It was a morning where Captain Sea was half aware and half asleep, muddling through dreams in which they struggled to stay afloat in the Seven Seas. All of a sudden, they remembered they were just on a bed. Through the window, the morning sun shone into their eyes.
Wait, is the sun up?! A thought turned to panic. I need to be at the Survival Stadium by dawn! I’m late!
There was no time to check a clock or a phone. Sea jumped off the bed, slapped on their uniform and sprinted out of their Kinikolu suite. An elevator was on the same floor, as if it was waiting. Going down the elevator Sea could still imagine stopping on some other floor, dreading how another athlete stumbling in would waste precious moments Sea needed.
To the Oceanic’s surprise, the elevator shot straight down to the lobby. Then, outside the elevator door, a barrage of camera flashes nearly blinded Sea. It was hard to make out what every marble said, but most were yelling “journalist” of some sort. Questions were shouted forward, nonstop, intended for “… the latest marble sports champion.”
Hearing those words woke Sea out of their daze. There were no more survival races left, because they won the tournament. Now they had to go back to the real world.
(Photo Credit: Jelle’s Marble Runs)
It was the day after the Marble Survival 100 Closing Ceremony; noon had come through and slipped by. After handling a makeshift press conference in the hotel lobby, Sea had a whole afternoon to themself before the whole team would fly into Kinikolu and reunite.
Sea saw another text from Coach Neptune: If you want to kill time, go over to the Stadium and show the trophy off to our fans! But, looking up from their phone, Sea also saw the Marbuses: fleet upon fleet outside of the hotel. Each bus was packed with tourists leaving the resort; together, they were stuck in traffic on a road far too narrow to hold them all.
Sea knew these tourists were rushing off to the next big event. Oceanics fans make up a small minority of them. Maybe they’ll leave to attend a Marbula invitational race, or a regional marble sports tournament, or some secret third thing – events Sea had taken part in before, though maybe never again. The more they thought about the fans, the more nauseous they felt.
Sea took off again, but in search of a more familiar place. It was not much later that afternoon when they rolled onto the beach on Kinikolu’s other side that, in this final week, was also their secret hideaway.
The cool seawater lapped around them as they rolled out of land. Sea was treading water as they swam this far out from the shore – and then something jumped out.
“Guu-ahhh! Who in Triton’s name is this?!” Sea yelled while the foam dissipated. But then the Oceanics captain saw it was a blue marble, whose dark swirls looked too familiar.
“Hiya, Sea! Did you really think I wouldn’t congratulate you before you left?” said the former Oceanic in front of them.
“You freaked me out, Shore,” replied Sea. “And since when could you hold your breath underwater this long?”
Shore had brought towels, and both marbles were laying on them to soak up the rays. The two childhood friends bantered, mostly around Shore’s life after buying out ten acres in the Globular Archipelago. From saving up during their marble sports career, Shore now had property an hour by motorboat from the Globular main island and Dunduei.
The former Oceanic now fills up their day fishing for marcrabs, or watering saplings for a future grove; a life not on the cards until they submitted their resignation in 2022, right after Marbula One ended.
“I knew you would be mad at me, but we were writing letters and calling and it seemed fine,” said Shore. “Then you were the one who stopped reaching out in December.”
“Management got complicated, that’s all,” said Sea. “They were talking halfway during the Showdown about the new athletes I should scout out. It took up all my time. Everyone is getting along now.”
“I saw, Sea! I snuck up on one of the new members when they and the Coach flew in,” said Shore. “They almost burst into song describing training with you. But why are you acting so upset?”
“My feelings don’t matter, Shore,” said Sea. “The Survival trophy is a good way to cap a career. It doesn’t change how I’m at the beginning of the end. Everyone thinks I have one great season left in me. Two if I’m lucky. We can leave it at that.”
With those words, Shore sat up straight and looked right at Sea. “Don’t ‘leave’ anything from me after this long!” said Shore. “Why are you so happy to hide inside yourself, and assume the worst about everyone else?”
“We always had great teamwork, Shore. But you left first. The two of us can never win a Marble League together anymore. I still think about it.”
With those words, Sea sat back up and started to roll in the rainforest’s direction. Behind them was Shore, yelling: “Don’t guilt trip me, Sea! I told you why it was time for me to hang it up. I wanted a second wind in something that’s not professional sports. My time freed up to learn about diving! I still have my deep sea photography to show you and–”
Sea turned around. “It’s not a guilt trip, Shore. I just regret the chances we missed. We should be better remembered than we are. We were good enough.”
Shore bumped into Sea before stopping completely. “My marb, regret isn’t how I’d put it,” they said. “We talked to so many happy fans. We hosted a Marble League. We toured all of Marblearth together. We even won a Winter Special! How many marbles had our luck with all our opportunities?
“And nothing says it’s over for you! Both of us did what was best for us, Sea… we took two different paths, but each path still offers a freedom of choice after all these years. You can make new friends with these teammates. You can make today a new beginning. “
For Sea, Shore’s words brought back memories of 2019, when fans jumped out of the benches and scrawled “NOCEANICS” on their banners. But when was the last time Sea thought about that? The past few days had been filled with overtaking action that pumped Sea up; sights of Oceanics fans cheering during the trophy ceremony; and other athletes congratulating and toasting them.
Sea looked at their phone again, and what was now dozens of unread messages from Neptune and their teammates. Indeed, with each text conversation it was Sea who never replied back.
“I can see you’re right, Shore,” said Sea. “It’ll take time for me to really believe it in my heart. But I am trying.”
Sea heard something vibrate on Shore’s end. “Well… not to change the topic,” said Shore. “But how much free time do you still have?”
“Probably two hours before I have to meet the team. Why?”
“Well… I had this whole plan to take you out of your comfort zone. Ten minutes ago, I sent a text to a fellow athlete. Someone who really admires you. That must be a reply saying they’re here…”
Both Sea and Shore heard a marble holler at them and turned around. It was a marble clothed in pure yellow, gleaming as much under the sun as they did under stadium lights, the only racer next to Sea yesterday out the gate.
“Didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that,” said Yellah. “I just wanted to say… It was a great race with you out there. I wasn’t really familiar with your game.”
“Oh, I could say the same,” said Sea. “Funny how you’re such friends with my buddy before reaching out to me.”
“Well, as I told Shore… I don’t think that last race between us showcased the best of us. I swear the starting gate wasn’t aligned the right way.
“There’s a lovely stretch of sand and shore right here, so…” gestured Yellah to their surroundings. “Why don’t we say we make it best two out of three?”
Sea smiled. “Cool, it’s on.”
Credits
- Writer: Fouc
- Copyeditors/Editors: Phoenix, Millim, Stynth
- Artist: Momoikkai
- Photo Credits: Jelle’s Marble Runs
- Reference: Marble Survival 100
- Release: 11/01/2025
Project Marblearth 