"Reice!" chirped two younger Inkling girls, hugging him immediately. They were a few miles away from SAHS closer to the suburban area of Karpomagi, the area where SAHS was located; Karpomagi was the major town nearby the famous Downtown Inkpolis and Blackbelly. The two girls appeared to be just a few years behind Reice in age, they had different shades of Yellow and Orange in their tentacles with matching Yellow eyes; twins maybe?

"Meanie, you were supposed to see us sooner!" yelled the one on the left, wearing Orange rimmed glasses with a squidclip in her "hair" and an Orange and yellow rugby shirt, on the back, the name Marigold was stitched in. Her long flowing tentacles were dangling down, showing the bright and colorful clash between the two colors.

"Canary was worried that you abandoned us!" continued Marigold.

"I'm sorry; at least I'm here now…"

Marigold's glasses shined as she looked over at Canary, who was hiding behind her. "Well, say something!"

Canary emerged from behind and said softly, "H-Hi Reice"-looking away shyly-"nice to see you again."-she had a more solid color of Yellow with streaks of white and orange.

Bianca danced as she became infatuated with Canary's cuteness, "Oh my goodness! These are your sisters!? They're so adorable!"-hugging both girls; the girls are stunned and don't know how to react.

"Uh…"-scratching his head-"the real reason I've come here has to do with mom and dad."

The two girls' eyes sharpen as their parents are mentioned, Marigold steps forward. "We haven't seen you in months and the subject you bring up is our parents…"

"Look, I got a message from dad. He's threatening to start another war with the Sororia's!"

"And why is this so important? We left there…it shouldn't be our problem!"

"It is! Their declaration will be to kill the future head to the family, Violet! He stated it in the letter that he sent to me!"

"Why does this matter?"

"Because I've reunited with her, we're friends again!"

The twins gasp, "Eh!? But, didn't she move?"

Bianca steps in and explains the situation to the twins of what is going on over in Beacon Hill in way better understandable, informing them of what the plan is to contain the situation. After hearing the plan, the twins look more enthusiastic than ever; ready to go on the mission once they learned that they will be tagging along with Reice and herself.

Marigold grabs Reice by one arm, "So we'll be heading back home to stop our parents from fighting theirs?"

Canary grabs the other, "And we'll be skipping school to do this?"

Bianca stepped in, "I made arrangements with our principal and he notified their principal and told them it was an emergency. I told them of whats about to happen and they were fine with our decision, we have the green light to depart."

"Then we leave as early as tomorrow…"

Azule was at his dorm, studying for a test the he had tomorrow. The table that he was at had papers and textbooks scattered all over the side where he was sitting; he was trying his best to figure out a solution, shaking his leg uncontrollably and holding his head in his hand, tapping the table with his pencil. The phone next to him rang and he answered it; it was Pastelle, she wanted him to meet her with Principal Telfin tomorrow after school.

"What for…? Am I in trouble?"

Pastelle laughed through the phone, "No, you're not in trouble. We just need to discuss some important business. So make sure to make it to Telfin's room right after school, okay?"

"Sure…I'll see you then." And he hung up the phone.

Pastelle exhaled, beginning to think. Hopefully he'll be on board with the mission. Once he finds out exactly what we're doing, he'll probably lose his composure…but now will I break it to his sister? She picked up her phone and proceeded to dial Sky's number.

"Hey Sky, can we meet up somewhere later today alone…? I have something to discuss with you, Agent 6 to Agent 5."

Over at Principal Telfin's office, Violet and Fuchsia were there to talk to him about the permission to miss school so that they can deal with the brewing situation in Beacon Hill. Principal Telfin seems unfazed by the question when asked, giving them immediate permission to go through and begin.

"I'll notify your teachers of your absence. You may go, make sure to keep yourselves safe." He said, sipping his coffee; the girls were a little surprised.

"Really!?" Violet said, seeking a crisp and clear answer.

"Yes, go on."

"Thank you so much sir…" Fuchsia said with gratitude, bowing her head before him; he waves his hands.

"Please princess, it is not good for you to bow before anyone-you're the Princess of the Octarians, it would be shameful to show such a gesture to an Inkling."

"But sir,"-raising her head-"I may have the body and blood of an Octarian, but in my heart, I believe I'm more of an Inkling than of an Octarian."-turning to Violet, who nodded; Principal Telfin laughed jollily, leaning back and wiping a tear.

"It makes me happy to see such youth nowadays, make sure you enjoy it and continue to harbor such amicable feelings towards one another."-Dismissing them afterwards and staring at the many chairs that were before his desk-"Now…onto the real conversation."

At the same time, Sally was walking on her way to the dorm, when she got a call on her phone. She looked at the caller id: Mom. She fumbled the phone as she realized it was her mom, answering nervously, "M-Mom? You're calling me?"

"Of course, I saw your performance from a few weeks back. Great job! I'm very proud of you!"-Sally blushes at the compliment-"I wanted to call for a number of things; the first is that your father and I will be coming back home this Christmas again…"

"Yeah, I know."

"The second is in regard to Beacon Hill…"

Sally's calm demeanor from hearing her mother's voice deteriorates as the forsaken place is mentioned; She hesistates for a moment, dozens of thoughts running through her mind, wondering why Beacon Hill was being brought up.

"What about Beacon Hill?" she asked, taking a gulp before her mother could answer.

"They've been in the news recently…have you been keeping up?"

"No, what happened now?"

She breathed a little heavy as she sorted her words to explain, "Apparently, the top executives and the head of the Galloway's are re-establishing their headquarters for contraband there again. As you know, after their defeat in the drug war with the Sororia's, the Galloways went into hiding and disbanded, and-"

"This led to us adopting Reice and the others before they too got dragged in…" Sally said, completing her mother.

"Exactly…now that they've returned and are looking to do business here again, I fear that Reice, Marigold, and Canary will be dragged in by their parents. Those horrible parents seem like the kind to tempt them back into their clutches and abuse them again."

"So this means that there might be another drug war?"-looking arouinnd to make sure no one was listening.

"It's not confirmed by the media yet, but it feels like there might be another one, so yes. But the tension feels different, unlike last time where it was clear both sides just killed each other for no reason. This time it feels as if both sides know exactly what they want to do, and I fear that Reice may be at the center…"

"So what should I do? If Reice finds out about this, he'll try to stop them, he hates violence."

"Just keep him safe, you're his big sister."

"Only by a few months!" she joked.

"But in all seriousness, have you stayed close to him? Make sure he doesn't learn of what's going on over there."

"We haven't talked much recently, but I'll go see him right now and make sure he doesn't find out."

"Cool."-Her mom said, breathing a sigh of relief-"I'll leave it to you then…"

The phone hangs up, Sally stares at the phone for a long second-seeing her mom's caller id blinking. She smiles, happy that she could hear her mom's voice whenever it was possible since she was busy with work. She quickly remembered what it was that she had to do, "I've got to find Reice…!"-running off in search for him.

Later that day, Sky arrived at a park on the other side of town, closer to Arowana; Pastelle chose it as the venue for where they would meet to discuss something. Sky had no particular idea what it was that needed to be discussed, nor was she very comfortable with talking to Pastelle alone-given that they're rivals.

Sky gets out of her car and walks around to find Pastelle, spotting her nearby the lake. She walks over to her and sees a pair of benches facing the lake, taking a seat at the bench next to Pastelle's bench. Sky looks around the huge park, seeing the tennis court, basketball court, the hiking trail and the garden. Pastelle doesn't look in her direction, but stares at the steady-and-calm lake.

"Principal Telfin told you already, right?" Pastelle said, still not finding the courage to look Sky; Sky's suspicious as to why she's averting eye contact.

"Yeah…from now on you'll be handling all the Agent duties. Personally, I hate it. Although we don't get along too much, it sucks that you and your team will have to carry the load…"

"About that…"-turning to her-"Cap'n Cuttlefish contacted me, there's a new mission and it's an S rank mission."

Sky looks at her condescendingly, "You're a fellow S-rank, and you shouldn't have trouble leading your team through the mission. Do you know the details?"

"He didn't really give us any specific details; he only told us that it had to deal with Death Row Island…"

Sky stood still as she heard the island's name, "Death Row…that place is a literal hell, what could he possibly want you guys to do there?"

"It's just me, but I think there might have been a jailbreak…all the most heinous of criminals on the continent are kept there."

Sky begins to scoot away from her a little, "And exactly why are you telling me this? You know I won't be participating nor should know of this."

Pastelle breathes heavy, knowing that if she didn't say it carefully, she'd find herself in a fight with one of the most powerful agents and staff in the military. "Your brother…I want him on my squad for the mission."

Sky's demeanor changed quickly, her body turning completely in Pastelle's direction-eyes locked on hers with a cold glare. "You're joking…I know you like to annoy me and such, but joking about Zule joining such a dangerous mission is too far."

Pastelle exhales, "It's not a joke; I really do want him on my team. We could use a power –hitter such as him, he'll be an excellent addition!"

"You're out your mind if you think I'll let him go to that place of all places!" yelled Sky, balling her hands into fists and ready to strike.

"Calm down…"-holding her hands up-"I promise he'll be in good hands, have trust in me as a fellow agent."

"But he's my only little brother; I don't what I'd do if anything happens to him!"

"Please, allow him to this mission. He's so unique; he's unlike anyone I've ever seen."

"Shut up! I already know that."

"Then let him grow more, allow him to take any new experiences that he can and become a better Inkling!"

Sky grits her teeth, closes her eyes and growls as she tries to think of a response. She opens her eyes with a sudden realization and gets up, jumping right onto Pastelle and squatting on her lap.

"Pastelle…!"-grabbing her by the shirt and pulling her close enough to where their noses touch and their lips could almost meet-"you have my blessing…but mark my words, if anything happens to him, I'll rip your body to shreds!"-letting her go and getting off too-"Better hope he says yes, I know he likes his team to the point where he might not even leave unless he can bring some friends, so expect that."

"But, this mission is very dangerous! What friends could he even bring along?" unsettled about the thought of having to bring even more lives into the mission.

"Squidcom has quite the number of capable fighters, there's Cobalt, Tangie, Sally, and the Octarian Princess Fuchsia. All of them could be of use if you're looking to draft Zule."

"Well, The Octarian is out automatically. I can't risk the heads upstairs learning that the enemy princess aided us in an S-rank mission."

Sky shrugs her shoulders, "Do whatever you have to do…"-sharpening her glare-"just make sure you bring Zule back safely."

The day concluded with Sally arriving at the dorm that night looking for Reice, she panted heavily as Todd let her in. Azule and Cobalt were a little confused as to why she was there so late. When she told them she was looking for Reice, they told her that he hadn't been back the whole day-instead he left a note. When she read the note, it simply said that he would be gone for a few weeks, prompting Sally to sprint out the dorm and head back to hers and pack up her stuff; He's hiding this from the others! That means he must have left earlier today! When she got home, Violet was gone too, the same type of message was left behind. Then she finally realized the situation, Violet's family had an issue with Reice's family! That means what mom mentioned had to deal with her too, oh no, this is not good! She packed up her clothes frantically and told Friya and Brittany that she'll be gone. She texted Tangie to let her know that she'll be leaving to go do something that involves Reice and Violet, and learned from that same response that Fuchsia too also left with Violet. Why did the four of them have to march over there of all the places!? She thought, taking out her phone and calling a ride.

The next day at school, it seemed pretty empty for Squidcom with nearly all their members away; only Azule, Cobalt and Tangie remained. They stuck together throughout the day, meeting up with Pastelle after school; Pastelle and Kidvel didn't seem against bring two extra guests along, given that they had quite the reputation of their own. As they entered the office, Principal Telfin immediately reacted to Cobalt entering; Cobalt stiffened as the principal got up.

Azule looked at Cobalt, and the two began to speak to each other in their minds; Tangie was busy admiring the room to pay attention to the secret conversation.

"What's wrong, why are you so tense?" Azule asked.

"It's because of Telfin that I got into this school, he's aware of my history as a samurai, but he doesn't know of my time as a ronin. If he ever knew of the countless souls I assassinated, he'd be quite disappointed."

"Oh…"

Principal Telfin shakes Cobalt's hand, "It's great to see you again!"

"Likewise…"

The members of Kidvel took a seat, Azule too. Principle Telfin went over some general things before the topic came up. Pastelle formally announced the addition of Azule and his friends, much to the surprise of both Principal Telfin and her team-unaware that she would add any of his friends to the mission.

"Sir, I'd like to have them all join the mission." Pastelle said convincingly.

"Well there's nothing wrong here, I like the addition. But the question is if Azule and his friends will accept." Principal Telfin said, to which he and Kidvel stared at Azule and the others for their response.

"Uh…"-Azule looks at his teammates-"As long as they can come, then count me in!"

"That's good to hear, now that we have settled on that. We can get down to the details of your mission from Cap'n Cuttlefish…"-taking out a sheet of paper-"The venue of the mission will be Death Row Island, the infamous island where the worst and most powerful criminals are kept. The reason is because there has been a reported prison break, all of our guards have been defeated, and now they are searching for a way off the island."

Parker steps in, "Wouldn't it be best to just leave them there? There is no way off the island for them, so better to leave them stranded right?"

"Wrong."-The principal said sternly-"even if they're stranded, they still are free, meaning there is the possibility that they can find a way to leave. We don't want the media to find out that we have criminals on the loose, so that's why we must contain them."

"But what's so crazy? We just contain them and then we finish?" asked Taylor.

"Yes, but beware. That island has become their territory now…"

"Will do, sir. When will we be leaving?"

"Leave tonight at midnight, you'll head on a helicopter there. Its miles far off the coast of Arowana, but it is very far from anyone being able to swim there."

They all exit, preparing their suitcases. No one seems nervous as they exit the room; instead they all seem excited by what lies ahead. As they all exit, they pass by Sky and the Elites, the team who-starting tomorrow-would be competing in the fall preliminaries over nearby the Saltspray Rig and Port Mackerel. Sky glances at Azule, he glances back-giving her one confident smile and a thumbs up. After today, everyone will embark on a different adventure, some will go to Beacon Hill into a possible war, others will attempt to stop a prison break, and some others will try to win the preliminaries and head to the major winter tournament. Good Luck to you all…Principal Telfin thought as he reviewed the different events about to take place simultaneously.