A blazing skyline with no signs of being extinguished.

The fight in Inkopolis continues...

Rapture's media coverage continues on all major national platforms for media, especially on social media where it was the top trending topic worldwide with several live video feeds running at the top of the timeline and people posting their terror-filled thoughts and reactions down below. The capital of Inkopolis is ablaze, infernos encroaching the city from the outskirts making their way further inland. From a distance, one could see the sky shift from blue to red along with a coat of smoke appearing the aggressive the color changed along with the once iconic skyline looking a shell of its former self with some of the buildings tumbling along due to the destruction of its foundation. At the moment, the leaders of Team Inkopolis are locked in combat with the leaders of Octaria's first wave. Their attempts at an aggressive pincer attack has backfired and in response Octaria is making a quicker push for their objective, glad to have the numbers and momentum on their side.

To the west.

Debris is scattered everywhere and reeks of the scent of iron, bodies dropping one by one on both sides. Most of the mobsters took cover behind cars, buildings, and even their dead comrades to avoid the vicious blasts from the enemy's heavy fire. Powerful laser beams shot out one after another with an octoling soldier operating them behind a cozy shield. Akane and her squad struggled to find an opening with the combination of projectile bombs, infantry fire, and then the laser beams all in that succession blitzing them. Protected by Takui and Yuuya, Akane holds her sheathed katana in one hand and a rifle in the other. Takui and Yuuya were trading fire with the enemy and were equipped with some fine weapons from the Galloway family that gave them range like that of a sniper but the power of a cannon-only problem is that they had to manually reload after every shot, so they had to be sparing with who to aim for. Also with them is Harley's squad and the rest of the Yoshikara protecting her like a colony protects their queen. Leading the collective force, several other mobster families were on the front lines, and many of them suffering; even some of the Sororia family were there putting up a fight.

"How are we looking?" Akane grimaced, disturbed to recognize the sound of her men she called family dying each time.

Yuuya fires a shot at the foot of one of the rayguns and accomplishes his goal of disrupting their pattern, only having to worry about the slow moving tanks and collective fire of the enemy. "Got one! Boss, as we are right now, we're in serious danger."

"They're continuing their march albeit slowly. Whoever is leading this side must be a patient type if they are leading with infantry and those people behind the ray guns sure know how to piss a man off!" Takui adds, fed up with their continuous firing."

"Aye, we've nearly got no room to answer back. As we are, we can't beat them unless we take down their ray guns and tanks. The infantry should be no problem with who we got, but there's no chance if their heavy weapons are in effect."

Akane could see the anguish in their faces, finding it a rare sight that her aloof guards were looking hopeless in this situation. She bites her lip in frustration, upset that even though she's the leader of this unit she can't make herself more useful. Her squad is made of mostly foot soldiers since they didn't have enough heavy machinery to go around-opting to make more of the infantry and allow Joseph to make off with most of the heavy power. Unfortunately the heavy weapons they did have were either blown to smithereens or under heavy damage that the risk of firing it posed more of a threat to her side than the enemy's. Observing the damage the carnage, she uttered something in a curious tone, "Those guns just need to get taken down...that's it?" She wondered, "There must be something I can do."

Takui and Yuuya immediately felt a chill in their spines, knowing what their boss was thinking, and in sync they look at her with grave faces shaking their heads. They knew what she was planning, and quite frankly they were very against her decision. However, she's the boss for a reason. As they look to her with eyes pleading not to do what she intends, they're met by a pair of lifeless eyes that weren't of a seasoned young boss tired of war, but of a young girl who couldn't take the agony of seeing her family die on her watch. Once they saw the glimmer of resolve in her dulled eyes, they knew there was no chance she'd turn back now. Stubborn like her father, they thought, they submit.

"I can't stand idly and watch my brothers get killed. Their blood is on my hands, and it is my responsibility. Who do you think it is that has to go to their families once this is all over and tell their loved ones? The pain they suffer is mine, and I'll be damn sure to fight the way they did until their last breath!" Akane grips the hilt; "Clear a path for me, I'm going to their leader and cleaning house."

"Boss." they respond simultaneously with a nod. "Please stay safe."

Her eyebrows furrow, "My tombstone won't rest here and neither will yours."

As ordered, they stepped up their game. Their paired shots worked in sync to take down some infantry members, and after doing a good start with a dozen shots, they caught the attention of the many comrades under the cover who went on the attack to close the gap. Hundreds of men swarm the octarians and take aim at the ray guns and tanks, serving as distractions for Takui and Yuuya who wield the power to bring them down. It's a suicide move, but it's necessary as a distraction. Akane sprints from cover and makes a break in that direction, head leaning forward with her hands on the sheath and hilt-her breath calm with steam pouring out her teeth. Takui and Yuuya could only watch her from behind with a mix of melancholy and pride at how far she'd grown from the little girl they looked after, wearing sad smiles knowing that after all this time staining their hands with blood, witnessing close family die including Akane's father, witnessing her grief and loss of her innocence as she took control of the underworld abandoning her old life. Thanks to that fateful day meeting Violet and Sky, their boss was back to her former self. She had light in her eyes again, her tone wasn't apathetic, she was back to the energetic girl she was of old. With such a selfish request, they couldn't disobey her-especially when her orders were to live. Akane's fierce gaze alerts everyone nearby and quickly they duck back to their original covers as quickly as they were able to file out for the distraction. A technique she kept locked up because of the toll she'd take, she chose now to unveil the fruits of her labor and demonstrate to the octarians and octolings why she was the young queen of the underworld. A huge leap in a free fall motion with her arms and legs spread out, a massive streak of light appears for a split second before disappearing the moment she sheathes her blade; the moment she lands, the armor and barrels of the ray guns were sliced in half along with the octolings controlling them. With an extra zip, she sprints past the tanks and heads for the center. In a flash, she was able to turn the fight around. An opportunity created by her sacrifice, Takui and Yuuya take the chance to command a rally on the opposition, swearing not to let her efforts be for naught. Akane continues her run, coughing up blood a couple times with a pained look.

"Who the hell did that?" Indy asked pointing his thumb at the display he witnessed, stunned by the falling debris. In the blink of an eye he saw a legion of enemies charging at his unit and his main cannons out of commission. Whoever it was responsible for this forced him to have to raise his hand, which was quite irritating for him.

"Someone is coming in hot!" a person yelled, alerting Indy.

In a millisecond, he felt an intense pressure appear from out of nowhere. A trail of blood pouring out a lady's mouth with her katana in hand and her arm winding back to launch a slashing strike from above. He has no time to think and quickly brings out his gun to shoot, though it's useless since she deflects it-but that helps in giving him time to roll away. She isn't done however, immediately landing on the ground and driving her blade in his direction. He blocks her strike with his gun-sparks flying, but she overpowers him quickly. Indy fires a shot at the ground, aiming at her foot forcing her to retreat-narrowly. Indy backs away with bewilderment written all over his face; Akane wants to give chase, but the moment she moves a sharp pain surges through her body and she's forced to kneel down and cover her mouth and stop the flowing of blood, which escapes from her fingers and trickles.

She's bleeding? Indy thought, curious about her condition; Everyone surrounds her with their guns locked on. Indy lowers his guard a bit now that he had some insurance in the protection of his soldiers and the mysterious status of this enemy who boldly challenged him."Your spirit burns much like your home." he approaches her with a laugh. The rest of them laugh as well, careful to keep their distance on her. "You pack quite the power in that lean frame of yours. You leveled my weapons in an instant and with just that sword? Unbelievable." Akane wipes the trail of blood from her lips, maintaining her furious glare. Her silence is deafening and who could blame her? Her squad were fighting a losing battle even after her dazzling attack. Her appearance here meant she intended to cut off the head of the snake and watch the body squirm. "Fine. Not much for talking…" Indy reveals his arsenal, showing a couple guns at his hip to go along with the one dangling on his fingertips, and a spare leather whip that looked identical to the one in his hand. "Combat it is."

Akane eyes wander to the several barrels pointing at her forehead and chest, "Withdraw your forces." she warns with a hateful look.

Indy scoffs leaning back with a snarl, "Why would I do that? You are the en-"

In an instant, everyone dropped their weapons-the moment their weapons crash to the ground and blood sprays the place; Akane was ready to charge at him with intent on killing him, but the moment she tries to move, she suffers from the recoil and coughs up some more blood again. An opening for him to put some distance, Indy seizes the opportunity and swiftly backs away with several questions looming in his mind-stunned by her speed and terrified by the pressure she exerted. Distance between them, he aims his gun and starts firing, Akane's back on her feet and she encircles him. Indy knows not to let her get too close to pick up more speed or even he would have trouble finding his mark; as one of the best marksman in Octaria, this was the perfect challenge for him. With his leather whip, he cracks the air before her and stops her in her tracks, then using his other hand to fire the gun; Akane deflects the first bullet and dodges the second, reversing in step and backtracking. Some more soldiers arrive to help out their commander but Indy shoos them away, declaring her an opponent worthy of battle. However, the truth is that after seeing what she's capable of, he knew there wasn't a chance his soldier stood against her-should they interfere, it'd only hurt his side. Not only that, but with her distracting him and the others here, that was less numbers devoted to defeating her forces who were now putting up a fight with the ray guns eliminated and the tanks nearly overtaken. Rather than destroy the tanks, they were hijacking them and using them against the octarians. Akane continues her sprint in retreat, and Indy follows like an animal hot on a prey's trail. Files of soldiers clear the way on Indy's orders who shouted at them to steer clear of her warning that if they dare stayed near her she'd kill them in an instant, and it looked as though his warning paid off because the moment he saw her double clutch the hilt he knew she was preparing to do a vicious swing. It's a trick, though. Akane double clutches her blade, and does a flip into a backspin-using all the muscles in her upper body to unleash a furious slash of wind. Indy's instincts screamed for him to move his body out of the way, and narrowly missing the invisible slash, the powerful air pressure cuts up his clothing. She meant war, after all. Upset that she ruined his attire, he uses the whip and targets her sword, figuring that if she has no blade, she's useless. Akane does a hop backwards and releases another furious strike, blood squirting from her nose while doing so. Indy dives for cover and fires another shot, this time landing on her; Akane screams in pain as a bullet pierces her thigh.

"Gotcha!" he shouts with joy, glad to take away her mobility.

The intense pain courses through her body and her mind feels like it's going blank. She fall here, not when her father entrusted his legacy to her, not when she had so many people counting on her and praying for a safe return. Thoughts swirl, memories meant to be locked away return, voices growing louder as a haze fills her head. Her vision blurs and dims, the sounds of Indy laughing distinct, and the sound of several shots firing followed by intense pain striking her body in several areas. Her katana falls to the floor and so does she, a pool of blood surrounding her; in that instant, everyone who carried the Yoshikara name felt their blood run cold-especially Takui, Yuuya, and Harley, who felt this terrible sensation once before-immediately their minds turned to Akane, and after a second of realization that their boss followed the path as her father, they all went to a blind rage and charged in to retrieve her before all is lost. Unfortunately, the octarians wouldn't allow the chance to extend their push, and the race to save Akane became dire as she bled out. Indy carefully approached her, noting that she carried the spirit of a demon with her tenacity and had a terrible feeling that she was far from done despite having bullet holes cover her.

Every time a Yoshikara technique is used, you will suffer immense pain in response. The reason for this sits deep within our family history from our days of ancestry in the motherland, where our family survived off of the bonds of family and sacrifice. The stronger the bond, the greater the pain. These techniques were only meant to be used to serve and protect the family in the same way they all put their lives on the line as sacrifice for their lord. After all these years, why is it that this lesson my father drilled into me finally holding weight? her vision blurred, her senses dulled, and her head in a haze, the nostalgic memory of her father is triggered. His serious tone and expression, rough features, and commanding aura that all hid the warm personality that sat in the big chair. A caring spirit who always valued the bonds of family and did his best to balance the power of the underworld. If a powerful figure like that were still around, would he be in this position? Would so many men from families all across the map of this country be returning home in caskets? How would this situation be handled in the care of an experienced leader? These questions loomed in her mind as she struggled to wake up her limbs, sensing that with each step her opponent neared. Death awaits her at this rate. How would he feel to see his only daughter in this situation…? She thought, remembering the day he passed and the baggage he left behind dubbed a legacy. I'm on my last legs because of those sacred techniques. He told me that I'm to never use them for anything other than to protect the bonds of my family. But it's more than that on the line! So many families are affected and will suffer if I shut my eyes here, and so many of my own men will have died in vain. This is bigger than just the politics of the underworld, this is the livelihood of everyone! I want to protect more, I want to play a bigger role, I want to utilize my potential! I'm a Yoshikara, dammit!

Indy comes closer, still suspicious of the idle inkling who laid face down in her own pool, with her arm extended, only fingertips away from the sword, but unable to move. She can count the steps the man's taken as he approaches her, but her eyes won't open and her body won't obey her commands. A tip and tap away, Indy aims his pistol and shows the other pair holstered at his hip-on guard now that he was within her range. He crouches just a couple steps away and watches her with disappointment: all that spunk and she's defeated before the fight can turn into something entertaining, though he knew he'd stained his pants if the action kept going and she didn't keep taking damage from her own attacks. Finally lowering his guard with a sigh, ready to shoot her in the head and call it a fight, another streak of light flashes before him, the singing cry of metal getting sliced in half, and the splatter of blood hitting the ground, Indy instinctively avoided a body shot and his arms didn't get caught, but his gun was totaled. Akane springs forward with bloodshot eyes as red as the blood flowing from her nose and mouth, gripping her blade with the last strength she has while wearing the holes filling her body with valor. Indy's frozen for a moment, enough for her to jab his chest and make him spray; he backs away before it gets deep but the damage is done. Akane finally made him bleed. Indy's shocked by the growing red stain on his chest and flinches, placing his trembling hand over the cut. He hates the sight of his own blood, and in fact, the reason he made it so far and earned the title of Wild Card was because he's never bled in a fight against an opponent, though it was believed that he's weak once he saw his own blood on the account of higher ranks who would continuously spar together as training. With him knocked down a few pegs, even the critically damaged Akane stood a fighting chance, though she couldn't hold out for too long with the amount of blood she's losing. Enraged, Indy loses his composure and charges and Akane raising his whip, about to land a strike on her, but it backfires as with one swift across-the-body slash she slices his whip in half-proceeding to dice them up in a second. Indy isn't afraid to engage her close quarter battle now that he's lost his composure, deciding that instead of allowing her to pick up on his vulnerability he'll throw an onslaught of attacks in hopes that one of his strikes with the whip can make her flinch for a moment, and that the next bullet will kill her. Akane sharply reads his movements and tracks where the bullets are flying from his two guns, sloppily avoiding them except for a couple more that slow her down.

"You really do look like a demon!" he shouts, pointing out that the blood flowing down from her eye sockets were disturbing enough, Akane doesn't care, for she knew this would only be a small price to pay to earn the victory that'd save her nation. She closes the gap and does a wide swing, Indy uses the head of his gun to shield him-hearing the cracks in the weapon as it grinds against her blade. With his free hand he uses the other gun to shoot at her, but her strength proves unmatched, able to maneuver her way around him and able to grow some distance. "Oh no you don't!" Indy shouts in a fit of rage, not about to let her escape his range, using his whip to catch her free arm and yanked her back into battle. Within his range for another shot, he prepares to shoot her the moment she comes closer on his pull, but as the shot is fired at point-blank range, the blade penetrates his abdomen completely and emerges through his torso doused in his blood. He didn't process what happened in those few seconds, only staring at the blood-filled eyes of Akane, who looked like she couldn't even see anymore. His lips quivering, he realized what had happened from the shred of hair missing from her hair; he missed his mark. Backing away from her sword with a gashing wound on his torso, his arms and legs trembling and tears flowing down his face, he collapsed. "How did you...do that…" he struggled with his last breath.

Akane is the last one standing, soon brought to her knee with her blade used for support, her breath ragged and her gaze dull as the light in her eyes vanished, filled with blood leaking from eyes, nose, and mouth; she's nothing more than a hollow shell relying on her instincts. She can't see anything in this darkness, but can hear over the pounding eardrums and overworking heart a thud followed by the last words of Indy. She prevailed! Unfortunately, she heard several footsteps rushing in her direction and figured it must be the enemy coming for revenge of their commander. So close…! She thought in defeat, satisfied that she could return the favor to him for putting so many bullets in her. Whether it was the blood loss and trauma she suffered that'd kill her, or the enemies who would try to end her as retaliation for the loss of their leader, she resolved that this is the end. Closing her eyes and taking a breath of relief, she awaits her judgment...

To the east.

A battleground dyed red with the stench of rotting flesh and gun smoke, the deafening sound of weapons firing in succession and projectile soaring through the air only to miss their mark and strike buildings or strays that hit their own comrades, this is the front where Joseph Galloway and the rest of his squad make their defensive stand. Octarian forces are making their push to the east with a similar strategy to their counterparts of the west where they allowed their heavy hitters bulldoze through the defenses and let their Wild Card commander sit back and give orders, but there's a huge difference in the result. Since Joseph took most of the heavy artillery, he and the others made it extremely difficult for the octarians to make a successful breach. The enemy's response was to concentrate on a single area and breakthrough-similar to what the enemy tried previously. What followed was this mess, which saw the death toll rise as explosions claimed pockets of lives. At the moment, some of the Galloway family were issuing commands while others were out on the front lines risking their lives. Chase is on the frontlines rallying troops to continue the fight, motivating them to never lose hope to keep the overall morale afloat with unfortunate souls getting claimed by the fire of the octarians. Also on the frontlines battling his heart out is Ryan, who fought like a maverick with an independent approach rather than the way his brother worked to keep everyone together. Madelyn was with Joseph towards the center of this defense and helped in giving out commands and making adjustments based on who the enemy reacted. On the other side, Root's head is about to burst under the stress. The power of the enemy is greater than he anticipated with their smaller numbers somehow holding out against his endless supply. That wasn't all either as the enemy inklings tenaciously took down several of their weapons in succession. At this rate, he needed to do something or else risk failing on the attack and allowing the enemy to make an attempt for the main formation.

"How are they still in this!?" he shouts with a stomp of his foot, digging into the ground with a squash. "We have the numbers, the technology...this shouldn't be happening!"

"What should we do? The next wave isn't showing itself and we can't take more troops from Leone since we decided on this amount to be more than enough." one of his subordinates spoke awaiting his commands.

Root clenched his fist, "We DO have more than enough to take them down, and that is the problem. I heard that Indy was struggling against the western front but that was more so because they had enough troops to keep them afloat and put up a fight. But this...this is different! The weapons they're using may not have the same firepower as ours, but they've devised a strategy of how to be effective with what they've got. And now, they're exploiting that." when thinking back to how this battle went, he found it unbelievable that the rowdy bunch who seemed to lead this defense were doing so with efficiency. At first, they were losing men from left to right under sloppy and rushed commands that only hurt their side, but now, it felt like the inklings weren't only getting clever, but actually stood a chance at defeating them and launching another attack on the main formation. "It'd be bad news if the main force gets broken up before the next wave arrives…" Scrambling his mind for an answer to these problems, there was only one conclusion he arrived to; "I'm going in." he decides, declaring that the best way to get the job done was with his own hands. Clearly, his commands weren't registering with the troops so he had to put in an appearance and hopefully change the tide.

Meanwhile in the capital close to parliament, war erupted at the final front just before Lime's station-a battle between Blanco and Verde at the very helm. Blanco's forces were stopped under the rubble at the start and Verde's side took advantage of the opportunity to get as many licks in on the downed giants. After a few hundred were neutralized, the octarians finally caught themselves and battled on the rubble and into their defenses in all out showdown. Between Blanco and Verde, the setting was perfect for a battle between two men: the noisy bullets and cries of men, the smell of smoke from the fires, and difficulty breathing and seeing in such conditions. Both men have their guns drawn and their fists cuffed, ready to exchange blows yet again, and it starts with Blanco rushing at Verde. One. Two. Three. Shots are fired like the beat in a song, Blanco's up in the air with a super punch coming down; Verde eats the punch and fires his gun, grazing Blanco's neck. The octoling backs away instinctively, aware that although he could pressure him in a close quarters battle, Verde was the last person to try such reckless tactics on. Verde's narrowed gaze sharpens as he shakes his head with disapproval and waives his gun. With a finger twirl, Verde fires his gun in mid-twirl and sends a couple bullets flying into the nearby rubble that then deflects in the direction of Blanco; the octoling's senses scream and he narrowly dodges the ricocheted bullets. Unfortunately for him, there was more to Verde's actions than meets the eye. If the close call of those bullets weren't enough to tell him in the swift passage of a few seconds how grave a situation he's in, then they frightening blur of an inkling in his blindside would do the trick. A terrible wail echoes through the battlefield followed by a shot firing off, blood splattering everywhere. Luckily for Blanco, it wasn't a wound to his torso, but he no longer had a whole arm, as Verde blasted away his left hand and forearm. But as a Wild Card, Blanco had the fastest fingers in the underground, and returning the favor at the last minute to create some space, he shot a close on the nearly took Verde's right eye if he hadn't contorted his body to lean beforehand. Verde stops in his place and puts his hand to his face to check for blood-Blanco rolls away to clot his arm by tearing a piece of clothing from one of his dead comrades and tie it where the forearm is missing. They exchange a long glare at one another, huffing and puffing as sweat rolls down their faces for different reasons. The elapsed time of battle felt like an hour with the way both sides were fighting but in truth was only a few minutes!

Blanco kneels and reaches for his tingling arm to hold the bleeding cloth tied at the elbow, "Quite the price to be paid, I suppose." he winces, grimacing as the pain worsens; Verde readies his gun and takes his aim. "Inkling, you claim to fight for the sake of your siblings…" he takes a huge gulp and rises to his feet; "Is this the price of your bond? A last stand against one measly opponent? Are you aware that soon, thousands will be unleashed in separate waves? As you and your forces are, you stand no chance."

Verde fires a shot in Blanco's shoulders to shut him up, approaching him and firing another shot in his arm to make him useless; Blanco screams in agony, but Verde doesn't listen and readies a shot for his head. Blanco's cries for mercy soon turn to a sinister laugh as the inkling approaches-Verde's suspicious of the man's sudden change in behavior but he doesn't pick up on it just yet. When Verde reaches close enough enough, he reveals what's been under his attire this entire fight: a bomb vest. Strapped with plenty of explosives, they were the special kind that could only be detonated manually and were indestructible otherwise. The inkling saw death, as he realized what the octoling's message was. With a final glance at Verde, Blanco uses his free hand to pull the string on his vest and detonates. A small explosion goes off, but not without quite the bang. Verde's sent flying in the opposite direction charred from the flames and crashes into the nearby rubble. Buried in their, he's fading in and out of consciousness-reeling. Far across from him surrounded by a black ring belonging to the detonated bomb stood Blanco, standing up with all his clothes and skin burnt from the immediate impact. He looked to be a shell of himself, but he was still alive somehow.

Verde's still reeling from the explosion, but he's in disbelief. "Wondering how I'm alive?" Blanco laughs coughing up smoke, "I...didn't think that little armor would do the trick but she was right! The explosion you see was a self destruct method. It insured that you would take the brunt of the damage, and at the very least, I can escape with my life by wearing this special armor under the bomb vest. This is the majestic power of Octarian tech!" Verde struggles to his feet in defiance, brushing off the damage and reaching for the gun he dropped just before crashing. "Ah, still got some fight left in you. No matter, I've accomplished my main role. This deathmatch is only a bonus."

Verde doesn't understand any of this, but his instincts as a Royale tell him to get up and fight. The gun clenched in his hand, he's ready to fill Blanco's scorched body with holes. But by the time he finally comes to his senses, he realizes what Verde meant just a moment ago. The others! His eyes widen in bewilderment at how he allowed himself to forget at such a critical point. The rumbling ground and massive stampede were indicators that the main force were approaching off in the distance. The reason why Blanco had dragged out this fight, the reason for his side seeming to have a chance to defend, it was all for this moment-a bitter one as he watched the smug look on the burnt octoling's face. He tastes victory now that his side will be rejuvenated with his leader joining him to take down Verde and his measly defenses, or at least that's what the inkling thought. But as the stampede arrives and his side braces for the attack, to his surprise, they don't pounce on them and instead ignore them entirely. Perturbed by the actions of the octoling commander controlling this herd, he wondered if they thought so little of him that they didn't even bother with him, but after kicking aside such childish thoughts, he remembered the big picture, and despair showing on his jaw-dropping expression with clarity at the situation.

"Push forward!" Leone commands arriving at the scene with her innumerable forces, expressing her gratitude towards Blanco for his efforts once she saw the state that he was in; he did all of this to ensure her arrival, and now a critical point in this battle has been reached. "As thanks for your brave efforts, I will spare you enough to take over this front although it might be useless to do so when we're heading for their symbol of power." she rewards him, going on her merry way past Verde and his defense easily.

Verde's head drops in shame at how he allowed this to happen. From the beginning, this was part of their plan to split them up and he enabled this by tearing down his own defense and going on the attack rather than sticking to an immediate defense, and now he's placed his sister in a terrible spot. Clenching his fist in frustration, he overhears the words of encouragement from Blanco that doubled as a taunt now that he had quite the hefty reinforcements. A simple statement, Blanco clarified that they didn't look down on him or underestimate him, but that they have a mission to carry out and he can't risk the commander being preoccupied with another enemy besides the one in charge of the defensive operation, explaining that his commander was far stronger than he or other leaders on the surface thus far. The inkling's face turned purple and blue, but not in fear, but agitation. Steamed, he didn't know where to release these pent up emotions, but with a reminder of the situation he's in with his squad, he takes a look at the bleak surroundings of destruction and returns to a clear state, taking out his communicator. "Head General, I'm Sorry! They got past me and their leader is heading your direction with the entire army. My side is locked up with the enemy reinforcements they dropped off while heading your way so I don't think I'll reach in time to give chase. Please..." he apologized in a solemn tone, understanding that this was the last thing anyone wanted to hear, especially out of his mouth since he was the least likely to get outspoken. But in this time of need, Verde had to revert back to what a little sibling would do and leave it to his big sister to handle his failures. After all, there was a reason she was Head General while he stood second-in-command. On the other side, Lime sighs showing her teeth with a growl-her eyes sharp like her mother's now. If her brother was getting flustered, then must be urgent. Turning to her subordinates, she gave a telling look and they all nodded in compliance with her command, opening a path for her. She opens the palm of her hand, legs parted a little wider in a straightened yet intimidating stance; a dozen of her subordinates come together and hand her a heavy pole that wore the flag of Inkopolis. A vicious glare written on her face, the "mother" of the Inkopolis army finally got serious and marched to the blockade with her flag in hand and her chin raised. Many miles away approaching fast, Leone felt a tingle down her spine at that moment, excited to see who awaited behind the blockade protecting parliament.