N/A: I am extremely sorry for the tardiness of this chapter! Aside from things going on in life, this chapter has gone through several revisions to get to the final product and it took a while to write. There's just one more chapter after this, and I'll be sure not to take a month to release it this time.

With that said, thank you all for your patience and enjoy the chapter!


The boat was now on the open sea; nothing but dirty green water as far as the eye could see. The buildings of Inkopolis were now far in the distance, just barely visible as a thin fog started to roll in. A weak wind rushed in, bringing a chill with it, causing Hilda to shiver a little bit. Even the sky seemed to darken as they drew near the area they were headed to.

"It's getting kind of chilly here," said Jayde, "It's like the temperate went down like...5°F all of a sudden."

"Yeah," said Hilda. It felt almost as if the chill had managed to sneak its way into her suit and up and down her spine. Something felt very unsettling, as if what they were about to go up against didn't sound unsettling enough. At the same time, a fire of rage started within her, clashing with the chill. Hilda felt her heart thumping in her chest, and felt her hands clench into fists.

"W-Why do I feel like this? I've been at this before. It can't be that bad! Besides, I'm finally gonna be able to throw that sucker into oblivion. So why am I so-"

"You're getting fired up, aren't you?" Jayde said.

"What? Of course I am! But I...I don't know. I feel so...I-It's like my head doesn't even know what to feel."

"You're scared, Hilda," said Lucas, "I can tell."

"S-Scared? Seriously? How would you know that?!"

"Because I am, too."

Hilda looked at him. He didn't look scared at all. "What?"

"We all are. Do you really think it's possible not be a little afraid in a place like this? We don't even know where we are, or what the full capabilities of this so-called 'war machine' Daniel described are. Plus, Mr. Grizz lost contact with us a few minutes ago. We're on our own. No way out. Only way we get out of this, is to stay alive."

"Jeez, Lucas..." said Bryce, "You're not really helping our chills, here."

"I'm just saying."

Jayde sighed. "Look, Hilda," she said as she put her hand on Hilda's shoulder, "Just promise us one thing. Don't go berserk on us. Okay?"

Hilda looked to Jayde. She was silent for a minute. She tried to calm the emotions running through her head - anger, vengefulness, determination, and most surprisingly to her, fear. "...I...Okay. I'll try." She clenched her fists even tighter, tightening the grip on her Splash-o-Matic. "Now let's go kill a Silver Salmonid."

Several more minutes passed before the boat finally halted. The crewmates each grabbed their respective weapon and looked to see where they were headed. The fog was a bit thicker now, but some sunlight that managed to break through the cloudy skies lit up the area a tiny bit.

It was a large, circular chunk of metal that resembled some sort of arena. Scattered throughout were several pillars and blocks of varying sizes, mostly around the edges. There were four large antenna-like pillars around the edge of the platform, one for each direction: north, east, west, and south. They were even labeled. The entire area looked new, as if just recently constructed, yet no Salmonids were in sight.

Hilda and the others super-jumped to the metal island. There was no Spawn Point, so they each landed at different parts of the arena. They met back at the center area, which had a large symbol plastered on the ground. It looked like a Salmonid wielding two guns, along with a horde of Salmonids behind it. Something was written in an unreadable language on a banner across the symbol.

"What is this place?" said Bryce as the crew looked around. It looked completely barren, not a bit of life to be seen. Where were the Salmonids, and more importantly, where was the Silver Salmonid?

"Something's here," said Lucas, "I can feel it. It's toying with us."

"We should be prepared," said Hilda, "This is it, guys. We gotta-" Suddenly, a small rumble was felt and heard. It lasted only a moment, but it was well noticeable. It was followed by another, slightly stronger rumble. Then another, and another, and another. Something was coming.

"Everyone get ready!" Jayde yelled, "It's coming!" The rumbles kept getting more powerful until something massive emerged from the sea. A gigantic machine rose up from the waters and approached the crew. It was a four-legged behemoth, with bulky legs attached to a lower assembly carrying a large upper body. The legs created a patch of Salmonid ink with each step it took. The cockpit was fitted with two Splatlings and two Tenta Missile launchers, one of each on each side, just as Daniel had warned. A Sting Ray was mounted atop the cockpit, and numerous ink tanks were placed along the back of the body. Additionally, what looked like thrusters seemed to be on the bottom of the upper body. The cockpit itself was hemi-spherical, and looked big enough to fit two Salmonids.

"H-H-Holy..." said Bryce.

"It's...It's freakin' HUGE!" said Jayde.

"What is that thing?!" Lucas asked.

Hilda was frozen, but her face showed nothing but pure hate. She stared at the machine, specifically its cockpit. The grip on her weapon tightened as the cockpit suddenly opened. Some steam was released from the machine's vents as it did so, and the Silver Salmonid was seen at last.

He looked different from the last time Hilda saw him, however. He was wearing a gold armored chestplate alongside a matching golden helmet. He wore the standard overalls worn by Chums, only colored black instead of green. His fins looked longer than the average Chum, and he had a triple mohawk compared to the usual single mohawk. He looked bigger than last time too, with his height just a little bit taller than Hilda. His eyes seemed slightly bloodshot, and he looked far calmer than the other Salmonids.

"You," said Hilda hostilely, "It's been a while."

"Hmm?" the Salmonid scuffed, "I have seen that face before..." His voice was raspy, and very unsettling. "You're the little one who I bit a while ago!"

"I see that...your speaking has improved."

"Studying Inkling language isn't that hard when you're always at war with them, you know. Out of all the Inklings that Grizzco's got, I never imagines I'd see you again. How fantastic!"

Hilda pointed her Splash-o-Matic at the Silver Salmonid. "Let's get down to business. Now."

"Oh, how cute! The little Inkling wants to play. Great! I just finished taking out a group just like ya. Pathetic, y'know. I always thought your species was stronger and braver. I guess I was wrong."

"Says the guy in the giant super destroyer!" yelled Bryce.

"Oh, this? This is not exactly mine. I'm...borrowing it, you could say."

"Borrowing it?" Hilda asked.

"Yep. Got it from some...friends at NOA."

"NOA? What the hell is that?"

"NOA...why does that sound familiar...?" Bryce thought to himself.

"Nothing important right now. What matters is that this baby here is gonna be your one-way ticket to hell."

"Really?" Hilda said, "Well how about this? I'M going to be YOUR ticket to hell! How's that sound, eh?!"

"Persistent, aren't you? You must be mad at that bite. Mmm...I remember it too well. It was...delicious."

"SHUT UP!" Hilda threw a Splat Bomb, but the Silver Salmonid caught it and tossed it away.

"Nice aim, but I have better reflexes."

Hilda was furious now. "ALRIGHT YOU LITTLE SHITHEAD, YOU HAVE IT COMING!"

"Hilda, calm down!" Jayde said. Hilda didn't listen.

"Oh, let her talk," said the Silver Salmonid, "And by the way, my name is Ares, not Shithead."

"We don't care what your name is!" Lucas yelled as he and the rest of the crew aimed their weapons at Ares. "Enough talk! We have a job to do, and that's to take you OUT."

"Ah! Now we're talkin'! Alright then, let's get this party started!" Ares closed the cockpit and the machine sprang back to life, equipping, activating, and readying its entire arsenal.

"Alright, LET'S DO THIS!" yelled Hilda.

"As you wish, darling!" And with the press of a button, all hell broke loose. The Splatling guns fired – they didn't even have to charge. They fired at a rate unseen – twice as fast as a Hydra Splatling, twice as powerful too. The Inklings fired, but it was useless. Bryce and Jayde were almost immediately dispatched, and Hilda and Lucas were forced to take cover behind a pillar.

As Lucas signaled the others to come to his location for revival, Hilda glared at the machine as it came closer. She tried to run back out.

"Hilda!" Lucas said as she yanked Hilda back behind the pillar.

"HEY! Let me go!"

"Unh-uh! Stay here! That thing just nearly took us out with its Splatling guns ALONE. Too dangerous!"

"But I have to-!"

"Hilda, focus here!" said Jayde as she and Bryce arrived in their Lifesavers. Lucas revived them. "We've never fought this thing before. We need a plan to take it down, now that we know what it is!" Hilda huffed but tried to keep still.

"INCOMING!" Bryce yelled as he spotted Tenta Missiles, sixteen of them, plummeting at them. The four ran and ducked for cover. They were attacked by the tiny missiles in sets of four. After four tried to strike simultaneously, another four appeared to try again. Hilda barely had it, wiping off the Salmonid ink as she rushed at the machine again.

Ares fired the Splatling guns again, their aim targeting Hilda as she circled him. Her eyes were locked at the cockpit. They were locked on Ares' insane smile. Her teeth were gritted as she rage grew with each passing second he was still alive. She tried to throw a bomb into the Tenta Missile launchers, but they were too high. She tried firing ink at the machine; it didn't slow it down or even stick. The beast seemed unstoppable.

Jayde and Bryce arrived, the former equipped with an Inkjet. Ares closed the Tenta Missile launchers and activated its Blaster. He fired at Jayde while she was airborne. It wasn't the fastest-firing Blaster ever, in fact as was only slightly slower than the Rapid Blaster, but its range was incredible. It traveled five times farther than the Range Blaster's bullets, and was about twice as big, too. Jayde was shocked.

"That thing's got everything, doesn't it?!" Jayde said, astonished and annoyed.

"Damn right!" Ares replied as he fired a Blaster shot and it hit Jayde point-blank as she tried to evade it. It struck the back of the Inkjet, sending her flying into a wall. Lucas rushed to help her while Bryce tried to hold him back. Hilda was still trying to take the thing down with her weapon, even though it was pretty clear nothing was happening.

Hilda grunted as she tried to at least make a dent in the machine, but to no avail. Ares noticed her by one of the legs and gave her a slight kick that launched her a good few meters away. This only made her madder. Hilda rushed again, but this time was stopped by Jayde, who locked her arms around Hilda's.

"Hilda! Stop it!" Jayde yelled, "You're gonna get yourself killed!" Hilda struggled against Jayde, trying to rush at Ares. But Jayde wouldn't let go. Bryce and Lucas tried to distract Ares, who activated the Sting Ray and fired with deadly accuracy. It too was much more powerful than the standard version, and was faster moving but not that much more damage-dealing. The shockwave appeared instantly rather than taking a moment, however.

"Jayde! Let me go! NOW!"

"No!"

"Why?! Aren't we here to kill that son of a bitch?!"

"Hilda, I told you not to go berserk! I'm telling you! Your rage is only gonna blind you!"

"So what?!" Hilda continued to wiggle and squirm in an attempt to break free of Jayde's grasp, and she was getting close to doing so. Ares' machine continued attacking Bryce and Lucas, meanwhile. Bryce had had enough by now, and prepared to Super-Jump just like Hilda did before, intending to activate the Splashdown. He launched into the air, which Ares immediately noticed. Before Bryce could plummet downwards, the machine activated Bomb Launchers and fired a Burst Bomb at Bryce, hitting him before he could even activate the special.

Ares then turned his attention back to Hilda and Jayde. He aimed the bomb launchers at them, and fired two more Burst Bombs. The blasts separated the two, knocking them to the ground. But it didn't splat them. Hilda and Jayde tried to get up.

"See ya later, Inkling!" Ares said as he charged up a shot from his blaster, aimed at Jayde. Hilda managed to get to her knees when she noticed the charging shot. Ares then fired a massive ink bullet at Jayde. Hilda rushed up and ran to her. As she did so, one of the golden Special packs on her belt ripped open. Sparkles appeared as a familiar, transparent, spherical shield surrounded Hilda as she shoved Jayde out of the way. The bullet hit Hilda, but it was too strong for the shield to resist and it shattered as Hilda was launched away like a rocket. She flew through the air, dazed, until she plummeted onto the boat, shaking it slightly from the impact. Hilda tried to get back up, but passed out before she could.

Jayde tried to process what had just happened. She shook her head as she got back up to her feet. "What in-" she said to herself, "W-Was that a-" She suddenly turned her head towards the boat, remembering Hilda got launched. "Hilda!...Hilda! Can you hear me?! Are you okay?!"

No response.

"Oh shit..." She was interrupted by the sound of incoming Tenta Missiles, and quickly dodged to the side to evade them. Jayde spotted the machine attacking Bryce and Lucas, struggling to even damage the beast. She rushed to their aid immediately.

"About time!" yelled Lucas, "Where's Hilda?!"

"She's down!"

"WHAT?!" Before he said say any more, the Sting Ray struck him, splatting him. Bryce and Jayde started panicking. Two of their crewmates were downed, and one of them was too far to even see if she was even okay. Bryce suggested they separate, and they did so, circling the machine. Ares chose to focus on Bryce. He smiled as he activated a set of three charger-like guns aimed at one point, in this case Bryce. It charged quickly as its shot was strong. He dodged the shots the first few times, but was finally hit and splatted.

Jayde, blank on what to do, followed her only instinct – to run and get out of the enemy's sight. She dove behind one of the walls before Ares could spot her.

"Playing Hide and Seek now, are we?" Ares taunted. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, little Inkling. You don't have much time left, after all." Jayde gripped her weapon. She was at a loss of what to do. She wanted to revive her teammates, but was afraid of getting splatted herself before she could get to them. What could she do to-?

"Found you..." Jayde's eyes widened as she saw the machine right next to her, towering over her with its Splatlings aimed right at her. "Nice try, Inkling. Adios, now."

Meanwhile...

"Ugh...my head..." Hilda said as she came to, clutching her head. "What the hell happened?" She looked around as her vision focused. She spotted the area, and the massive machine patrolling it. She almost immediately realized the lack of her crewmates – and knew what happened instantly. "Wh-What?! They've been wiped out?!" She stood up, but then her back felt funny, as if something was hanging off her back loosely.

Hilda looked over her shoulder. Her Lifesaver seemed missing. She looked over her other shoulder, and there it was, still on her back. But it felt lighter. She took it off her back and examined it. Her eyes widened.

The Lifesaver was torn.

Something must have hit it while she launched, or when she landed. Perhaps it broke upon her impact. The ring was cut and deflated, making it useless. "Oh no...No no no no no no NO!" Hilda tried to put the ring back together, blowing it up even though it was clear it wouldn't work. In a small burst of anger, she tossed it off the boat. Hilda then looked back to the metal island. The monstrosity was simply walking around as if Ares had nothing better to do. Maybe he was waiting for her.

Hilda collapsed to her knees. "No...Have...Have we lost?!" She felt hopeless. She then looked to her right and spotted a large bag. She stood back up and took a look inside. There was something in it and she reached inside to grab it. It was a blaster; a bare, almost unfinished-looking one. It looked like a skeleton of a Blaster, with the innards of the weapon exposed. It seemed handmade. Four tubes of something glowing gold were stationed along the top of the weapon.

"Wait a second...THIS piece of junk is the Grizzco Blaster?" Hilda was perplexed. "This thing looks just somethin' out of a junk yard...How the hell is this thing gonna-" She pressed down on trigger just slightly, and the weapon unloaded. Its fire rate was beyond anything Hilda had ever seen. Just one slight pull resulted in three shots one right after the other. It was even faster than the Clash Blaster.

"...Holy carp...The fire rate on this thing is-"

"Amazing?" said a voice, through intense static.

"Huh?! Mr. Grizz?!"

"Yeah, it's me kid! But the connection's still haywire. Our time is short."

"So...what's happening?"

"You're the only one who hasn't been splatted, apparently. Look kid, you've only got one shot at this, and that weapon could help at least a little."

"You're breaking up, sir. But...I think I get it."

"Listen closely, I don't have much time left before I'm forced to disconnect again. A threw another extra weapon in there last minute, the Grizzco Brella. But this next part is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Use those Golden Specials I gave you! I snuck two more in the bag with the Blaster and Brella at the last minute too. Use them! They're the orig-" His voice was then overtaken by static.

"Sir? Sir?!" Contact had been lost again. "Now we're really on our own..." She grabbed the Golden Special packages. She noticed the ripped one. "Ah carp..." She looked closely at the label on it. Her eyes widened again. "Bubbler?!" She looked at the rest. "Th-These are original Special Weapons...but...how did he-" Hilda looked at the machine again. "Maybe..." She looked at them again and grinned as she reattached them to her belt.

She took in a deep breath as she strapped the Splash-o-Matic to her back and grabbed the other two Golden Specials and put them, alongside the original three that were left, on her belt. She took out the Grizzco Brella, which looked more like a shotgun with a severely withered skeleton of an umbrella attached to it. She strapped that to her back as well. "I feel like an overpowered tank right now," Hilda thought, "But then again, I guess you have to be one to beat one." She clenched her fists again.

"Alright...calm down...Like Jayde said, anger's just gonna blind me...like it just did. We've only got one shot at this." Her hands softened. "Okay...First, I'll hit him with a little surprise. Then I'll revive everyone else. Then, we hit him with everything we've got." She wiped her cheek, leaving a small blood stain on her glove. "It's time to get REALLY crazy."

The machine walked around the metal island. Ares watched as the three Inklings, trapped in their Lifesavers, helplessly floated around. He snickered. "How so adorable," he said, "If only I could revive you myself, then I could kill you again! Now...where's that last one?" He suddenly spotted Hilda super-jumping towards him, and turned the machine towards her. "There she is. Ready for Round Two?!" he yelled.

"You bet your ass I'm ready!" Hilda ripped open a second Golden Special package. A giant bazooka suddenly formed in her hands midair, and Hilda aimed it straight at the machine. "INKZOOKA!" She fired the weapon, and huge tornado was launched. Ares was caught off guard, and didn't react in time to dodge. It hit the machine at full force, stunning it and nearly knocking Ares off his seat.

"What the-?!" Hilda fired again, this time the force of the blow managed to blow off some the armor on the lower assembly and legs. She fired three more times, each of them hitting hard. Though a majority of machine barely suffered anything, save for some blown-off armor pieces, one of its legs was damaged from the attack. Hilda landed Splashdown-style, with the Inkzooka still in hand, in front of the machine. "Ha, ha! That hurt!" The machine started walking towards her, but Hilda fired a final shot from the Inkzooka, bringing the damaged leg out of commission. The machine tripped, stopped in its tracks and now immobilized. "That was good! Good! Ha ha! Now we have a fight!"

"Hilda?!" said Jayde.

"Don't think I forgot about you guys!" Hilda said as she tossed a Splat Bomb at Jayde and Bryce, and another at Lucas, reviving them all. They rushed up to Hilda.

"Holy carp!" said Bryce, "How'd you get that?!"

"Mr. Grizz thought ahead."

"Hilda! Y-Your Lifesaver, it's gone!" Jayde panicked.

"Don't worry, I'm not getting splatted 'till this thing's a pile a parts. Now are you with me or not?" Jayde grinned and nodded, as did the others. "Alright guys, this is it! REALLY it! Let's take him down with everything we've got! I've got some secret weapons! Jayde, take this! It's a rapid-fire super shotgun!" She gave her the Grizzco Brella. "Trust me, you'll get the hang of this thing." Hilda equipped the Grizzco Blaster.

"Ha! That's what's you think!" Ares yelled, "Activating Hover Mode!" The machine's thrusters activated, and the upper body detached from the immobile lower body. Now it really was a super Flyfish.

"Time to end this!" yelled Hilda.

"HERE WE GO!" the four crewmates yelled simultaneously. The machine hovered around, firing its Splatling guns first again. The crew stayed together, spreading their own ink and swimming around in it, dodging the ink shots. They knew that in order to take down the machine, and by extension Ares, they would have to disable the various weapons first. The one that came to mind instantly was the Tenta Missiles.

"Take out the missiles, and he can't use its aiming system to sniff us out!" Hilda thought to herself. She got a glimpse of the launchers; it was just like the Flyfish's – in a box. Perfect to have a bomb thrown into. "Hey! One of you guys get on top one of these big blocks! We're gonna start our takedown of this beast!"

"On it!" Lucas yelled as she spread ink across the wall of one of the taller cubes littered across the arena. Hilda did the same. When they were at the top, they could be the flying behemoth head-on and could see the top. Hilda took out a bomb.

"Jayde, Bryce! Distract him. Give us a chance to throw these bombs in his launchers while he's not looking!"

"You got it!" said Bryce. He turned to Ares. "HEY! BIG GUY! OVER HERE!"

"Yeah, you want some?!" Jayde added as she and Bryce ran back a bit.

"Ha! You'll be regretting sayin' that!" Ares responded. Jayde and Bryce each hid behind a different wall. "Hide and seek again, eh?" He prepared the Tenta Missiles.

"Lucas, toss one! NOW!" Hilda yelled as she hurled a bomb at the right launcher, closest to her. Lucas did the same at the left. They just barely got them in. The explosions destroyed the Tenta Missile launchers instantly and some of the armor around them, shaking the machine midair for a bit.

"GAH?! What the hell?" Ares said as he stabilized the machine. He realized the Tenta Missiles were offline. "What?!" He tried to activate them, but they only shorted out, launching a few small sparks. "You little-!" He turned to Hilda and activated the Blaster again. He fired at the Inkling, who had no choice but to retreat.

"Ugh! Without my Lifesaver, too much damage truly is game over!" Jayde, noticing Hilda's danger, rushed over.

"Just what do you think you're doin'?!" she yelled as she activated a Sting Ray. She aimed carefully at the Blaster and fired, but the machine was moving quickly and she missed. She grunted and tried again. She missed again. By now Ares had noticed her and aimed the Blaster at her. Jayde instinctively fired at the Blaster, this time successfully destroying it and managing to damage a Bomb Launcher a bit as well. Parts spread across the ground as the machine backed up. Some more pieces of armor were also flung off.

"Ugh!...Okay, NOW I'm mad!" Ares scolded. He slammed a green button in his cockpit, and the tops of four towers started to rapidly glow red.

"What's that mean?" said Lucas.

"Hilda!" said Bryce, "You had the Inkzooka...do you have an Echolocator by any chance?"

"Yeah, here!" Hilda tossed him the Golden pack and Bryce ripped it open. Black arrows spread across the arena, hunting targets.

"Guys! Those are signal towers! I'm picking up Salmonids! Dozens of 'em coming from all directions!"

"At once?!"

"Yes! He's basically summoning soldiers! Boss Salmonids included!"

"Listen guys! You hold off on Ares for now! We need to take out the incoming horde! I'll see what I can do to keep him away from you!"

"Are you sure?" Jayde asked.

"It'll be easier to survive one super-powered enemy than a bazillion other enemies."

"...Right, we hear you loud and clear!"

"Jayde, Lucas, take these!" Hilda gave them one Golden pack each. "See if you can take out the towers, too! Just keep the Salmonids away from the center of the ring!"

"On it! Good luck!"

"You too!" Hilda rushed to deal with Ares while the rest split up to deal with the incoming hordes. They all prayed their new upgraded suits would do their job. In just seconds, the Salmonid soldiers arrived. One after another, they popped up out of the water to aid their commander. The crew rushed into action.

The Salmonids surrounded the arena from all directions, and before long there were dozens of soldiers, including Boss Salmonids. The swarm was now solely focused on them, allowing Hilda time to focus on Ares.

"Damn!" said Jayde, "How many are there?!"

"More than ever, that's how many!" said Bryce.

"Well don't just stand there! We've gotta get these guys outta here as soon as possible!"

Bryce climbed up a wall by a crowded group of Salmonids before crashing down into the group with the Splashdown, wiping out at least two dozen Salmonid soldiers and a nearby Steelhead that was charging an attack, as well as a Drizzler. Lucas took out his golden Special pack and activated it. He assumed squid form and tripled in size, becoming a monstrous Kraken. He tore through all Salmonids who approached him, including a Scrapper, a Maws, and a Stinger. Jayde went to take down a Flyfish and a Steel Eel, deciding to save her second Sting Ray special.

"Doin' good!" she said, "I think we're making progress!"

"Yeah, but they just keep coming!" said Bryce, "We can't last forever, we'll tire out soon!"

"It's gotta be those towers!" said Lucas, "Jayde! You still got a Sting Ray on ya?"

"I know what you're thinking!" Jayde said as she activated and aimed the Sting Ray at one of the four signal towers. She fired at the tip, and she heard something break as the tower stopped glowing. "Yes! It's working!" Jayde fired at the remaining three towers to disable them one by one.

"What?!" Ares yelled as he noticed what was going on. Hilda was taking cover under the collapsed lower assembly wreck. She was forced to hide during a Splatling attack. She examined the assembly for anything she could use. Even a piece of armor to throw at Ares would suffice. "STOP IT!" Ares yelled, but Jayde had already destroyed the last tower. Ares could no longer summon more foes. Ares was furious as he activated his own Sting Ray and ordered a Stinger to take aim as well. Ares rushed at Jayde.

"JAYDE!" Hilda yelled, "The Gold Special! I made sure it was your favorite!" Jayde instantly knew what she meant. She activated the Gold Special pack, and a massive megaphone formed. Jayde slammed it to the ground and aimed at the incoming machine. "Activating Killer Wail!" The device blasted an equally massive sonic blast directly at Ares. The screeching noise halted the machine right in its tracks.

Ares screeched in pain as he covered his ears. Hilda jumped up from one of the pillars near the machine, clinging onto the Sting Ray and yanking on it. The sonic blast had managed to loosen some of the bolts, and eventually Hilda detached the weapon and it, alongside her, fell to the ground. She then ran to join her crewmates.

"Almost there!" said Hilda, "Just a little bit farther and he's done!"

"Grrr...that's what you think," said Ares, "Did you really think...This thing doesn't have a failsafe?!" The machine then rushed back to the center, and unleashed a rapidly-expanding cloud of mist that engulfed the entire arena.

"Gah! What the-?"

"Ugh...This is...This is Toxic Mist, isn't it?!"

"Oh come on!"

"Now I've got ya right where I want ya," said Ares as he activated something else.

"Uhhh...what's that noise?" said Bryce. Suddenly, a sudden EMP blast was unleashed, stunning the Inklings even further, worsening the magnetic effects the area already had on em. Disorientated, the Inklings tried to piece together what just happened.

"Gah! What the hell was that?!" said Bryce, clutching his head.

"I think it was some sort of...EMP," said Lucas.

"Ugh...that stuff's nasty to our sensory organs, isn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"Now what...?!" Hilda said as she tried to shake off the confusion.

"Now for the finishing touch," said Ares. He flew his machine up higher, and small beeping was heard by Hilda, who turned around. It was coming from the lower assembly. Her eyes widened.

"GET DOWN!" she yelled as the assembly self-destructed, launching shrapnel and debris everywhere. The crewmates managed to evade the incoming debris by taking cover behind a wall, but were still pushed back. Hilda however, wasn't as lucky, and a small piece of shrapnel sliced her left arm as she rushed forward, bringing her down as she screamed in pain.

"HILDA!" Jayde yelled. Once the Toxic Mist and the force of the explosion dissipated, she and the others rushed for Hilda. She was trying to get back to her knees, clutching her bleeding arm. "Hilda! Are you alright?!"

"I-I'm fine!" she grunted.

"No, you're bleeding!" said Lucas, "Stay down!"

"No," said Hilda, "This is my fight. Our fight. I'm not falling down until he's down." She stood up, glaring at Ares.

"Wha-?! Are you still alive?!" Ares yelled, "Ugh! You've GOT to be kidding me!"

"It takes more than a little...mist and an explosion to kill me, Ares!"

"You're making this much harder than it has to be, you little squid! Once this thing is done recharging up from all that, your head's gonna be my dinner tonight!"

"What do we do?" said Bryce, "We've used up our gold specials!"

"No," said Hilda, "All but one." She held her last pack, the Inkstrike, "That thing's armor...It's gotta be weakened quite a bit by now. This thing should be the final blow! All I have to do is stand here until it launches. Anyone can stand around for a few seconds." He looked at Ares, struggling to get the machine to recharge faster.

"But even so...one Inkstrike might not be enough force," said Lucas, "We may need a little bit more oomph."

Hilda thought about this for a minute. She tried to think of a way to add extra force to the Inkstrike impact. An idea suddenly popped into her mind. She grinned. "Hey, Bryce. Got an extra Splashdown?"

"Uhh...yeah, why?" Bryce asked.

"Wait," said Jayde, "Hilda, what are thinking?"

"I'm gonna ride this missile," Hilda said, "I'll activate the Splashdown from all the way up there. The higher you are, the more powerful the Splashdown is. It should give it a little extra boost."

"WHAT?!" said Lucas, "Hilda, I know you're crazy but...that's insane! What if-"

"Hey, it's just like the Mothership. Only this time, I get a much higher boost." The crew was silent for a moment. They thought about Hilda's plan, and she patiently awaited their response.

"An insane idea...I like it. Okay," said Jayde, "I'll launch. Hilda, you hang on." Hilda nodded and gave Jayde the Inkstrike pack and she ripped it open. The giant missile appeared on Jayde's back and Lucas took the launching tablet. Hilda, holding the Splashdown special in her mouth, grabbed the handle on the Inkstrike as it prepared to launch. Lucas locked the missile's trajectory onto Ares, and missile began its launch off Jayde's back. It rocketed into the air, with Hilda hanging on tightly, even with her left arm's injury making it difficult to keep her grip.

Ares panicked, trying again to get the machine to recharge. It was stuck moving very slowly, so evading wouldn't work. Within seconds, the Inkstrike reached its peak height in the air. Hilda jumped off the missile, and activated the Splashdown as the Inkstrike started to plummet.

"C'mon Hilda..." Jayde said to herself. Hilda started plummeting downwards like the oversized ink missile she was following, her eyes locked on her target.

"Your time is up, silver Salmonid," she thought, "It's finally time to BRING! YOU! DOWN!" The machine was near maximum charge when Ares saw the missile right over him. The crewmates took cover behind a wall. A few more seconds passed...

KABOOM.

Hilda and the Inkstrike struck the machine simultaneously. The infamously massive ink tornado sprang up, enlarged even more by Hilda's Splashdown. The machine wasn't even visible. The crewmates saw parts of the machine fly around and launched from the tornado as it devastated the behemoth. A large explosion of ink followed, spreading ink all over the arena. When all had cleared up, all that was left was the wrecked remains of the machine, surrounded by armor and parts ripped off of it.

The mission was finally over.