The atmosphere around the entire nation of Inkopolis was ecstatic as the Squid Sisters were expected to make their arrival today. Today also marked the day that everyone would be going to Mahi-Mahi resort to stay and scope out the venue of one of the three available for the fall splatfest. Azule and friends ventured around the resort to find anything that would be of interest since they'd be there for the entire week as well as visiting the museum sometime, too. But it'd been the same schedule of training for everyone in preparation for the fall splatfest, only this time using the resort's facilities. Azule was sparring with Pastelle at the dojo on the fifth floor and they'd been sparring for the entire day, which could be seen by the amount of sweat dripping from both as they pant heavily-staring into one another's eyes, waiting for the other to strike. Azule lunges forward, throwing a quick right hook. Pastelle blocks the punch with her left hand, and pulls him over with her right hand-flipping him over. Azule is slow to get up as sweat drops to the floor; Pastelle wipes the sweat off her forehead. Azule hops back up, circling Pastelle as he planned his attack, eyeing her legs as a possible target. Azule races as Pastelle, throwing a left punch-miss, a right punch-he misses again, and finally he attempts a roundhouse kick. Pastelle dodges it, quickly jabbing him in the gut with her hand, stunning him to defeat.
"Looks like the fatigue is finally setting in…you've improved quite rapidly!"-She helps him up, both of them panting heavier than before-"I say we should call it a day. For all of this week, you've been doing nothing but intense martial arts training…don't you think you should practice with your friends for the turf wars on the weekend next week?"
Azule wiped his face with a towel, "I'm fine. I think me and the others will be in form for the turf wars when it comes. But for now, I'd like to focus on my fighting skills. I feel like I've lost so much time! I have about 8 years worth of rustiness!"
You call that rusty!? I nearly had to try harder than I anticipated! You're way stronger than I thought! Pastelle thought, as a small vein popped from the back her head as she stared at Azule with skepticism.
"Azule, do you think you can come with me? I have a list of errands that I need to run downtown for…"
"Yes! With pleasure…better yet, why don't I take care of your errands for you?" said Azule, seeing it as the perfect chance to impress her.
"Sure…"-tilting her head a little-"you're quite the sweet one. Here… Take this list and collect all of those items, which you'll find downtown. You can use my credit card…"-handing him her card; he accepts it carefully, feasting his eyes on the opportunity presented to him.
Azule sparkled as he processed her compliment, giving her a salute as he jollily hopped along to do the errands. Pastelle leans against the wall, crossing her arms and closing her eyes and smiling-laughing just a little. Your charm is unreal Azule, I don't think any strong-hearted girl could resist such purity she thought as she looked up and heard her phone ringing. She answers the phone, hearing a familiar couple of voices greet her. Her expression changes as they fill her in on what the current agenda. "Ok, so we're all supposed to meet at the Mahi-Mahi resort for the conference. So exactly what is this meeting supposed to be on?" -Seeking clarification on why these people would call her at this time-"aren't you going to be rehearsing for your concert performance next week?"
"Don't worry about it." Said Agent 1through the line, "We found someone within our interest that the General and Leader of the first division would like to make acquaintance with…"
"And who may that be?" pried Pastelle, tired of the vague answers.
"You'll find out later today at the resort along with the others, Agent 6." Said Agent 2, trying to sound cool like agent 1; Pastelle's Impatience grew.
"Don't call me that…anyways have good concert, Callie and Marie!" taunted Pastelle, hanging up immediately to the sound of the girls yelling at her.
Her expression changes, idiots…I'm already here. Something tells me it's no coincidence that we are staying at this hotel.
Downtown in Inkopolis was very busy, filled with noisy citizens and vehicles, the unpleasant smell of gasoline and exhaust filling the surrounding air with tons of cars crammed into the main street to cause outrageous traffic jams. No doubt we were at the prime hour of five o clock. The amazing sight of Hammerhead Bridge with the smoky fog clouding over the bridge itself sits behind the marvelous city. The numerous street vendors are lined up along the sidewalks, making their sales pitch to those passing by, no doubt, Azule was finally in the heart of Inkopolis, Downtown Inkopolis.
"Wow, this place is huge!" awed Azule as he looked up at the gigantic sky scrapers.
Azule got everything on the list, ranging from hardware supplies to general groceries to entertainment like video games; the boy had been doing all her shopping and didn't even show any second thought. Now, he was carrying around a ton of boxes and bags, teetering from left to right. He walked on the sidewalk, passing by many people who didn't even stop to help him. He peeked oer the boxes and saw an open parking lot where he could rest and quickly balanced his way over.
A blond tentacle boy and orange tentacle girl pull up next to him in a green convertible. The boy had aviator shades on, wearing a Green collar shirt that had Mahi-Mahi prep written vertically in a Yellow font. The girl also had the same shirt on, but with long sleeves.
"Hey boy...! You have quite the handful there…would you like our assistance?" asked the boy.
"Most certainly..! I don't think I could carry them all back to the resort from here." Azule exhaled, falling on his knees; the two look at Azule with astonishment.
They helped pack most of the boxes and bags in the trunk, leaving a few to put in the back with Azule. Azule hops in the car with them, feeling the super fancy cream leather. The boy eyed Azule from the rear view mirror, staring intently on his features.
"You mentioned a few minutes ago that you came from a resort…Mahi-Mahi resort?" said the boy raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, I'm staying there for the week. I attend Squid Academy High."
"So you're also a wealthy one? Students that attend that school are predominantly rich, or at the least, have a higher standard of living…"
"Oh no, I'm dirt poor! I got in because of my exam scores."
"You're poor? I never heard of a lower class citizen making it into the power schools….then again…they are a fallen power, so it's no wonder." Shrugging his shoulders, unaware that he subconsciously insulted Azule; Azule ignores the last statement.
"So what school do the two of you attend?"
The boy smirks as if he'd been waiting forever for that question, "I attend Mahi-Mahi prep high, the richest school in the country and perhaps the entire continent!"
Azule rolls his eyes as the boy continued to rave on about the school; the girl sitting in the passenger seat displayed an apology in the form of a note, handing it to Azule. They three drive down south, heading back to the resort.
Reice and Cobalt were at the pool hall playing a game of pool with a couple of boys from their class viewing and the other boys watching a PTWL: Professional Turf War League game on TV between the Bay West Cods and the Bluefin Dolphins. The hall was filled with boys playing different games from pool to table tennis. Out on the poolside, the girls were out sunbathing together and drinking smoothies and having their own separate conversations amongst one another. The members of the Elites and Kidvel were already at the waiting room near the conference room where the meeting was to be scheduled with agents 1 and 2 and the general and first division leader. While there, both teams saw a handful of people in which they wished they hadn't run into.
A team of Silver tentacle Inklings glared at them, all of them had on t-shirts that read 'Beacon Hill', a team that the Elites knew all too well from their experiences of defeat against them in the many quarterfinals and semifinals in the winter tournament and spring invitational. Another team was also there, that had shirts reading 'Squidops' with their whole team too busy to even turn their attention with one reading a book, another listening to music and the remaining two playing games on their phones, they too also had history with both Beacon Hill and the Elites, usually facing one team in the round of 16 and the other in the semifinal or final. Beacon Hill was known as one the top schools in the nation, even around the continent. They had a much storied history of winning championships, collecting 11 titles in 20 appearances in the finals with 8 titles in the winter tournament, 2 titles in the spring invitational and 2 titles at Nationals with this very same roster winning 3 of those 11 titles and making 5 appearance in the finals of those events as well; they are currently the second best team in Inkopolis right behind the Special forces, who are the best team. As for the Squidops team, they had a total of 10 titles in15 finals appearances with 6 titles in the winter tournament, 2 in the spring invitational and 2 titles at Nationals; they are the fourth strongest team in the country.
"So we have to stay in the same room as the perennial losers and fish brains?" snarled the captain of Beacon Hill, who wore a Black and Silver varsity jacket with an unpleasant aura; Aaron looked ready to fight, given the history between the two captains.
"Gin, don't start any problems here...our coach will get upset..." whispered a girl with Platinum tentacles and white tinges.
"Shut up Silvia, it's none of your business!" barked Gin; the boy who was listening to music unplugged and took out his ear buds.
"That was pretty rude Gin; shouldn't you treat your cute teammate nicer? Some gentleman you are…" he remarked, putting his hands in his pockets casually.
"Piss off, I'll deal with you at the winter tourney!" retorted Gin; the boy from Squidops sharpened his glare at Gin, who did likewise.
"Whoa whoa…"-interrupted Sky-"it'd be really bad if the 3 of the 4 most trusted schools in Inkopolis began fighting over something so petty, let's all just get along and find out what this meeting is about."
"Oh, look who's decided to play peacemaker, the one with the biggest body count out us all, go figure." Taunted Gin; the other members of the Elites came forward as did the members of Beacon hill, no doubt there was bad blood between the two teams.
"My line of is something I'm not proud of…"-Sky said looking down in shame and hugging herself-"But I do what I can because that's what is expected of me."
It was a very tense mood with the Beacon kids, Squidops captain and Elites. Pastelle and her team of Kidvel sat there, very uncomfortable with the harsh relationship between the teams. Geez, has it always been this way? They were like this last year, too…She thought, unsure of what to do to ease everything.
"Where's the other teams...? Shouldn't the Special Forces, Mahi-Mahi prep, Bluefin, Reef, Cuttlefish high and Arowana high be in attendance?" Taylor asked, trying to shift the captain's worry from her colleagues.
"Oh, I think they might be running late. We should see them by the time the conference begins."
Both parties went back to their corners as they heard the door open; two individuals emerged from the room. The two individuals were none other than Callie and Marie aka Agents 1 and 2. Both of them were much taller, with curvier bodies-although expected since they were full grown adults, no longer wearing their disguise since they were in a private part of the resort. They all entered the room and saw two Inklings sitting all the way down at the last two seats: the center one was occupied by a female with Lime Yellow tentacles and wearing a cap Blue peaked cap similar to Cap'n Cuttlefish's. The male next to her on her left had Teal tentacles and was coat slinging his white jacket, one that was decorated with a bunch of medals. The female got up and gave them all a cheerful smile, while the male had a very discontented expression. Sky avoided eye contact with them as she covered her face with her bobble hat and sat behind Aaron. Everyone took their seat, seeing that there was a hefty amount of empty chairs in the conference room.
"Well, looks like we have some guests that haven't arrived as of yet…so I will continue on without them."
Callie and Marie shut the door as the General got up; she looked so happy and filled with light that she brightened up the room easily, relaxing everyone. Sky kept sweating bullets and avoiding the General. Get it together Sky! It's not a big deal…it's not a big deal…! Oh man it is! I didn't think that I'd actually see them again…I'd only heard rumors of the possibility, but it might be true…
"I have a number of things for discussion today, I want to start off with our first subject being the admission of an Octoling into one of our schools…"-utter silence is the only thing present-"Squid Academyhigh school admitted and Octoling into their school, and not just any Octoling…but the younger of two of the princesses of the proud Octarian race. I want to first say that I'm completely behind this decision and also very proud of the barrier that has been broken."-The other members looked mesmerized by her opinion-"But, I am afraid that the situation between the two races isn't improving any faster. So what exactly can be done to prepare for the sudden case of a war breaking out? Do you think it would help that we have one the most important people of that race in our territory? If anything happens to her, what will be your response, knowing an entire war is in the balance…"
"We'll guard her with our lives." Responded Aaron with conviction, pleasing the General; Sky hid even more behind Aaron as the General began to show interest in her.
"Why are you hiding from the General? Haven't you ever seen her in person?" whispered Aaron.
"Yes, but never in a closed room like this…remember what I told you the other night? I think she and the first division leader just might be-"
The door opens as the other members from their schools arrived, including the boy and girl who picked up Azule. Everyone took a seat, apologizing to the General before so. The General was pleased that she could finally get down to everything on the agenda. She took a seat, crossing her arms and taking a long look around the room.
"Hello everyone, my name is Lime-Estella Royale, and I'm your General of the Inkling army of Inkopolis. It is great that we may finally begin…"
