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Two years.
Two years of becoming official idols. Two years of singing and dancing and performing. Two years of constant invasions from crazy salmonids. Two years of fighting and drama then making up again.
Two years of memories over, just like that.
The cool wind of dawn lazily swept over the now barren Grand Festival venue. Of course, there were some jellies and inkfish hanging around here and there, but mostly everyone had gone home. This goes especially for the idols. Performing non-stop for three days in a row really does something to the body, specifically the vocal cords. Pearl and Marina are the first to go, probably to get some alone time together… whatever that might mean. And even with their epic victory in the bag, the Squid Sisters decided to rest at home instead of celebrating their win elsewhere. Perhaps the reward was a nice, long nap this whole time.
That left Deep Cut alone with the empty festival to themselves.
With nothing to do, the trio climbed onto the Giant Clam stage. Shiver and Frye’s legs dangled over the edge of the stage while Big Man sat close behind them with his drink in fin. They sat there in peaceful silence, blankly staring ahead at the worker jellies who were sweeping up the leftover confetti lingering on the ground. It wasn’t until all three of them turned to look at each other simultaneously, as if they all wanted to say the same thing, which they did.
“So, um, zero points for Team Future, huh.” Frye said, an unusually distant look in her golden eyes.
Silence swept over them for just a moment. “Heh, yeah.” Shiver eventually said, subtly scooting closer to their bandmates. “It was rigged from the start, I just know it.”
Frye half-heartedly giggled. “I know, right?”
Big Man slurped on his cup of lemonade, gaze drifting from his bandmates to the beautiful sunrise ahead of them. Confused by the lack of words from the manta ray, Frye took a glance at him, concern eating at her stomach as she studied his sorrowful facial expression. “Biggsy? Are you good?” She asked.
“Ay. Ay… ay… (Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just… that…) It doesn’t take a millisecond before Big Man’s lips quivered violently and rivers of tears poured out of his eyes. He attempted to cover his eyes like a plumber stopping a water leak, but that didn't exactly help with anything. “Ay! AY! (It’s over! It’s really over!)” He cried. He hitched a breath, failing to compose himself. “Ay. (No more splatfests, and no more performing with both of you guys…)”
As Big Man sobbed, wrapping his fins around his beloved bandmates. Shiver and Frye instinctively exchanged a look, before both of their eyes began to get watery. Suddenly, the realization hit them like a double-decker bus, and all three members are now sobbing loudly and uncontrollably, holding onto each other as if they would drift away if they ever dared to let go. It attracted the attention of several nearby clean-up jellies, who looked up at the weeping trio with worry. One of them even walked up to the group with a tissue box, which Frye grabbed without glancing at it. Shiver wiped their tears as majestically as possible, Frye continued to sob into hers, and Big Man blew his non-existent nose as hard as he could. The tissues seemed to work just a little bit.
“I-is it really over?” Frye asked, voice warbling without her consent. “Will we really never, ever perform ever again!?”
“I don’t think so.” Shiver replied, still desperately trying to catch anymore tears with their drenched tissue. “We will most likely be able to make a comeback in…” They hesitated for several moments, already regretting saying anything as they listened to Big Man and Frye’s sad sniffles of anticipation. “...in about f-five years.”
With that, another realization hit, and the three of them began to sob all over again. This time, they didn’t feel like taking a tissue, so they huddled up even closer, clinging onto each other like their life seriously depended on it. It took a slightly shorter time for them to calm down. Well, except for Frye, who was having a hard time breathing under the pressure of bittersweet idol group hugs.
“Wait WAIT! Let go, Big Man, I can’t breathe! ” Frye wheezed, softly slapping the manta ray’s huge fin as a cry for help.
“AY! Ay… (ACK! Sorry…)” He let them go and simply switched to putting his fins around their shoulders, still feeling guilty about almost suffocating his friends. Unfortunately, Shiver mourned the warmth of his fins, but felt too shy to say it. They would never know that Frye felt the same way.
The content inkling let out a satisfied sighed as she embraced the huge wave of nostalgia that swept over her. She soaked in the post-splatfest sights and sounds, savoring the moment that she knew would later become a memory. “I’m gonna miss this forever.”
Big Man hummed in agreement. “Ay. (Me too.)”
“That makes all three of us.” Shiver said. “I’m… not sure how we’re going to recover from this, I admit.”
“Ay. (And it’s true.)” Big Man added, a dejected tone slipping into his speech. “Ay? (We’re not going to perform anytime soon anymore, aren’t we?)
Frye chuckled and playfully elbowed him, like she hadn’t just bawled her eyes out together with her best friends a few minutes ago. “Well, we’re team future, right?”
“Ay… (Known for losing by a whopping zero points…)”
“Gah! Never mind that!” She swiftly hooked her arm around Shiver, causing their face to flush. (Which Big Man almost verbally pointed it out, but quickly realized that he knew better.) “We always look towards the future! Before we know it, we’ll be on stage in no time! C’mon, Big Man, whaddaya say?”
Frye’s smile slowly dropped as the depressed manta ray stared at the floor with no response. The inkling opened her mouth, but closed it again, unsure how to make him hopeful when in reality, she wasn’t either. Shiver extended their hands, holding his fin in an attempt to comfort him. “Big Man, are you… afraid of losing us?”
They instantly backtrack upon noticing the subtle quiver of his lip. “Oh, Big Man…. You’re going to make us cry again.”
“Ay! Ay! (Sorry! Sorry!)” Frye handed him another tissue, to which Big Man wisely used it to wipe his wet eyeballs again. “Ay… ay (I know this is the end and… I feel like I’m losing everything .)
“You’ll never lose the memories and you’ll never lose us, Big Man.” Frye took his other fin, looking deep into his sparkling eyes. “We promise.”
And for the one millionth time, they hugged, but not out of fear this time. Rather, it was the joy of never having to forget about everything, because it was all there. Maybe not physically, but it’s there. It will always be there, and maybe that was what mattered the most to them.
Shiver smiled. “It’s just the beginning, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, we’ll come back someday.”
“Ay. (In the future.)”
…
“Yeah. In the future.”