"Hello everyone. My name is Clyde McBride. I'm Lincoln's best friend and Lori's future husband..."

Uh, Clyde?

"Huh? Oh sorry, I zoned out there thinking about Lori."

Dude, your cool and all. but you need to find a girl in your age group.

"Criticism aside... Allanarcher777 here..."

Sup.

"Hired me to help him introduce this chapter. And man is he paying a lot."

And by a lot, he means 20 dollars and medicine to help with nose bleeds.

"Still a lot in my book. Are we done?"

We gave a greeting, warmed the audience up, and I also would like to take the time to thank the readers for their patience. Now we are done. Later Clyde.

"See ya. I'm going to go get an ice cream."

Well, enjoy everybody!

Chapter 6: Day out at Kelp Dome

Lincoln Loud was sitting on the living room couch, playing a video game at his own leisure. It was one of the boy's escapes from the chaos his life brought with being the middle child in a household filled with females. As he mashed buttons on his controller, a voice called out for him. "Lincoln." He ignored it and kept playing. "Lincoln…" The voice called again, slightly more agitated. Yet Lincoln continued as normal. He was just about to clear the level he was on when suddenly the screen went back and the voice called for him again, this time yelling. "LINCOLN!"

Lincoln yelped in surprise and turned to face the voice that was calling to him. He was surprised to see the individual in question was his mother, who appeared rather frustrated. "Lincoln, that settles it, you've been playing way too many video games!" She scolded as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I thought you've already learned this lesson before, but apparently I was wrong."

"But Mom, this isn't fair." Lincoln's gaze shifted towards the dining room where he saw his little sister, Lucy sitting at the table reading a book. "Besides, Lucy is even lazier than I am!" He remarked. Lucy heard the blame and looked up and turned towards Lincoln.

"Excuse you?"

"Now Lincoln, don't try and…" The inkling mother drifted off and started to recall her darkness loving daughter's history. Sitting in home. Staying indoors. The pale skin. And even sitting in cramped areas in the form of a black lump like squid. "Actually, you have a point." Lucy was taken aback by how her mother's attention was starting to shift.

"Mom. You know how much I prefer the darkness." She pleaded. Yet Rita's mind was set and locked in tough love mode.

"Lucy, this has nothing to do with what you like or your personal interests. It's a matter of your health. Sitting inside all day isn't right." She asserted. "And where do you think you are going, Lincoln?" She asked with an authority that made Lincoln freeze in place as he was trying to sneak upstairs into his room. "That's right, I know what you were trying to do and it is not working. Now get back down here." Lincoln glumly complied as he turned into a white squid and slid back down the steps beside his goth sister. He took humanoid shape again and the pair looked down at the floor.

Rita saw how upset her children looked and felt a little bad. She tried to think of something that would appease all their wants and needs as a group. Yet she struggled to think of something on the fly. Yet as fate would have it, Lynn came rushing down the stairs carrying a sack of cash. "Bye, Mom. I'm off to the square to play in Turf Wars. I'll try and be back around three!" She claimed. An idea sparked in the mother's mind at the sight of her 5th eldest child. Rita stopped Lynn before she could get out the door.

"Hold on, Lynn. Wait a minute before you leave." She turned back around to Lincoln and Lucy and took a deep breath. "Alright you two, lazy squids. You have a choice. On one hand, I can sign you up for the football team…" Lincoln felt a chill ripple through his body as his mother looked squarely at him with a mischievous smile. Rita's eyes then shifted to her daughter as she continued. "…and the cheerleader squad respectively." Lucy gasped in utter horror at the remark. The mere thought of being dressed in the peppy outfit with her tentacles in a twin ponytail style nearly made her gag.

"You wouldn't."

"Or, you could spend the whole day playing outside with your big sister." The matriarch of the Louds offered gesturing her head towards Lynn, who looked rather confused at what was happening. Lincoln and Lucy glanced at each other and both swallowed the lumps in their throats as they broke a sweat. "Well? What's it going to be?" After a moment of silence, the pair let out a sigh in defeat.

"Ok. I'll go with Lynn."

"Me too. A day in the sun and getting shot at with ink is more tolerable than having to prance around like a fairy or singing like a silly pop star." A pair of gasps were heard from the kitchen and all four inklings turned to see Lola holding a juice box and Luna trying to make a sandwich. They were petrified by Lucy's remarks and Lola dropped the box on the floor, spilling juice all over the ground. Everyone could feel the tension rise. Lucy tried to reply, but Lola held up one finger and took a deep breath.

"Because you didn't know we were here, you get a 10 minute head-start." She offered.

"Better not waste it dude. The tide goes out pretty quickly for people who diss what I like." Luna threatened. Without any further input, Lincoln and Lucy hurried upstairs and grabbed a couple of Splattershot Jrs. From Lynn's room. Once they got the toy guns, they hustled out the door tailing behind Lynn. After a bit of running, they managed to get to Inkopolis Square with no sight of Lola and Luna. Lincoln's gaze drifted a bit until he saw something that peaked his interest. He gazed upward, awing in wonder at The Shoal arcade.

"I know what's going through your mind, little bro. But no way. Turf war is nothing like football and I think you'll like it, you too Luce." Lynn remarked optimistically. Lucy didn't bother responding as she just walked towards Deca Tower. Lynn lunged forward and grabbed her little sister's shoulder. "Whoa. Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to get this waste of time over with."

"With those!?" Lynn asked pointing at the tiny weapons they had. "No way, I'm getting you guys started with more advanced tools. Follow me." She commanded. Lincoln and Lucy groaned as they followed her to the left side of the street and the trio walked into a store with turf war weapons lining the walls and shelves. Lincoln looked around and grew a little anxious around all the various weapons. Each and every one of them looked like they could cause some serious terror, and the thought of being hit with one of them caused him to break a small sweat. Lynn however was rather excited to be in the building. "Here it is, guys. Welcome to Ammo Knights!" Lucy looked around and shrugged.

"I don't think anyone is here." Lynn made note of this and saw a small note taped above a red button that was mounted on the wall. She walked over to it and read the paper.

'If no one is here, push the button for service.' Lynn did as the paper said and pushed the red button, causing a buzzer to sound throughout the store. Almost immediately after, a small green lump shook around on the floor. The Louds turned to face it as the object seemed to rise off the ground, revealing a short individual with thick black and orange goggles over his eyes. He almost looked like a child playing soldier with the clashing peach colored baby face and green and gray army outfit.

"Sorry for the wait. I was looking at some blueprints of new weapons coming to the market." He apologized as he adjusted the helmet on his head. He looked around and spotted Lynn, immediately causing a happy, bucktooth smile to form on his face. "Well, well, well. Lynn Loud Jr. is back already? How did you like the new Tentatek Splattershot I gave you?" He asked. Lynn chuckled and walked over to the stout crab-like person.

"Great. I thought the dualies would fit me, but you know your stuff and you aren't even an Inkling." The girl complimented as she punched the man's arm. "Can't wait until I have the money to buy the Pro model." Sheldon chuckled and rubbed the spot where Lynn punched. "Lincoln and Lucy, this is Sheldon. He owns this whole place. Sheldon, this is my brother and sister. We're here to get some weapons for them to have a head start in turf wars." Lynn explained. Lucy stood motionless while Lincoln gave a rather, nervous wave. Sheldon looked at the pair and started to nod in understanding.

"I see. Well, anyone who is fine by Lynn is fine by me. Now, let's see what I can find you two…" Sheldon walked over to the pair and looked over Lincoln up and down. He stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes. After a solid 10 seconds of staring at Lincoln, he snapped his fingers and pointed at the white tentacle inkling. "You are a very persistent person." He stated very bluntly.

"Persistent? What are you talking about?" Lincoln asked confused by the statement.

"You constantly struggle through adversity in your life. The odds are almost always stacked against you in everything in life. Yet, you don't take it lying down either." Lincoln was silent as the man explained himself. "You don't snap from all the pressure placed on you. Instead you adapt, endure, and grow from it all. You often think your way through a problem and have a plan for any situation. It doesn't matter if things are calm or chaotic, you get the job done!" The crab finished. Lincoln was in awe at the man's speech. His mouth was agape at how accurate Sheldon was with his personality.

He blinked twice before he spoke again. "You knew all that just by looking at me?"

"I have a talent for deducing my customer's mindset. And I happen to have a weapon just for people like you." Sheldon went over to one shelves and started to browse all the various types of guns. Eventually, he saw the one he wanted to give Lincoln and grabbed it. He turned to the boy and presented his recommendation. "Here you go, Lincoln. I find this will suit you perfectly." Lincoln looked at the so-called 'gun' and his gaze shifted into one of disappointment.

"That's just a plastic soda bottle with a gun trigger taped to it."

"In design, yes. But in performance, the Squeezer is top of the line in versatility. Follow me to the training room, I'll show you how to use it." Sheldon then led the group into a backroom that looked like some sort of garage with a transparent roof. Various balloons were mounted to the ground like training dummies and Sheldon handed the Squeezer to Lincoln and began to explain how it worked. "Pulling the trigger repeatedly will make it shoot out powerful shots over a fair distance one at a time. But holding it produces a short range rapid fire to cover turf quickly." He explained. Lincoln focused and shifted the color of his tentacles into a light shade of blue and tried using the weapon the way Sheldon described pulling the trigger 3 times in a row. Each time, a single burst of ink the same color as his hair was flew outward over a couple feet. After that, he held the trigger and caused a stream of ink to coat the ground where he stood. A small smile formed on his face as he proceeded to fire a few shots at one of the balloons, making it pop. Lincoln grinned and hummed to himself in satisfaction.

"Not bad actually." The boy remarked as his hair turned back to his regular shade of white.

"If that wasn't enough, it comes with a Splash Wall, so you can create a makeshift shield. As well as a Stingray for long range devastation." Sheldon wrapped up his explanation with a chuckle. "Yes sir, that is a weapon set for squids that want to do it all.

"What about me?" Lucy spoke suddenly from behind Sheldon. The crab was caught off guard by her sudden appearance and retreated into his helmet like shell. After a few seconds, he regained his composure and came back out, readjusting his goggles in the process. Sheldon cleared his throat and looked Lucy over. Eventually, Sheldon started to piece together an analysis on the girl.

"You are… complex to say the least. You are quiet and rather self reserved. You prefer to keep to yourself and not concern yourself with matters that don't directly effect you or your peers. But when you open up to those you are close to, you share a lot. And despite the cold exterior and dark colors, you are very artistic and caring." Lucy didn't say anything at first. But after a few seconds, she shrugged.

"I guess that was pretty accurate."

"Well, I also happen to have a weapon just for you as well." Sheldon smugly replied as he ran back inside his store and rummaged around looking for the item in question. Eventually, he found the trinket and ran back into the training area carrying the weapon he thought Lucy would like. "Here you are. Sleek, sneaky, and stylish all wrapped into a single package." Sheldon presented the weapon to Lucy and her emotionless expression didn't change as she gawked at it through the tentacles that made her bangs.

"That's just an umbrella." She stated. Nevertheless, Lucy grabbed it by the handle and inspected it. "I mean. It's black, which is my favorite color, but not much else about it." She stated bluntly.

"It may look like a standard umbrella. But that is the Undercover Brella. It's capable of firing rapid shots while the canopy is opened to use as a shield. It's even outfitted with the quickest self-repair mechanism on the market to patch it up if it breaks. It was actually modeled after this crazy spy movie, which had a similar..."

"Hey, hey, HEY! Easy Point-Dexter. You're ranting about extra details again." Lynn scolded as she cut Sheldon off. The crab looked down ashamed as if a child got scolded by their mother.

"Sorry. Force of habit. What is important is that it comes with inkmines and the Splashdown as self defense tools to compliment its stealth capabilities." Sheldon summarized as a smile returned to his face. Lucy located a small trigger at the bottom of the weapon's handle and pulled it, causing a shot to fire and open the canopy, releasing multiple more shots and spreading a lot of black ink all over the floor. Lucy shrugged and closed the brella in content.

"I guess I could work with this." She remarked.

"Glad you like it. But…" Sheldon trailed off.

"But what?"

"But black ink is not an official color allowed by regulations." Sheldon chuckled. Lucy and her siblings looked at the ground and the girl felt a large feeling of disappointment overwhelm her.

"Sigh."

The group went back into the main room of the store with Lincoln and Lucy holding the weapons Sheldon recommended for them. Lynn took a small breath and looked Sheldon dead in the eye. "So, how much do we owe you?" She asked. Sheldon narrowed his eyes and weighed his options. Both inkling and crab seemed to be looking at several scenarios one after the other in their minds. Cautious about how things would go if one made a wrong move of some sort. Eventually, Sheldon nodded and spoke again.

"Well since they are your family, and you are a bigger Turf War enthusiast than I am, I think you deserve a fair discount. Let's say about 40 percent?" He offered. Lynn paused for a moment and responded.

"50 percent."

"45. Take it or leave it."

"Deal." After reaching an agreement, Lynn pulled out a large sack of cash and placed it on the counter. "Alright, guys. You ready to go to Deca Tower now?" Lucy looked down at the floor and crossed her arms.

"Are you absolutely sure that we can't just go somewhere else and pretend we went to a Turf War with you?" She asked. Before Lynn or Lincoln could make a follow up statement, a shrill scream echoed through the square and caused them to look out the window. Outside, they saw Lola and Luna asking talking to various people with homemade wanted posters.

They read: (WANTED! LUCY LOUD. GUILTY OF CALLING DANCING AND POP-STARS STUPID. ALIVE.) As wells as having a picture of Lucy on them. Both sisters were asking around for the goth in their own ways, with Luna asking around politely for information. But on the other hand, Lola was more forceful and aggressive. "I know she's here. And I know you've seen her. Now where is she?" she yelled at a blue jellyfish person wearing a yellow shirt.

"I don't know where this girl is. I swear!"

"LIES!" The jellyfish ran off screaming as Lola gave chase. "I CAN FIND OUT WHERE YOU LIVE!" She hollered. Everyone inside Ammo Knights could only gawk in horror as Lola terrorized the poor man. Lucy in particular felt her blood turn to ice at the sight of her sister's anger. She used the Undercover Brella to cover her face.

"On second thought, my eternal rest can wait a couple more years." She sighed in defeat. Lincoln and Lynn scooched beside her and proceeded to sneak past the angry sisters and into Deca Tower. As they walked through the lobby to the registry terminal, Lincoln and Lucy made note of all the other inklings in the building. Each and every one of them looked fierce and competitive. Decked out in various gear made specifically for battle. Lincoln swallowed the lump in his throat as Lynn started to sign the three of them up for a match.

"Yeah, we are definitely out of our element." He stated bluntly. Lynn waved the remark off rather smugly.

"Relax you two. It's just that they have their 'game faces' on. After a while, you'll have your own and understand it's nothing more than…" Lynn trailed off as something on the match status caught her eye. She started to laugh uncontrollably, worrying her siblings. "Oh, classic! Hey Luce, check it out!" Lucy anxiously looked at the screen and found what was making the jock laugh. A small grin formed on Lucy's face.

"Ha ha. Looks like fate seems to be shining a light on our brother today. But is it of fortune or misery?" She spoke in a monotone voice despite her happiness. Lincoln raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"What are you two talking about?" The sister's stepped aside and showed Lincoln the screen. His eyes trailed through the names of people on both teams. He didn't see anything that alarming at first. Just that both his sisters were on the enemy team. But as he looked at his own, one name caught him by surprise and almost caused him to faint. "RONNIE ANNE!? She's in this match? On my team?" Lynn laughed even harder.

"I know! Love on the battlefield. This is priceless." Lincoln looked down with a small pink blush on his cheeks. Lynn slowed her giggles down and ruffled the tentacles on his head. "Aw, chill out Stinkoln. If it makes you feel better, chances are you're not the only one that's gone through this exact situation." She comforted. "Now come on you two. It's game time!" She cheered as she went through one of the transport tubes. Lincoln and Lucy looked at each other and took a deep breath as Lucy followed Lynn and Lincoln went down his own tube.

When the sisters emerged, they turned and got a good look at each other. Lucy looked at her sister's tentacles and then at her own. She shrugged in response to the dark purple hew they have taken in place of her usual black. "Hmm. It's not my first choice, but at least it's not super bright." Lucy remarked as two more inklings, one boy and one girl, showed up beside them with their weapons. Lynn didn't really bother to greet them as she was focused on trying to spot Lincoln over on the other side of the building. Eventually, she spotted something come out of the yellow spawn point across the arena. She smiled as she saw the squid take the shape of her brother.

As Lincoln stood up, he recognized the building he was currently inside. "Kelp Dome? I thought this place was just for Lisa and her scientist co-workers to perform experiments on plants. They have turf wars in here?" He asked himself. To his surprise, someone responded.

"Yep. And it's not even the weirdest place to play." Lincoln turned and saw a girl wearing a dark purple hooded sweatshirt. The hood covered all the tentacles on her head and left her tan colored face exposed. "Sup, Lame-O. Finally trying turf war?" She asked.

"Oh, hey Ronnie Anne. And yeah, Lucy and I came with Lynn. Albeit reluctantly." Lincoln responded. Ronnie Anne smirked and twirled a large Ink Brush over her shoulder.

"Well, I'll understand if you bomb. And the new hairstyle you have is definitely a nice consolation prize." She chuckled as she pointed at Lincoln. He looked up to find his hair and been dyed from his usual snowy white to a bright yellow. Ronnie Anne started to laugh even harder. "You look like lemon!" She joked. Lincoln looked at his reflection in the spawn point and chuckled a little bit.

"I'd say more of a tennis ball color." He retorted just as another pair of inklings showed up. "So, this is our team?"

"Looks like it. Well, let's rock and roll!" Ronnie Anne cheered. Soon, Judd and Lil' Judd showed up and pulled out a laptop to display the match stats.

PURPLE TEAM

Lynn: Tentatek Splattershot

Lucy: Undercover Brella

Shelly: Luna Blaster NEO

Mitch: Goo Tuber

YELLOW TEAM

Lincoln: Squeezer

Ronnie Anne: Ink Brush Noveau

Corin: Tri Slosher

Jasmine: H-3 Nozzelnose D

There was a tense feeling in the air as both teams got ready to fight. Lincoln and Lynn took aim with their respective weapons. Ronnie Anne took an eager stance with her brush, ready to start running. Lucy pointed her brella forward, ready to fire. The tension built to a high level and no one, not even the Judds, dare to break it. Then in an instant, that tension was smashed as the starting siren wailed and both teams took off.

Lynn sprayed her ink to both her left and right sides before going to her right and going up a ramp. She walked onto the metal grating above the centerfield. She spread some more ink and coated the ground below purple. As she was covering the floor, she felt some ink graze her and she reeled back from the pain. Lynn traced the projectile to Corin, the boy with the Tri Slosher. "Get back here! I'm not finished yet!" He shouted as he swung the bucket and tried to splat Lynn. Lynn's eyes darted around until she thought of something.

"Alright, come and get me." Lynn taunted as she started to morph into a squid. Her opponent did the same and slipped through the grate below their feet. However, before Lynn slipped through, she quickly stopped and turned back into a humanoid form, securing the high ground. Quickly taking aim, she opened fire on Corin and splat him before he realized what happened. "Booyah!" Lynn cheered as she continued her assault.

Meanwhile, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne decided to travel together. The girl charged forward and left a trail of yellow on the ground that Lincoln swam through. After a bit of running, the pair made it to the center and ducked behind the wall. "How you holding up, Lincoln?" The tough girl asked.

"I'm pretty good." Lincoln replied. He threw a small device that grew taller when it hit the ground, making a wall like curtain of ink. Lincoln took aim with his Squeezer and fired a few shots at the inkling with the Goo Tuber, splatting him and leaving a small ghost to float back to the enemy spawn. Ronnie Anne whistled in awe of Lincoln's marksmanship. Lincoln himself was a little surprised. "Whoa. Guess that's beginners luck if I've ever seen it." He remarked, confused by his performance.

"Well don't let it go to your head. Come on, we should probably try and slip into the enemy base and grab some extra points." Ronnie Anne suggested as she started to dash forward towards a small alcove behind another wall. She reached into her pocket and dropped a small Inkmine behind her. Ronnie Anne ducked behind the wall and tightened the grip on her brush as she felt energy build up inside of her. "Alright, I have my special ready. I'll go in and wear them down so you can give me more cover after. Ready, Lame-o?" She asked eagerly. However, no response came. "Lincoln?" She asked again.

Curious, Ronnie Anne retraced the path of ink with her eyes back to where she started. When she looked back, amidst the chaotic battle of the other players, she saw a pool of purple ink where she had last seen Lincoln. Ronnie Anne came to the conclusion that he was splatted and was about to go by herself when she heard a voice. "My brother didn't see it coming. And you won't either."

"Lucy!?" Ronnie Anne jumped up and aimed her brush forward, ready to swing at the Loud whenever and wherever they popped up. She remained on guard, waiting for the girl to pop up. Before she knew it, an Inkling was right next to her.

"Boo." Lucy whispered in her rival's ear. Ronnie Anne let out a quick scream and activated her special. A plastic pouch attached to her ink tank inflated and encased Ronnie Anne in a transparent bubble. She rolled away from Lucy trying to get to the opposite side of the stage. Eventually, she felt like she had gotten far enough away and started to fill the space around her with yellow ink. Eventually, it filled up so much the ball exploded and left Ronnie Anne in the middle of a large yellow pool. She panted heavily, looking several ways to make sure the coast was clear. But her relief was short lived as Lucy popped up again and fired at her from behind.

"You know that there was another passage through my base that lead here, right?" She asked as she jumped down and took aim for another shot. Ronnie Anne panicked and tried to take a few swings at Lucy with her brush. Unfortunately, the goth was out of reach and fired another shot, wounding her opponent. Without many options left, Ronnie Anne decided to cut her losses and retreat. She started to transform so she could swim in the ink to a safer location. Lucy was about to land the final blow to splat her, but stopped and took a good look at Ronnie Anne's transformation. Her alternate form had a more rounded head than usual. "That was… weird." Lucy remarked in confusion.

Lucy was about to continue and cover more turf, but was caught off guard by another inkling with the H-3 Nozzelnose D. They laughed as Lucy's spirit returned to the respawn point. "Next time, stay focused you little freak!" She taunted. The girl was about to continue her mission to conquer the arena, when Lynn jumped out of some ink on the center wall and splatted her. As the ghost began to float away, Lynn shouted angrily at it.

"Say anything like that about my little sis again, and you're history!" She promised. As she continued to spray the ground, she felt her tentacle hair start to glow and power build up inside her. "Oh yeah! It's Inkjet time!" She cheered in excitement. Lynn was about to activate it when she saw Lincoln over in the distance. He was also glowing and noticed her as well. Time seemed to slow down as they locked eyes and stared each other down.

Eventually, Lynn and Lincoln both activated their special weapons and began to fight. Lynn's tank turned into a jet pack and her weapon became some sort of cannon. Lincoln on the other hand summoned his Stingray, took aim, and fired a high powered stream at his sister. Lynn drifted to the side and barely dodged the laser-like trail of ink as it grazed her arm. She pointed the cannon in her arms towards Lincoln and pulled the trigger to launch an explosive glob of purple ink. The burst landed next to Lincoln and caused him to stumble and swerve his shot as he moved covered in ink. It careened into Lynn again and soaked her in more ink until she ended up being splatted. Lincoln panted in amazement and soon found himself laughing. As Lynn floated back to her spawn point, she couldn't help but feel proud of her little brother for his victory. "Not bad, little bro. Not as good as me but you are keeping pace." She remarked to herself.

As Lynn reformed at her team's base, a voice rang out throughout Kelp Dome. "One minute left. Now or never!" Lynn grinned in response to the message and jumped off her spawn point, spraying in multiple directions while charging forward. All the while the other inklings unleashed their true strength as well. In the distance, Lynn saw a large explosion of purple ink in the form of a Splashdown, wondering for a moment if it was Lucy or her teammate with the Goo Tuber. Nevertheless, she still pushed on. "Come on, Lynn. Keep pushing on!" She encouraged herself as she sprayed more and more of the ground. She was about to move into the rival base, until an Inkbrush splashed some yellow goo in her face.

"Not quite, Lynn!" Lynn wiped the ink off her face to find Ronnie Anne blocking her way. "Come at me whenever you want!" She taunted. Lynn grinned knowing that's exactly what her opponent wanted.

"A gun in a sword fight? Nah, you come over to me instead." With that, Lynn sunk into her ink and started to refill on ammo for her weapon. But as she slipped back, she missed a small patch of yellow that exploded in the form of an Inkmine. "Ugh, AHH!" Lynn screamed as she frantically made a small opening for her to escape her rival's assault. She used the last of the ink in her tank to throw a Splatbomb. Ronnie Anne jumped back in fear of the explosive devices potential. But before it detonated, Ronnie Anne felt something slide across her skin, covering her whole body and solidifing like a shell.

The Splatbomb burst against the shell and it broke apart as a result. Lynn was stunned at the turn of events. "How did you do that?"

"Heh, it pays to have even one teammate with Ink armor on your team." Ronnie Anne swung her brush one more time and felt energy bubble up inside her again. She activated her Baller and rolled over towards the center of the arena. As Lynn followed her and tried to cover the ink trail, the final count began to end the match.

"5…4…" Ronnie Anne climbed the center platform. "3…2…" She filled the ball with ink and pressure built up inside. "1…" SPLOOSH! The ball exploded and the game had ended with a surplus of yellow ink outnumbering the patches of purple. All the inklings gathered around the center and looked at the mess as the cat referees examined the stadium. Lincoln walked over to Ronnie Anne with a smile on his face.

"Ronnie Anne, you were amazing out there!" He congratulated, causing the girl to blush from flattery. Lynn and Lucy followed behind their brother with compliments of their own.

"She was cool and all. But she wasn't nearly as cool as you were in our little showdown. Guess my punches and Dutch Ovens toughened you up nicely, bro." Lynn reasoned while punching her brother's arm. Lucy's neutral expression remained unchanged.

"I guess I underestimated my own skill. Though I still prefer writing poetry." She remarked. Eventually, the Judd pair eventually came to a decision. They reached behinds to pull out the flags of the winning team.

However, everyone was stunned to see the color of the flags were purple. "Wait. WHAT!?" Everyone, including the winners exclaimed. Lincoln, Lynn, and Ronnie Anne were among the most confused.

"How is that possible?"

"Yeah, as much as I like winning, your team clearly has more ground." Curious about the outcome, Lucy sprayed some ink on the center platform and climbed up to get a better view. She looked over to the yellow team's base and noticed the real deciding factor.

"Lincoln, how many of your teammates bothered to cover the ground around your spawn?" Lucy asked. Taken by surprise, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne climbed up and looked towards their spawn to see a very large portion of it barren and dry. As opposed to the purple team's base, which was even more purple than a grape.

"Dang it…" The pair moaned simultaneously.

Eventually, the 3 Louds returned to Deca Tower and collected their rewards. Lynn glanced over to her siblings and saw their smiles, causing her to give a rather smug grin. Lincoln and Lucy saw the expression on the jock's face and didn't say anything as she leaned closer to them. Eventually, the pair caved and admitted their feelings. "Ok Lynn, you got us. This was a lot of fun and we enjoyed it." Lincoln confessed. Lucy looked down and rubbed her shoulder.

"I still prefer to write poetry and relax in the darkness. Though I will admit this was an enjoyable break despite being forced into it against my will." She explained in a monotone voice. The trio's conversation was interrupted as Ronnie Anne showed up and waved to them.

"Hey, Lame-O!" She greeted as she ran over to Lincoln. "Listen, embarrassing reason for a loss aside, you were really good out there. In fact, I was actually wondering if you were up for another round. Interested?" She asked while nudging Lincoln's arm.

"Am I ever!" He cheered as he followed Ronnie Anne back into the tower. Lynn walked behind them and proceeded to go into the tower as well. She stopped and turned to face her little sister before she walked through the door.

"You want in, Lucy?" She asked.

"No. I think I'll just spend the rest of the day going through the cemetery." She responded. "But before I do, I want to tell you something."

"Don't worry, Luce. I always got your back if someone is bullying you. Just give me a holler and not even a respawn pad can fix their body after I'm done with them!" Lynn snarled in pure aggression. Lucy stood there bewildered by Lynn's outburst.

"That's nice to hear. But not what I was referring to." She confessed.

"Oh. Well what were you talking about?"

"I saw something while we were playing. Something strange." Lynn's expression shifted into a rather bored and uninterested one.

"Lucy. If you say you saw one of the 'ghosts of fallen turf warriors', I'm walking away."

"It wasn't a ghost, unfortunately." Lucy explained as she said the last word under her breath. "It was Ronnie Anne. When she transformed to swim in ink, she looked… strange. I didn't say anything before because I didn't want to upset her or Lincoln." She explained. Lynn raised an eyebrow as curiosity set in.

"Strange how?"

"Well her form looked a little…" Lucy was cut off by someone's howls of rage.

"THERE YOU ARE!" The sisters turned to see Lola and Luna, the former mashing a fist into her other hand. "It took us all day, but now justice will be served. And no amount of playing dead can save you this time!" Lucy panicked.

"Look, can't we just talk this out?" She asked with a nervous smile. Luna shook her head disapprovingly.

"You think pop stars are silly? Well we are gonna show you something REAL silly!" She said with a menacing tone. Lucy felt the tension and ran off past them through the crowd of people. Lola growled again and pointed in Lucy's direction.

"Don't let her get away!" She shouted as she and Luna gave chase to their little sister. Lynn looked at the scene in bewilderment.

"Good luck, sis." She saluted as she turned back to the tower. Lynn stopped and pondered what her sister wanted to say. "What was she talking about with Ronnie Anne?" After a few seconds, she shook her head and waved it off. "She must have been having a rough time seeing through her hair." Lynn reasoned as she walked back into Deca Tower to sign up for another game.

Hey everyone. I'm happy to finally upload this next installment after so much struggle and hard work. But I will admit that it's so worth it in the end! See you next time I update this little AU series.

Oh, and I'd also like to thank Cy Man for his reviews and feedback. You rock dude!