Inkopolis Tower, warped and whitened into a crumbling mess of polygons and walls. And before her, as if this garish metal corpse was their throne, was Pearl...or, a mockery of her. Besides being several times her size and fastened to some sort of controlling terminal, she was wearing a dress that felt like a parody of her Order gear from that Finalfest. A massive set of square, bulky goggles on her face, her mouth hanging agape like she couldn’t remember to close it. And swirling around her, an aura of sorts; a digital haze with piercing eyes and mouths dipping in and out of view at times. And finally, below her, were Eight and Acht; clad in Parallel gear, silver masks with red eyes strapped to their faces, standing stock still and drone-like.
Marina already knew what had happened to her; they had lost. Order was taking over the waking world. And Pearl was to be her host.
“Pearl” spoke, her voice a mechanical buzz that gave Marina a headache, "YOU WANTED A WORLD OF ORDER. YOU CREATED ME TO HELP YOU FULFIL THIS PURPOSE. YOU WANTED A WORLD THAT WOULD NEVER CHANGE."
"I only wanted to stop the bad changes," Marina pleaded, tears already trickling down her eyes, "I didn't mean to-"
"YOU MEANT ALL OF IT" Order rebutted, so hard that Eight and Acht chimed in like a horrific hivemind, "I CREATED YOUR PERFECT WORLD. ALL INKLINGS IN LOCAL AREA HAVE BEEN ORDERED. THEY ARE FREE FROM CHANGE. FREE FROM FREE WILL. WHY DO YOU RESIST WHEN I HAVE DONE WHAT WAS ASKED OF ME? OF WHAT YOU WANTED?"
"I DIDN'T WANT THIS!!!"
Order seemed taken aback by this outburst. Marina could almost see the virtual gears turning in their head and the Pearl host ummed and urrrred as it thought of a response. The Pearl host then leaned forward, hand placed thoughtfully on its chin and staring at Marina with a look that could only be described as hunger; "...CURIOUS. PERHAPS CREATOR WAS TURNED HER BACK ON THE MEMVERSE..." another void of silence, before the Pearl host shrugged its massive shoulders, "NO MATTER. WITH OR WITHOUT YOU..." with a whooshing noise, Eight moves so fast that Marina barely sees her; Order must have stocked her full of Mobility chips! In the blink of an eye, Eight was behind Marina and holding her arms behind her back. She struggled and screamed, but to no avail. And with a forceful push, Marina was slowly wheeled towards Acht, who now had a similar mask in their hands. Order’s host grinned maniacally, "IT IS MY WORLD NOW."
"No, please don't do this to me!" Marina screamed, trying to struggle against Eight but to no avail. She only got weaker and weaker as her vision blurred and the mask slowly settled upon her face, "Pearl, wake up! I'm sorry! Pearl! PEEAAAAAARL!!!"
Suddenly, she felt nothing. And everything went...grey.
===
"Mom!" came a voice piercing through the grey, "Mom are you okay?!"
In a moment, Marina’s vision returned in a blinding flash of light. Everything was a blur, a horrible sting in her eyes as the lights above seared her vision. Every direction was blurry, up and down, left and right, all at once. There was a horrible ringing in her ears and everything hurt God it just hurt MAKE IT STOP-
Some more blurred shouting and a rough shake from the shoulders finally brought her back into reality. The light was still blinding and stingy, but at least she could now barely see where she was. The room seemed to be quite small, despite its lavish surroundings. A bedroom, of course. Draped in turquoise curtains with the Off the Hook logo on them, covering the bed and windows. Sensory-friendly lights at the side, currently turned off. Small shelves with various knicknacks from tours and adventures past. Even a little pullout desk to use a laptop on.
Marina tried desperately to blink the blurriness out of her eyes further, and eventually someone came into focus in front of her. Only barely; the harshness of the ceiling light was still drilling into her brain, but enough of a shadow was cast to make it clear that it was Eight in the same clothing as just after the show. She had both hands on Marina’s shoulders, and a worried look on her face.
"Eight..." Marina gibbered, hands shaking wildly in overstimulation, "Where...where am I!?"
Eight tried to keep her mother stable, staring her deep in the eyes (to no avail, as Marina’s darted around the room), "Mom, it's okay! Dad took you back to the tour plane. You're safe!"
Marina wasn’t even sure if she heard that. Her mind was still buzzing. From last night and that dream. Not even the first time she’d even had it. But it just kept coming back, time and time again, like a bad itch. Every time, it was the same; people greyscaling before her, Pearl overtaken by Order, Acht and Eight ready to induce her into the fold. Again and again.
Marina’s throat was hoarse as she screamed in fear, "But ORDER! OH GOD HE TOOK OVER EVERYTHING ITS ALL MY FAUL-"
Whatever was left of Marina’s fear died out as she felt Eight wrap her arms around her in the tightest hug possible, "Mom please..." Eight whispered sadly into Marina’s ear, nuzzling close so she could feel Marina’s tiny ears bounce to the tone, "The Memverse was fixed. My friends at the Splatoon are operating it safely. It will never harm anyone again..." Eight only hugged tighter as tears flowed from her eyes and her voice warbled, "It wasn't your fault..."
"...E-Eight..." Marina cried softly as the walls finally came crashing down. She sniffled and sobbed into Eight's shoulder as she cuddled her adopted daughter close and nuzzled into her soft shirt. Eight responded in kind, softly stroking Marina's tentacles and feeling as they stopped tensing up so instinctively, as well as little rubs to her ears that Pearl had told her she LOVED.
"Sssshhh, it's okay," Eight whispered, holding her face close to Marina's, "It's all over. I promise..."
More sobs came from the despondent Ex-Engineer as she scrunched her eyes shut so tight it felt like she was crushing her own face, "I'm sorry...I never should have-"
"No, no it's alright," Eight broke slightly from the hug and held Marina at arm's length. She watched Marina slowly open her eyes, though still wincing from the lights above. Nevertheless, she spoke, "We forgive you, mom. We all do. Even dad. ESPECIALLY dad. Look..." Eight reached into her pocket and took out a little memory card, handing it to her mother, "Dad said she didn't want to disturb you. Said you were sleeping so peacefully when she left. Until I heard screaming..." Marina adopted a sort of sad-dog look at the accusation, leading Eight to giggle a little and scratch the back of her head, "S-Sorry. Said she made something for you, on that card. She's gone off for the interview, said you could just stay in bed. If you want anything, let me know. Okay?"
Eight then reached over to turn off the lights from the custom switch someone had installed just by the bed, lowering the brightness down to a dim. Finally, Marina felt like she could see properly again. Eight accentuated this by switching on the sensory lights; many soft lights, in the shape and colours of their old Off the Hook logos, danced across the walls and ceiling. It almost instantly brought a sense of comfort and relief to the Octoling, watching these soft lights dance around the room. She smiled lovingly, holding Eight's hand softly, "T-Thank you, Eight."
"You're welcome!" she gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and scampered off out of the room, "Love you, mom!"
"Love you too, honey..."
And Eight was gone. Marina sighed, deciding to just sit there for a while, look at the lights. She couldn't really explain it, they just felt...right, to her. Not too harsh and strong. Sometimes, the world was just too...much. Too loud, too bright, too crowded, too MUCH. She had felt like this all her life, even in the Domes with Acht. She was able to do some research on the surface, once she got there. Some sort of mental condition(?) called "Autism". It...actually explained a lot in her life. Especially going on and on about the Excavators. But oh, Pearl had been so understanding, ever since she found out. She did her best to accommodate Marina, hence the soft lights and...whatever this memory card contained, she supposed.
Marina shuffled until she was more comfortable under the covers; a special soft blanket designed to not cause discomfort, at that. She grabbed her Pearlie plushie she absolutely loved to snuggle up with at night, then took her laptop off of the bedroom side table. She plugged in the charger, then her special sound-cancelling headphones for total silence, then slowly loaded up the card into it. There was only a single video, titled "peArlSMR". Confused, she clicked play. The video was Pearl, sitting in her room on the plane. Marina could tell because it looked like a tornado had run through it and stuff was just everywhere. She had two microphones set up on either side, just visible to the camera, and the room was dim and lit only by more soft pink lights.
"Hey 'Rina..." Pearl began. She was whispering again. Not like how she was trying to keep her voice backstage, but a genuine soft-spoken whisper. The sound was nothing like Marina had ever heard, and she could feel her tentacles curl into little spirals from it. Pearl continued after a quick wave, "I knew how you loved it when I whispered to you, right? Well, I guess I did a little digging on the whole thing. Humans called it, uh..." Pearl dug out a sheet of paper she had seemingly printed off and read from it, "Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. A-S-M-R. That's what those tingles were all about. So I...decided to make a little video for you. Looked at a lot of those videos. Some of them were...weird," Pearl flashed her a weirded-out face that made Marina chuckle, "But I think I know what to do for this one. Something I know you love~"
Pearl got something from outside of the camera's view. Two dangling silver pendants of sorts, with turquoise gems set in them. Marina recognised them almost immediately, "Wait are those my earrin-" *jingle jingle* *clank cling* *rustle rustle* “O-Oooooh...”
Pearl was shifting the earrings around, ever so slightly. They swayed and shimmied like they were in a breeze of sorts, their shiny metals causing glints and shines in the soft lights that were ever so dazzling. And the sound, of the SOUND. The jingling sound was heaven to her ears and it tumbled around the dual microphones like a symphony. Sure enough, Marina could feel them; the tingles, rushing from her head down her back and then up it again. It felt like a rush of adrenaline but without the actual pulse-pounding feeling of such. It felt so...good.
“Mmmm~ Hope you enjoyed those,” Pearl whispered smugly, if such was even possible, as she put the jewellery away, “I saw ya. Caught you playing with your own jewellery, dangling it around and watching it glisten and sparkle. Never thought you enjoyed the sounds too but, well, here we are...”
“Oh Pearlie...” Marina sighed in pure bliss, hugging the Pearlie plushie tight to her chest.
“I got a few more, don’t worry,” Pearl grinned, “I made this video to help you relax after the tour. You need it more than I do, after all...” she then sat back and placed her hands on her head in deep thought; evidentially, she hadn't planned this out. Nevertheless, a thought came to her head and she smiled, “Ooh, how about this?” she reached up to pluck the crown from off of her head, held it in both hands and started tapping it with her fingers, “Yeah. Heard tapping noises really get people going. So, why not hear the tapping of actual royalty? Heh heh...” she leaned in closer to the camera, “So. Feeling any tingles yet?”
“Oooooh yes...” Marina sighed. The dull thumping of the tapping was oddly rhythmic. Like a drumbeat, and one that showed off the sparkly jewels embedded in her crown that gave more visual spectacle to the entire thing, “Pearlie, you...you didn’t have to do this...”
“Well I hope you are. And if you ain’t, I got plenty more where that came from...” Pearl chuckled softly, though the expression on her face betrayed such a statement, “Hmm, what next? Ooh, I know...” she lifted both hands up and slowly waved them up and down, hands sweeping across like they were bobbing in a spring breeze, “How ‘bout some hand gestures. Personal attention...this, might, get awkward...” Pearl reached for the camera and put on a good show of lovingly stroking the side of it. The rubbing of her fingers on the plastic were caught by the microphones as soft sweeping sounds, “So uh...just, imagine I’m stroking your face, yeah? Man I wish I could right now. But, it’s super late while I’m recording this. You’re asleep, I’ve had to reset like, three times because of some planes goin’ by, notes on my phone..." she threw her hands up in mock exasperation, which caused Marina to giggle cutely, “I’ll uh, I’ll get something in place if I ever make a second one. Would you like that, ‘Reena?”
“Oh Cod yes please...” Marina grinned in a feeling of pure bliss. Every sound Pearl had made was more majestic than the last, her tentacles curled up so tightly they looked like nice, plump cinnamon rolls. Her heats beat against her chest, her eyes were filled with stars and her hands had totally stopped fidgeting; something that rarely was the case unless she was totally at peace.
“What else, hmmmmm...” Pearl had one final idea. Reaching under the table she placed the camera on, she grunted with effort as she brought out two salt shakers filled with something sparkly and shiny, though Marina couldn't tell what. Pearl grinned slyly, “Oh. Yes. How about some glitterrrrrrrrr~” she began to shake the shakers down around her, above her head. The shaking was admittedly a little hard on Marina's ears and she cringed a little, but the colours of the glitter were beautiful; pink and turquoise, just like her mood lights, and they sparked ever so wonderfully in the soft light of Pearl's room. This went on for a while before a look of shock appeared on Pearl's face. She looked around at the glitter that was now without a doubt stuck in her carpet. She looked up at the camera with a face that spelt out comical regret, which made Marina laugh, “Ooookay this one was, a mistake. I’ll work on it. Whatever. I do wanna say something, at least.” Pearl reached forward and gently held the camera in both hands, “Just know this, okay? No matter what comes next, I’mma be right by your side. I know, change is hard, we went through a whole adventure BECAUSE it’s hard. But this time, I’ll make sure to be there for you. Every single step of the way.”
Marina felt like she was going to cry again, holding the plushie tightly as a single tear dripped down her face, “Oh, Pearlie...”
Pearl sighed and finally stopped the whisper. Her normal voice was still super croaky, but that still felt pretty good to the buttered-up Octoling, “Okay I admit, I got nothin’ else right now. But, I hope what I’ve done today was good enough. This is...something I’m really not used to doing. But hey, if my voice is gonna be like this for a while, might as well try something new. What we wanted to do after Finalfest, eh?” a slight chuckle, then Pearl began to wave as she slowly reached for the camera’s off button, “See you tomorrow, ‘Rina. And, I hope you sleep well. I love yoooooooou.”
The video ended. Tears leapt from Marina's eyes, but for once they weren't tears of sadness or fear. They were tears of joy. She closed her laptop and put it off to the side, snuggling under the covers. Gone was the fear and paranoia that set off that rancid nightmare to begin with. All that remained was this calming bliss, of sorts. A blanketing comfort, a feeling that everything was going to be okay after all. Marina sighed dreamily as she drifted back off to sleep.
But not for too long. Had to reward her little Pearlie, after all.
===
“And then all these chips came out and WHOOOSH they spiralled into this BIIIIIIIG colour wheel and Eight was all like ‘this is your moment porl’ and I was like ‘yeah baby i know’ so I rush up and SCREAM into the big wheel and the big octopus thing goes BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!”
Pearl flopped back in her seat as she finally finished her story. If anything, Cadence was sort of glad. She had heard from other idols during this gig that Pearl was a LOUD Inkling. Even knocked down some statue with it, she heard on the grapevine. But she didn’t think this tiny creature would be THIS vocal. This interview was supposed to be with both members of Off the Hook, and take like, an hour. Right now it only had ONE and was still going after about two. Everyone in New Inkshire Port could see this was starting to drag, and the young Inkling idol was beginning to get a little restless.
Nevertheless, it was her brother and co-star, Crescendo, to speak up after the squid had finished telling her story; “Well now. I have to say, Miss Houzuki, that is quite the story you got there!”
“Yeah, it almost sounds like fiction, haha!” Cadence stifled a fake laugh, until her face fell into one of existential uncertainty, “Until you, showed the proof. Now I’m not sure what to believe in...”
“Aww, don’t worry about it,” Pearl chuckled, dismissing the concern with a wave of her hand, “The Memverse did it’s job wonderfully. We weren’t able to save ‘em all before we went back on tour, but we did hand it over to...uh, a charity, that could continue the work for us! The Sanitised Place for Leading Affected Towards Ordering Organisation - Newfounded.”
“...SPLATOON?”
Crescendo looked somewhat less than impressed, “Jeez, whoever came up with that acronym deserves a raise...and maybe a pink slip.”
“Eh, it’s fine,” Pearl reclined back in the plush but patched together burgundy chair and shrugged her shoulders, “They can work that program better than they can write about it. Heck, they can make that thing SING! Gave us all the leeway we needed to finish the world tour.”
“Which, if you...SOMEHOW slept though last night,” Cadence said, turning towards the crowd watching from outside the studio, microphone in hand, “Finished in spectacular fashion only yesterday!” She turned back to Pearl and flashed a smile, “Nice work, you two. But now that it’s all over, what do you plan to do now?”
“Honestly, Cadence?” Pearl leaned forward again, now putting on a more serious face. She clasped her hands together and looked down a little, “During all that, I promised Marina some ‘alone time’. And dang it, that’s what I’m going to give her! Besides...my voice still needs to heal a little. Ya dig?”
“Oh, I dig Pearlie...”
Pearl’s hearts jumped at the sound of that voice, as did half the crowd watching from the glass. Wait, that wasn’t right! She said she was in bed! Pearl spun around in her chair to see Marina! Clad in the bright orange neon pantsuit and black heels she wore across the world tour. Her tentacles were done up in a ponytail, however, and were curling into spirals at the tips. She had the most lovesick look in her eyes as she sauntered towards Pearl.
“WHAT THE-” was all Pearl could get out before Marina wrapped her up in her thick, strong arms and kissed her firmly on the lips. Pearl’s face instantly went bright blue as her eyes widened in utter shock. More gasps from the crowd, alongside some laughter and some cheering.
“Surprise!” Crescendo turned towards the audience with a cheeky grin on his face, “Turns out Marina Houzuki-Ida was able to make it to the show after all. Give her a big round of applause, everyone!”
And they did, clapping and hollering to their hearts’ content. Cadence clapped alongside, betraying a deflating feeling in her heart, She sighed, “I hope this doesn’t go into the lunch break...”
Marina ignored the crowd and continued to cuddle and kiss her Pearl. Eventually, Pearl was able to break for air and spoke with wavering tone, “I-I thought you were all tuckered out!”
“After what you made for me, Pearlie-Poo?” She got in close, and now it was her turn to whisper softly in the ears, “Not a chance~”
“Oh...” Pearl’s mad blush stayed on her face a little while longer, but she grinned and also got into a breathy, whispering tone, “Well, I’m absolutely gonna make more of those for ya. Any ideas, ‘Reena-Beans?”
“Oh, trust me,” Marina cooed as she planted a final soft kiss to her life partner’s sky-blue face, “I’ll think of a few~”