That morning, Azule woke up and headed straight to the bathroom and took his pills-no sudden effects. He had his normal breakfast that he'd been having the entire week so far, Sunny-side eggs with hash browns; the others seemed a bit unnerved by the sudden change in Azule's behavior-everyone except Sky. Azule kept quiet as he munched on his crunchy hash browns, showing his death stare unconsciously as he was in deep thought, not realizing that he'd been staring across at Fuchsia.
"Hey, it's too early in the morning for you to be acting like this!" Sky said, slapping him on the back, a slap so hard it made Azule drop his fork.
"Yeah, you're killing the table right now…" Sally added, also slapping Azule hard on the back and making him drop his fork yet again.
"Seems you're still on edge about yesterday, but you do know that she's fine. Cobalt said so before we all went to sleep, he even spent the whole night there by her side to make sure she was fine." Reice said, trying to ease Azule.
"I know she's fine, but that doesn't change what Ueru did. Today, I'll make him regret ever being born."Azule said with authority, bending his fork in half.
That morning at the resort, it was incredibly packed with many more people. Overnight, many celebrities, politicians and big names in all major industries checked into the resort and nearby hotels with all of them talking about the match that was scheduled today; everyone was looking forward to seeing what the youngest child of the legendary Agents 3 and 4, Azule Royale, would do against the well known "Blood lustful Sadist" Ueru Kotochi. As the trio of Azule, Sky and Pastelle exited the dining room, they were met by a short and slender Inkling that seemed to be in his mid hundreds, one dressed in a fancy suit with frosty white tentacles and a beard, wearing a blue captain's hat and hunched over-shaking, leaning on a cane for support. He had a total of twelve Inkling guards dressed in similar suits with fancy black aviator shades and earpieces that were surrounding him like bodyguards, so he must be special Azule thought. Azule stares at them, confused as to why a man would need so many guards in such a place; Sky and Pastelle recognized the man immediately and began sweating bullets, not suspecting that even he would come all this way.
"Who are you?" Azule said bluntly in a rude tone, raising an eyebrow as he tilted his head back a little bit, showing no respect; Pastelle and Sky yank him away.
"Don't talk that way towards Mr.-" they said in unison, but got cut off as the guards moved in.
"Amazing to see Agents 5 and 6 together, I thought you two were rivals!" guffawed the old geezer until he snorted; I knew something was up, what the heck is he doing here? Pastelle thought as she got a good look at the old man.
"Sir, we didn't expect to see you here…" Sky said, diligently bowing her head in respect. "It's always an honor to be in your presence…"
"Well then! It seems the reunion with your siblings has certainly knocked the shyness out of you, Miss Royale, and my-oh my, are you beginning to look more like your mother…!" said the old man jollily; Sky blushes at the mention of her mother.
"My question never got answered, who exactly are you?" Azule said in a stronger tone, his cold stare spreading; the old man sensed the feelings in Azule.
"Ah, you must be the one that Lime and Verde and my grand-kids were talking about, are you perhaps, the youngest one? You certainly have your father's stare…but you have your mom's fighting spirit from what I can see in your matches…" commented the old man, coming closer to Azule, signaling his guards to stand down.
"What…? What about my parents? You're not answering my question!" Azule said, stomping his foot like a little kid; the old man laughs, patting Azule on the head.
"Let's just say I'm someone very important! And someone who remembers you all the way back to when you were in a diaper!" said the old man winking, "anyways, I'll be looking forward to match later on today. I'm sure many important people will be in attendance just to see you…sometime in the future, I'll be meeting with you to discuss some business, my young prodigy." The old man exits with his guards, heading over to the dining room.
"Sky…Pastelle…who was that guy?"
"That's Cap'n Cuttlefish, one of the special advisers of the Inkopolis government…and also, the leader of the Agents…" Sky answered, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Let's just say that his visit here has meaning, he rarely ever leaves his cabin in Tyoko…I guess you've caught his attention, along with many others. Better not disappoint them. He's got heavy ties to the higher-ups" Added Pastelle, shoving Sky out the way to take her spotlight; as Azule stares off at the old man in wonder, the two girls are behind him, exchanging a spark as they butt heads.
"Spoiled brat!" said Sky.
"Self conceited granny!" said Pastelle.
Leader of the agents…? Maybe he's the one who started the elite group of Agents? Azule stood there, thinking of the interesting possibility. He had learned from Pastelle a little about the agents back on that Monday when they were training before the festival kicked off.
"I'm Agent 6 of the Agents division. The Agents division is a collection the six strongest inklings in the military that are hand-picked. They are given special missions aside from war affairs; they usually can range from recon to simply attending important political events…" Pastelle said sweating and breathing heavily, her shirt soaking wet as sweat dripped from her face-getting her towel to wipe off the sweat.
"Whoa…really..? So that means you're like a spy? Go figure…"
"Well, don't be too surprised. Your sister is a fellow agent as well, she's the 5th agent."
"hmmm…"-getting up to stretch-"so that explains what she was hinting earlier…but exactly why are you two the only agents?" Azule asked raising an eyebrow.
"Well, the person who chooses us is a very selective man. I heard he was the same man who picked Agent 3 and Agent 4! And…the rumors I'm hearing are that you and Sky are their kids, and you're directly related to the Head general and 1st division leader of the army!? Tell me more about that!" Pastelle said, interested in learning about Azule's family history.
"Well…"-looking up at the ceiling-"I remember having parents, but I can't recall their appearance-still a blur. As for my siblings, I have three: Lime-my oldest sister, Verde-my older brother…"-as he looked over at her, he could feel her breathing heavy as he mentioned his brother's name; she quickly snaps out of the trance and resumes her interest, "go on" she says. "The day when you guys had your meeting, Sky and I reunited with them. It was so crazy; Sky looked like she wanted to cry…but overall, it felt beautiful to see our family just reunite like this."
"So that's why she was always so tense…" Pastelle said under her breath, "She would always tense up around the General and 1st division leader…but I guess I understand now, she must have speculated that it was them, but was too shy and embarrassed to ask and confirm…."-she takes a deep breath-"Verde…your brother's name is Verde too?"
"Yeah, I think so; he told me so, but I don't remember ever calling him by that."
"Oh…"-clutching her arm and looking down-"I had a little brother named Verde, he was everything to me…I lost him to a car accident a while back."
"I'm sorry to hear that…"
"No worries"-standing up and smiling at him-"that was then, this is now."
The deafening noise at the arena increases as more and more people file in, up in the luxury boxes are many celebrities like Callie and Marie were in attendance, this time as fans and not as commentators-that's for the weekend. Plenty of the other celebrities were drinking wine as the crowd chant for their two combatants to enter the ring. Many of students who were affiliated with the military were in attendance, all of them scoping out the highly sought-after prospect that had captured everyone's attention; the leaders of numerous schools were all thinking of recruiting Azule for their school, they were intrigued by his attitude and were now interested in his skills.
Ueru entered the ring to a loud crowd of booing, praising and encouraging them to continue. Ueru had both his weapons from yesterday on hand, but this time there was also another whip on him, it's as if his game plan for the match was to torture Azule. Azule entered a few minutes later to the adoring fans chanting his name, some people were even wearing the shirts that Sky had been wearing; she must have sold them the shirts. As Ueru and Azule stared one another down, the situation for Azule looked like this: he had no weapons on him, his whole entire body would be his weapon.
"He's got to be crazy if he thinks his body will handle those whips and the belt." Commented Bianca, confused as to why he'd choose such a plain approach to the final.
"Zule's body is capable of withstanding nearly anything, our father made sure of it when he trained us."
The others turned to Sky, anticipating her to share her story of the mysterious power behind her and Azule's strength. Ever since Azule and Sky had reunited with their older siblings, the rumors of Agents 3 and 4 had been swirling all over the place; it was virtually impossible for anyone to not think about the possibility since the similarities could be seen in plain sight. Sky chuckles as she thought about it, that in just such a small time, her family's name would be everywhere after it had only became a distant myth; no one would ever question her about the 'Royale' but now, upon hearing of the four of them sharing warm embraces and distinct similarity in features, and then the fact that Lime and Verde were already the confirmed two kids of the Royale's with there being speculation of more, it only seemed right to believe that it was finally proven that four military grade Inklings with the same last name and same kinds of feature HAD to be the ones that the media searched years for.
"As little kids shortly before the war, our father would train Azule and me. Our training would begin early in the morning before the sunrise and would conclude right after sunset for about five days a week. Our workouts would rotate every week, but I do remember running up Beacon Hill and then across to Flounder Heights every morning with Azule. I remember when he once took us to do survival missions; leaving us in the forests of Algaeria and making us spend weeks in Mollusca. Because of his harsh training, our bodies are near impenetrable."
"So is that why Azule was able to take bullet to the head?" Fuchsia asked with full interest in Azule; Sky was reluctant to answer, since she was really scared at the time for his future.
"In some sort of way, yes, but it doesn't mean that he's indestructible, it doesn't mean he's immortal, he is very much capable of death…you know it."
"But wait…if you both received the same kind of training, doesn't that mean you're on the same level of strength as Azule?" Sally asked; Sky laughed.
"Heavens no, after I was put in the orphanage, I could no longer train-at least I didn't want to. When I left, I chose to become a sniper since it was more of a role that fitted my style in combat…I really hate fist fights." Sky said, waving her hand, "But he…I have no idea how he kept up in such shape! I'd say Zule's nearing the peak of his growth."
"It's thanks to me!" Pastelle gloated with a mischievous grin; a vein sprouts from Sky's head as she hears Pastelle's voice.
"You're quite obnoxious, you know?" attacked Sky.
"Don't be jealous that your brother chose to learn from me…"
Exactly why do you two hate each other? Thought the others as it got awkward with the two girls bickering. A few seats were empty in the long row; those seats were for Cobalt's two friends and for Cobalt and Tangie. Arokei and Jengai were simply running late-or so Cobalt thought. While Cobalt and Tangie were out in the main area outside getting food for the others, those two samurai's were sneaking around the building. Tangie had a band-aid on her cheeks and nose as she took the popcorn from Cobalt, their eyes locked as their hands touch each other, both of them giggling together; the intercom came on and the rules were explained to everyone.
"Hello and welcome everyone! Today is the Martial arts final between Azule Royale of team Trick, and Ueru Kotochi of team Trick! For today's battle, there is no out of bounds, so the entire space is available for battle! Both combatants are allowed to use any weapon of their choice as long as it isn't any type of blade or gun. The competitors will have as much time as needed to battle, and the winner will be whoever can force their opponent to either give up or incapacitate them. LET THE MATCH BEGIN!"
The bell rang as everyone set their focus down to the middle, cameras and phones all taking footage of the sleeper final that might steal the weekend turf war's flare, the final between Azule and Ueru begins! Ueru stares down Azule, showing his sharp teeth as he tilts his head back, widening his eyes with a predacious look; Azule's cold stare stays unchanged as his eyes stay locked on Ueru with the frosty sharp glint emanating a blue streak. What's his move going to be? Surely he'll go all out if he's anything like his parents…Cap'n Cuttlefish thought as he looked around at the many people in the crowd, an amount of them were leaning forward in anticipation for the first hit. Azule's friends stare on in anxiousness, hoping to see him get revenge. Fuchsia and Violet both feast their eyes as the one of their interest is about to show them a side that has never been seen before.
Azule bursts at an incredible speed in the blink of an eye, so fast! Ueru thought as the vision of Azule disappeared, before he knew it, in the corner of his left eye sat Azule winding up a full powered punch! Azule releases the punch with full force, striking Ueru in the abdomen and sending him outside the ring! Ueru scrapes the ground as his clothes get covered in the dirt, helping himself up as Azule stares him down. Azule stays silent as the crowd gasps, never before had such speed been seen! Azule cracks his knuckles as he stretches, ignoring the trash talk from Ueru.
"Come here and get your ass beaten!" Azule said with a murderous glare, waving for Ueru to come and receive his punishment; Ueru snaps and charges at Azule.
Azule waits there, not moving a muscle. Ueru takes out his first whips and begins whipping the ground to create a smoke screen, whipping so hard that the arena begins to fill with dust from the ground. Azule's as alert as ever as he avoids the lethal strikes from Ueru, flipping backwards as Ueru is now in close range.
"Don't think I'll let you get away…!" yelled Ueru, throwing his first at Azule; Azule's left leg gets caught up in the whip and he trips, his head bobbles on the ground from the hard fall.
The cracking of the whip grows louder as Ueru approaches, smelling the blood of Azule; the sound of the whip brings back a quick flashback of his haunting memories as he's caught in a moment of weakness. BA DUMP goes his heart, as he clutches his chest tightly, beginning to breathe heavily as his cold eyes turned to a solid blue. The smokescreen clears up, and the scene of Azule kneeling on the floor and breathing heavily triggers a worry for his friends as they all know very much what untimely event is happening; the rest of the audience is confused as to why Azule's in the position he's in.
N-no…not again! Please not again! Azule said in his mind, trying to calm down, she was actually serious!?I can't have a heart attack now of all times!
Ueru laughs as he whips Azule repeatedly, forcing Azule to scream in agony as each strike is harder to his skin. Ueru picks Azule up by the hair, "I won't even use my weapons against you any longer! I'll take pleasure in destroying you myself!"
Ueru lifts Azule up, and then performs a suplex on him. He follows up by body slamming Azule repeatedly, each time Azule took these hits he squirmed on the ground-both in pain from heart attack and the attacks from Ueru. Ueru performs a number of grappling attacks and holds until Azule begins to bleed a bright red from his head, suffering the blow as he landed on his head from one of Ueru's attacks. The audience is stunned by the events that have transpired, no one…not a single being in the arena or at home thought that Azule would be in this position. Fuchsia and Violet both have tears welling up, Reice is closing his eyes and looking away, Bianca and Machi are frozen from the sight of the blood loss, and the others: Sky, Aaron, Pastelle, Parker and their fellow teammates look on unfazed by everything.
Azule lied there lifeless, his body sore from everything. Lucky thing the medicine finally kicked in…the heart attacks over, but now I'm in this unfortunate situation…how am I going to get back in this match?
Azule crawls to the ring and helps himself up, his right ear has gone deaf from the blood rushing to there as a result from landing face and ear first. He can see Ueru laughing at him as he struggled to the ring, but he finally makes it, only to stagger as he tried to and Cobalt arrive, seeing Azule battered and bruised; Tangie yells Azule's name at the top of her lungs, telling him to get up and fight so loudly that everyone in the area turned back to look at her; Azule's ear shakes as he hears the ringing tone from Tangie, getting the message loud and clear what he had to do.
Yesterday…I saw her get embarrassed in front of the whole world.-turning gingerly in the direction from which he heard her voice, he saw all his friends staring at him with worried looks, then he saw Tangie and Cobalt at the top of the row walking down, he saw just how much confidence she had in him-I'm sorry I've taken so long…Azule stands up slowly grinning as the blood dripped onto the floor; Ueru stood there savagely, ready to rip his body to shreds with his bare hands.
"Looks like you've re-awakened!" Ueru said, sticking out his salivating tongue.
"Looks like this match is done…" Azule responded, tipping his hat forward with a bigger grin.
A swoosh of wind blows past Ueru as Azule drives his right knee into Ueru, delivering a right uppercut as well; Ueru staggers back with his mouth bleeding, such impact! Blood begins to drip across the ground as Azule speeds up his movements, avoiding any chances of being grappled. Ueru quickly grabs his whips that he dropped earlier and reverted back to his original plan; the crowd boos after seeing the cheap tactic.
"I thought he was only going to use his hands!" yelled Sky in anger, shaking her fist as she stood up.
"Not surprised to see him go back to the advantage game…"-Aaron commented in a wise tone-"he must have felt the momentum beginning to shift as soon as he sensed Azule's adrenaline rush, so he had no other option than to run back to the scenario that gave him an advantage."
Ueru swings his whip forward, capturing Azule's arm, Azule pulls on the whip with his arm, dragging Ueru closer. Ueru grins as he uses his second whip; Azule catches the second whip with his free hand, pulling Ueru closer. Ueru releases Azule from both whips and strikes the ground to free up some tiles as Azule caught his breath, his whole face was red from the blood. Ueru takes his belt, grinning as he began planning something up his sleeve. Azule's too focused on ending the match quickly to think of any possible sudden attacks by Ueru, charging forward at Ueru. His adrenaline must be dying down, now's my chance!
Ueru uses his belt and lashes at the floor, sprouting dust as he created his smokescreen. Azule closes both of his eyes, using his one good ear as his vision as the dust sprinkled across his face. Ueru put away his belt and took back out his whips, grabbing tiles with the whips and sending them in Azule's direction. Azule senses the tiles just in time, and breaks one of them with his bare hand, rejecting the other tile in Ueru's direction; Ueru's sudden reaction was to destroy the tile, which he does, but the repercussions is that he gives away his position. Found you! Azule thought, as he instantly sprinted at Ueru with his eyes closed and clotheslines him; Ueru's head bounces off the ground as he flips from the hard impact. Azule quickly pulls a combo and elbows the upside down Ueru-who's in midair-to the wall where the entrance was; a massive gush of wind blew from the impact as a he crater was created from the ridiculous strength of Azule. The referees march over and check to see if Ueru's fit to battle-he's not, he's unconscious. The audience screams in excitement as Azule clinches victory for team Trick, as well as revenge for Tangie; many of the big names in the luxury boxes found themselves applauding, Cap'n Cuttlefish stroked his beard with curiosity at the potential that he just witnessed. This boy…he'll make a mighty fine addition… walking out the luxury box with his body guards. Callie and Marie were on their feet and cheering loudly from their luxury box, happy to see Azule in action.
But the celebration is short lived as Azule staggers and falls to his knees, he'd suffered too many wounds and whatever strength was left was now sapped, no way could he even manage to stand on his own. He's helped to his feet by the refs, who'd just carried Ueru off. Azule rests backstage as two familiar faces await him backstage.
"Wow…so you're the real deal!" Jengai said helping Azule over, "We heard from Cobalt that you were someone special, but who could imagine!"
"We'll cut to the chase since you're all battered up. We need your help in the future; it's related to Cobalt and his family...there'll be an event happening around January that will involve Cobalt and his fellow cousins. We want to stop that event from happening, Are you in?" interrupted Arokei, not wanting to be there any longer than needed.
"Wait…Are you talking about the selection?" responded Azule, holding his head as he wavered.
"Yes, It's the selection …judging from your answer, I'd say you're aware of the event? It may be far from now, but it will be here before you know it." Jengai said, also looking to hurry up. "Anyways, take this…"-handing him a scrap of paper with some numbers on it-"We'll keep in touch, we fear that what might be happening in the future will have a huge effect on this country and we need as many allies as possible, we hope you'll join us."
Both of them leave just before the others can come, all of them rushing in to congratulate Azule on his hard earned victory. Azule's mind shifts to what the samurai duo had mentioned, did Cobalt's mission really have that much influence on the future of the country? He never mentioned anything major like that…Azule stays in deep thought-ignoring the congratulations until he got a passionate hug from Tangie.
"Thank you Azule…" she said with gratification.
As the day ended, only one event would be left on the radars for all competing in the festival, the Turf War. The rest of the day was an easy day as they all stayed back to hang with Azule and celebrate with him; Dr. Sinclair raced to the arena and treated Azule's wounds upon hearing everything on the radio. He sat there in deep thought as he studied what the samurai duo said to him, pondering on what Cobalt was really up to. Truth be told, Azule wasn't the only one with heavier things on his mind, Reice and Violet in their own corners had been quiet throughout the evening with both of them also thinking long and hard about something; it may have been a night to enjoy a successful day, but for a handful of them, this was only another thing on the checklist.
