The play by play commentators introduced the two teams, giving some facts about both teams and of their history at this event; this wouldn't be the first time these two found themselves in a match of this magnitude against each other. Beacon Hills had been one of the favorites coming into the event, but with the emergence of the Elites and surprising underwhelming performance of another favorites like Octo Valley; Beacon Hills have something to prove as the top favorite pick. On the other side was the Squidops team that suffered an embarrassing defeat to the Elites-twice; so, they had something to also prove as they were one of the top 4 teams in the country. Many casual fans in attendance had their eyes on this match, calling it the "Deathmatch" between two giants.

Both teams arrived at their spots on the spawns of Musselforge fitness where the Rainmaker match would be taking place. The silver jerseys with a thick black line making an upward curve with white trimming on one side with black collars that represented the pride of Beacon Hills, and the black jerseys with white pinstripes of Squidops. Both showcasing their respectable history that was stitched in every fiber of their gear, catching the attention of the spectators in attendance. This was it, the match that possibly decided the tournament. Gin's eyes were as soulless as usual, dulled and grey-at times, his eye color would change occasionally from grey to yellow depending on his mood. His teammates were eager to go, inspired by the performance from Octo Valley and smelling blood in the water. For the Squidops, all of them looked to have their emotions rattled, stuck with a dogfight against Beacon Hills as their first opponent for the tournament. Carbon looked at his teammates, seeing their anxious expressions written on their faces-this was a match that meant more than the usual.

"Guys, we need to win this match…not just because this is a survive and advance, but because this match is means more." Kuro said in a composed tone to his fellow Squidops teammates.

"Three consecutive losses are intolerable. We beat these guys here, and now!" Carbon said commandingly, his tone raised the more focused he got. The commentators continue to hype up the match as the countdown begins until the match starts; the audience does the countdown as the ticker begins.

The airhorn sounds, Silver and Black ink fill their sides respectively as both team journey to no man's land where the Rainmaker awaits, the ground quaking from the thundering impact of both sides as the hopped out the spawns. The sharpshooting duo of blasters from Squidops used by Carbon and Kuro-both who changed their weapons to Spattershot pro to meet the event criteria-take the top route going over the grated path, having the faster gear abilities. Ciel and Nachtia weren't far behind, planning to flank from the ramp on their side. On the other side, Beacon Hills seemed to be trying a bold tactic: inking up their defenses and preparing for the strongest attack from Squidops. Squidops grab the early advantage, obtaining the rainmaker without any resistance and take the lead.

Agent 4 smiles as he views the match while guiding Azule and Pastelle-then lifting his head and leans back a bit, "Hey son, notice anything about that match going on?" he said in a sly tone looking over his shoulders-narrowing his eyes at his son.

Pastelle narrowed her eyes back at Agent 4, "It's a battle between two of the quartet giants." She said in a sarcastic tone.

"Well duh, I was referring to the tactics being used by both teams…" Agent 4 said condescendingly with a grin and wink.

"It's a buff-up of team tactics. Beacon Hills is known as the strongest defensive team in the nation, while Squidops is known as the most complete and balanced team out of the 4 giants…" Azule said in a dead tone, holding up four fingers; Pastelle was stunned by the change Azule, he didn't seem like his usual self. Instead it felt as though he became a robot.

Agent 4 laughed to himself as he returned his attention forward, "You're my son after all…"

Azule's eyes looked dull as he stared at his father's back, his body trembling, although it could only be seen if Pastelle focused on him long enough. He was afraid of his father, that much was given. Pastelle was aware of the harsh training Azule took from his father, but what really puzzled her was just how brutal were the workouts? If someone as jubilant and optimistic as Azule was gloomy and dreadful just from being in the presence of this man, then just how negatively did this man treat Azule?

Pastelle showed concern as she reached out for Azule's shoulder, noticing him begin to pick up pace and follow Agent 4 even closer. She grabbed him by the shoulder and stopped him, turning him around, gazing at his blank expression. Her tan face shined and glistened compared to his face paled face. She leans in and rests her forehead on his, closing her eyes; her hair gently brushed his face as she rested her hands on the back of his head.

"This isn't you…"

Azule doesn't react and instead just places his hands on her arms, "I'm fine…there's no need to worry." He said, trying to force a weak smile. But it was easy to see that something bothered him, something about his father-Agent 4- just didn't sit well with Pastelle. She never met the Agents 3 and 4, but she'd learned plenty about them from Agents 1 and 2; Agent 5-Sky- never mentioned much about her parents, although rightfully so-she seemed to resent the idea of them.

Sky hates them, and Azule is terrified of them…Pastelle thought as her concern grew for her protege. She felt his trembling when she initiated contact; he was scared, but he wouldn't show it.

The match rages on as both teams picked up the pace in their play. Beacon Hills began to show more resistance, engaging in combat with Squidops before they reached the point. There weren't really isolating matchups that occurred-both teams operated like a unit, rotating positions and doing whatever they could to take the rainmaker barrier down and seize the advantage. It's close contest and the silver ink begins to outdo the black ink-slowly, the barrier that'd been flowing between black and silver for about half of a minute was starting to become more and more silver; Beacon Hills is starting to make the comeback as the Squidops side is forced to make a risky decision: Fight or Flight?

Sally analyzes the match with intensity-observing the behaviors of both sides, all the way down to their facial expressions. "It's a make or break move for Squidops. Beacon Hills trapped them…"

"How so?" Reice crossed his arms, leaning back and bringing his leg up to rest over his lap.

"It's easy to see once you recognize the nature of both teams: Squidops is an initiative-heavy team who really on their overwhelming offensive power, but Beacon Hills have one of the most terrifying players I've ever seen…that Gin guy, he's a battle genius." Sally said with respect, gritting her teeth at the irritating fact.

"He set them up by allowing them to grab the early lead through most of the match and by the time it got to crunch time, he changed the pace…" Violet said while shaking her head.

Gin swims in his ink as he climbs up a wall and throws out a Suction bomb and then proceeded to return to where he had come from, setting up the path. Carbon groaned in irritation as the barrier stayed silver but didn't explode. The tense pressure of knowing that at any moment he could be splatted and possibly lose the match in a knockout only riled him up even more. He grits his teeth and pushed forward into the mess. Ciel and Nachtia also come forward to add more damage and prevent the barrier form exploding, realizing that if their captain was going to go all-in, then so would they. Kuro smirked as he watched his headstrong captain charge into the fray with low ink.

To think it'd end like this… Kuro thought as he recalled Aaron's face from their first ever encounter, smiling. "Beat those damn silvers Aaron!" he yelled in Inkling tongue, so loud that every competitive Inkling could hear the last cry from him; Aaron heard the message and got chills once he realized that the tone he was hearing from his adversary wasn't the same as usual. For the first time, Kuro-a longtime rival of his who'd never give up-was ready to admit defeat. But it made no sense to Aaron, who saw the score and the time left on the clock: 2:26 left with the score 64-89 in favor of Squidops.

"They got us…" Kuro said with a defeated look on his face; his teammates shocked to see him utter those words.

Carbon's face tensed up as he went into overdrive, looking to take on all four of the Beacon Hills members. It was inspiring to see him show this much tenacity in not giving them the lead. But, Gin and his silver squids…they were closing in with their predatorial presence taking heavy form; the barrier began to swell up again and turn a complete silver hue and a dark shadow casted over Squidops…pop! The barrier exploded, splattering the entire surrounding area with silver ink. Team splat…eliminating all four members of Squidops. Gin immediately grabbed the rainmaker and began the rally for the knockout.

The audience couldn't get enough! The deathmatch was getting more interesting as the closing minutes came. Could there possibly be overtime? That was the general feeling from many of the fans. As all four members respawned, they saw the large wave of silver ink that was swarming towards the goal. Kuro, Nachtia, and Ciel looked defeated, feeling the sense of all hope being lost. But for Carbon, he was boiling with anger.

At that moment, fear began to settle on whether they could stop their impending doom. The trio looked lost as they stared forward with blankness, but Carbon wouldn't have any of it-yelling at them to snap out of it; his body was covered in sweat and he was panting furiously-he was exhausted, but he refused to give in. As he turned around to show them his angry face, they instead saw a face that looked angry, but the truth was that instead of anger, it was frustration. Carbon knew that no matter how hard they try to defend this lead; Beacon Hills would just increase the pressure until they force it into overtime to slaughter them.

As the tears and sweat fell down Carbon's face, the rest of Squidops knew that their captain was operating on empty…purely emotion. This match was for their pride and redemption, for their school's pride and redemption, and for their vindication as a serious threat to the other opponents from other nations across the continent, who were viewing the match from the comfort of their homes and hangouts.

Carbon exhaled and began walking forward, "It doesn't matter if we're going up against a wall. It doesn't matter if their captain is among the best on the continent, and it sure as hell doesn't matter if they're making a rally against us. What matters is that we don't back down, that we don't give in to our minds telling us to quit, that we don't allow ourselves to defeat us before they can. Grit your teeth, slant those eyebrows, and show me the attitude that put you on this team to begin with!" he yelled, holding up a fist with his back turned to them; it was inspiring enough to get the team back on the mark and fired up. Squidops rolled out to meet Beacon Hills for the final challenge…