"Sudden Death…Sudden Death!" chant the crowd louder and louder as they grow hungrier and hungrier for an encore to the phenomenal race that had transpired. All the girls who had lost to the trio helped them up off the floor, congratulating them on their historic feat. Unfortunately, it would be short lived as the committee came to an agreement of having a sudden death race to determine the victor.
Bianca and Machi still have fire left to burn as they stretch and ready themselves for the sudden death that would be happening immediately. Sally's legs are shaking as she's weak from the over-exertion of energy; never before had she tried so hard in a solo competition. "Well…I gave it all I could. I don't think I have enough spunk to keep this up." She said, catching her breath; having doubts about competing in the sudden death race; Reice sighed as he saw her struggle on her feet.
"I guess it was a matter of time before she reached her limit." Reice shrugged, seeing how discouraged Sally must be-in hand with her fatigue.
"Bianca and Machi had spent a great deal of their lives competing in these events, it only makes sense that they'd still be raring to go; No doubt, Sally has nothing left to prove, she's shown us all what she's capable of." Sky said, not wanting Sally to strain her body any longer.
"Sally!" Azule yelled, standing on top of ledge and nearly falling over as he called out to her, "Don't give up! You're not one to fall back!" he continued, "If it wasn't for you, Squidcom wouldn't be the way it is!" He yelled with more passion, hinting back to when he was inactive as captain and she'd taken over and led the club; Sally begins to get emotional as the memory returns.
"So...many...sleepless nights..!"-She huffed and crouched over, putting two fingers to her neck as she felt her rapid pulse; if she continued any longer, she could risk serious injury!
"I know this may be selfish of me…" Azule said, refusing to step down-despite his friends wishes to not draw any more attention, "But as captain, I refuse to watch you walk away from this sudden death race. Don't bother arguing…your eyes tell me different!"
As Azule looks over, his eyes meet hers; both of them had the same fighting spirit, it was something very few could simply understand. Although he may not have witnessed her greatness in the first SAHS Rank Wars, he knew from the film that he'd seen from the night of his return, that Sally was one person incapable of quitting; Sally sniggered as she kept her eyes on him, finally catching herself.
"Geez captain…you just don't seem to give me a break, huh?" she said, stretching and preparing for the race; she'll be competing anyway.
The crowd cheers after hearing her response, having been in front row seats to the conversation between the captain and his ace. At a training facility and on a luxury coach, a certain silhouette pair of Inklings sat in their seats at their places with a light shining on their surroundings-one watching on the TV with her teammates while the other one was watching the race on his phone. Both of them share the same thought at the same time as they see Sally prepare for the sudden death that lay before her. Good luck honey, you can do it!
The stadium becomes quiet as the three girls line up in position at the start/finish line: Bianca on the left, Sally in the middle, and Machi on the right with each having a lane of space. The vibrant colored ink of their tentacles was set before them, ready to be swum in by the trio. No longer would they be running the same course as before, now they would run a classic race across the track-with a catch.
"Now, instead of one lap…you ladies will do three!" said Callie with a devilish grin.
"This assures that there won't be any ties…" Marie added, not as excited since she knew the girls had to be running on empty.
"They don't call this sudden death for no reason! There's a reason it's never been done until now!" Callie commented as the start was about to happen.
The gun fires and the girls dive into the ink gracefully-switching to the squidforms! It's officially a sudden death race at the fall splatfest! All three girls enter the first corner at full speed, each girl showing no miss in their step. It's a beautiful first turn that anyone could ever imagine as not a simple speck of ink exits the lanes. The girls exit the turn and sweep through the straightaway, Bianca begins to creep away just an inch as they enter the next turn; the three girls blast through the turn and reach the next straightaway, passing the line and beginning their second lap.
"Bianca's got the lead as they zip around the track, almost ready for the final lap!" Callie said as the girls entered the final turn before their final lap.
I've got one shot! I can't disappoint them…I've been the most reliable one-always getting the job done. I'll be a mistake if I lose in front of them… Sally thought-her mind waivers as she ponders the options at the speed she was moving; could she really beat these two?
Machi begins to make some ground and level herself with Bianca as the two begin to grow some distance on Sally; Sally falls further and further behind as they cross the line for the final lap. The entire audience in the stadium rises as the final bell is rung to signal the lap.
"This is it! We're going to see a winner as Bianca and Machi are head-to-head as we approach the first turn. Marie, is there any chance the wonder kid Sally can make a comeback and rally her way into this race? She's more than two seconds behind-and it's increasing…"
"Sadly no, I think this is all that she has left."
The girls enter and exit the first turn, Sally rallied back just a little to close the gap. The three girls blaze their way across the rest of the track as the fans scream their name, each choosing their own favorite racer as the finish line was able to be seen in the distance!
Sally's heart is racing as she forces her body into overdrive, chugging right behind the two leaders as the finish line becomes more and more visible. Sally's visualizes her team, all the fun she had with them, and of the future that was looking bright for them all; Sally's mind snaps as she remembers her first laugh shared with the rest of Squidcom, their jolly laughter and beaming faces of joy. Sally's charges yelling -"For Squidcom!"-brushing past Bianca and Machi at the very last second and stealing the victory!
The stadium erupts as the photo finish is shown: Sally narrowly defeated Bolting Bianca-the fastest of all time and Machi, the 2-time champion! Sally crashes to the ground, returning to her humanoid form as she lies on the ground-sobbing tears of joy as she realized the heavy accomplishment she'd just pulled and Marie are speechless, both of them are out of their seats with their mouths wide open; the most unbelievable upset just happened!
Bianca and Machi help Sally up, sharing a long and tender group hug as they expressed congrats to her for the amazing race. The audience dances to a harmonious tune as the victory song is played in festive instruments. Sally goes over to the side where Squidcom and the others were with Bianca and Machi following her. Sally hugs each of them- hugging Azule and Reice even tighter as the moment began to set in, she'd truly accomplished her personal goal!
Over at the two separate locations, the two inklings both show satisfaction as their faces are revealed. The first face who at the facility was of her mother, Hanna Walleye; it's frightening at their resemblance! The father, Carson Walleye, was the one in the luxury coach. Both of them have a huge grin on their face as their daughter celebrates her win on television.
Sally receives her trophy and a deafening standing ovation! Sally joined Cobalt on capturing the attention of everyone with her performance, no doubt it could only get better with Azule and Tangie participating in the Martial arts event that would start tomorrow. The rest of the night is magical for everyone at the festival as they get treated to some live performances from trending artists like The Big Fish and Codie Grey as well as many little food trucks set up with fun little games to play as the first night is in the books. Sally and friends dance the night away and enjoy one another's company as they discuss a number of topics, even Cobalt returned later that night to join them, informing them that his two friends would be fine by Thursday and make the speedy recovery in time to watch the final. But two inklings depart a tad bit earlier than expected-both heading back to their rooms at Mahi-Mahi resort to gather their thoughts alone. Azule sat down on his bed, staring blankly at wall in front of him as he began to slither away from his optimistic and loving persona into the bloodlust-filled murderer that he'd keep locked away from everyone out of fear for their safety...and his too. He looks over at an orange chair-shifting his mind to Tangie as he studied the color-remembering a blanket of the past that he'd shared with her at the orphanage, smiling gently as the thought of battling her warms him. For Tangie, she too sat in quietness, also having a focused mindset as she stared at the note on her phone-"Win the Tournament…Beat Azule!"-For Tangie, this tournament was no ordinary one. It was the chance she could get to bury the nightmares of her bed-ridden illness that had rendered her inactive for years, and it was also a chance for her to possibly compete against someone who she held in very high regards, Azule.
Tangie loses her focus as she covers her head-shaking rapidly and showing some doubt, there's no way I can simply beat him! He's my mentor…he'd know all of my tactics if he was anything like before. It's crazy to imagine that I could get this chance… But now that he's been training with Pastelle, he might be even stronger. I can't allow him to beat me…it doesn't matter if he is the captain…it doesn't matter if he taught me everything...I'll show him everything that I've got! She continued to hype herself up as the night continued, anxious for the chance to face him. Many limos and big SUVs arrived at the hotel with extremely important guests exiting the vehicles and checking in. Tomorrow showed great promise as new things looked to be unfolding ever so slowly in the nation of Inkopolis, onward to the Martial arts tournament!
