It's the semifinal of the winter tournament with Special Forces and Elites facing each other with the winner advancing to the final. Sky and Jin stare each other down with a thundering audience encouraging them to duke it out. After all, this was a pivotal moment so early in the match since whoever would win this showdown would claim most of the momentum and add pressure to the loser and their team. Sky was hesitant to move since she knew what'd happen should she somehow get splatted, and on Jin's side, he was hesitant since he knew quite well that Sky was an unconventional opponent; Sky had enough experience as an Agent and knew how to kill targets for a living, however, Jin wasn't experienced in such a field and it was because of Sky's history as a world class sniper that he couldn't be reckless against her-even if he ranked higher in the sport. She was a natural prodigy who'd always had the spotlight on her once her identity was revealed to be Agent 3's youngest daughter.
The hero of Inkopolis: Jin Ika. He's known as the top ranked player in the country and a hero to adults and children alike. Starting off as an exciting prospect in middle school, his popularity bolstered when he became the captain of the prestigious Special Forces high school and led them to silverware in his first year. His style of play is similar to that of many great professional players, but one trait that's been notable about him when he competes is that he plays surprisingly aggressive despite his friendly and eccentric personality off the turf...so why hasn't he made the aggressive move of initiating battle with Sky?
Lime crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes while slowly raising her chin; even as a General in the army, she made sure to keep tabs on future recruits that'd fit the military. The Inkopolis military mostly consisted of alumni from many of the high schools in the prefectures of Inkopolis, training them from their time in high school and then heightening that training in boot camp. She studies Sky's body language and analyzed what Sky's next move would be, believing Sky to play it smart and avoid a risky matchup so early.
Agent 3 shakes her head in disapproval, "This isn't the time for Sky to be fooling around with some squirt. Her team will need her on support when they capture the objective."
"Ah, but mom...this is a very impor-"
"I already know about that gold boy. He's supposed to be hot stuff, eh?" Agent 3 said plainly but with a hint of slight envy; Lime smiled at her mom, able to tell her mom wished she could be on that turf right now and show Jin what a real hero looks like.
"Didn't think you were interested, mom?" Lime said condescendingly knowing her mother all too well; Agent 3 blushed a little bit.
Agent 3 placed her hands at her hips with a sigh, "If there's one thing that good-for-nothing father of yours was good for it was that he could play pretty well...add our skills together and it'd make sense that you kids would become threatening players. Although, the gold boy does catch my eye. He's got a certain air about him that's reminiscent of the air you and your brother had when you played."
Lime laughed, "I'm pretty sure Sky is better than me or Verde could ever have been."
Agent 3 smiled a bit, "Don't sell your brother and yourself short. You both became high rankings in the military."
Lime laughed again and returned her gaze to the match-her face darkening as she looked at Sky, feeling uneasy about the events to come. She calmly exhales and follows the match while gripping the railing; A brief image enters her mind about a previous event where she had first encountered Sky, but not yet realized she was her long-lost sister. She recalls the shy expression on Sky's face when she kept attempting to hide her presence from her, her tomato red blush with long overflowing sky blue hair that swish from side to side with most of the top being restricted by her bobble hat. She remembered the many sides Sky showed in group meetings and during bootcamp; in her image, Lime saw Sky as a delicate person who needed the protection of her family. Lime's eyes got watery as she remembered the day she uncovered the truth about Sky's past along with Verde, remembering the tears she shed that day as she thought to herself that she failed as the eldest sibling.
Lime wiped away the tears, "Sky can't lose this match, mom. She can' 's too strong of an inkling to lose here." Lime said in a shaken tone, remembering the many blind encounters she had with her sister without ever realizing it.
Agent 3 seemed confused by Lime's sudden change in tone but shrugged it off, "Yeah...she has no business losing here. She's a Royale."
Jin smirked, "My, do you look quite stunning now that I can see you up close again. Have you evolved as a player?" Jin said in a sadistic tone; Sky didn't back down and kept her glare on him.
"Cut the small talk, you know quite well it's way too early to do this in a match of this magnitude." Sky said calmly as she listened to the surroundings; it felt as though this stare down had been going on for ten chapters, but it really was only for a solid minute!
"You're claimed to be the prodigy. The prodigal daughter of Agent 3. The Agent who brought the Squidbeak Splatoon into the spotlight. In many ways, you're an icon like your mother...and yet, you act nothing like her!" Jin said in a rude tone; Sky dropped her head with the shadow of her cap covering her face. "I wanted to take you on early so that I could crush your spirits before you kick it up another notch. It's what us heroes are supposed to do against villains. And you...you're a villain to this competition. Just like your mother was many years ago when she competed.
"Tch!" Sky went as she lifted her head, her eyes glowing full of rage. "Don't talk about my mother you scumbag!" she said in an irritable tone while gripping her gun, her eyebrows slanted in rage and her arms trembling with anger.
Jin smirked, "Ah, I finally got you right where I want you...Give me your worst!"
Sky was ready to attack but before she could, she felt a piercing stare strike her from behind and immediately came to her senses-fleeing away from Jin immediately on instinct and finding somewhere else to recover. Jin seemed disappointed, unsure of what just happened; the thunderous cheers soon turned to jeers with many unsatisfied with Sky's flee.
"I could have sworn she was about to go 'Midnight' on me…"-he closes his eyes and shrugs his shoulders- "I guess the main event will have to wait for another time." he said walking in the direction that Sky fled, not even bothering to ink any of the turf.
Lime and Verde's faces went pale as they both froze with fear, and both had their eyes on their mother who stared at the turf where Sky was a moment ago. Agent 3's red-velvet eyes were sharp like a dagger as she stared at her fleeing daughter, who still had no clue why she instinctively retreated.
"Hmph!" Agent 3 pouted, crossing her arms. "I already said not to get into any pointless showdowns and she almost went and did it!"
Lime and Verde were shaken, but Agent 4 laughed-walking over to Agent 3 and putting his arm around his spouse. "Hehe, you didn't need to go and give her the death stare. You know these kids are instinctively going to react to that negatively. Remember, there's too many people around to be using that so freely."
Agent 3 looked away from him, "At least Azule hasn't reacted to it."
Agent 4 shook his head and whispered, "We already know he's different from Lime, Verde and Sky. Azule's a monster waiting to be unleashed. He's just like you when I first met you, filled with spite yet determined to accomplish anything he sets his mind to."
Agent 3 stared at her son sitting down in the lower levels, "My son...isn't a monster."
Azule, who was focused on the match felt the stares from above and turned around-seeing Agent 4 and Special Operative Luna-waving to them with a bright smile; Agent 3 felt her heart melt with happiness, getting to see her son smile like that. Agent 4 leans into her ear, "I can't wait to see the training…" he said in a careful tone, reminding her of the lie she presented in the hopes to see him again. To Azule, Agent 3 was Special Operative Luna, and in his mind, he still had not found his mother. A drop of sweat falls down her face as she clenched her teeth and looked at Agent 4, who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Ah, now that's the face of the woman I fell in love with."
Back in the match, only two minutes had passed by as both sides began their tug of war for the Rainmaker. Austin and Aaron traded ink with 12 and 18, swimming rapidly around the area as Ink Walls, and Suction Bombs were thrown into the mix. Pearl was not too far away, waiting for her special to charge so she could use her ray gun. At this point in time, no one had grabbed the lead; the Rainmaker had mostly just moved a few spots before someone got splatted, but not enough for a score to be given.
Just as I expected of Special Forces...even if they have a team filled with first years, they're giving us a battle right out of the gate! No matter how many times me and Austin splat them, they return faster than before…
Aaron thought as he waited for Pearl's signal; while Sky and Jin were having their stare down, at the same moment Aaron and Austin were making a push to move the Rainmaker-playing very aggressive and even splatting Kary when she'd gotten to close to the Rainmaker barrier. But despite splatting the triplet of first years at separate moments, the first years of Special Forces still managed to make it back by either swimming fast, or super jumping in the nick of time to prevent any progress for the Elites.
Pearl had one eye closed as she got down on her stomach and stuck her tip through a hole that was aimed at the Rainmaker; she'd spent a few moments digging hole under a wall, so she could get a "underground shot" and surprise her opponents. Being on the opposite side of Aaron meant she snuck behind 18, 12 and Kary and was ready to ambush them, or at least catch them off guard briefly for just a moment to change the tide of the match.
"I got my clothes and body covered in dirt. There is NO way this isn't going to work!" she said as her open eye marks a spot, "just a little bit more…"-waiting for a clear shot at the barrier; she had enough power to land an equivalent of eight shots on the Rainmaker, so with that one shot, plus the added shots from her teammates and the surprise reaction from her opponents, would give the Elites to the edge to snatch victory. "Nothing personal…" she said, pulling the trigger with a demonic grin; an ear-splitting shot fired from the hole underground by 18 and he instinctively dodged, shocked by the sudden shot. 12 and Kary paused for a moment, unaware of what had just happened and wondering why 18 suddenly stopped; Aaron and Austin both smirked with knowledge of what had just happened, and with a confident smile emitting from all the Elites members in the stands.
"It looks like she's finally showing her true colors after all these matches…" Apollo said with a satisfied expression.
"To think Pearl would finally get serious..." Cannola added with a nod.
"The Artist of the Elites is finally making her statement after all this time of being Sky's sidekick...and boy, what a time to do it!" Ollie said with heavy interest in the sudden change in Pearl's style.
Pearl jumps from behind the wall, and inks the area where the gold squids stand to trap them, dodging their instinct-filled shots; Aaron stares down the three first years of Special Forces arrogantly aiming his weapon at the trapped squids, "You first years are a hundred years too young to be getting ahead of yourselves. You're facing the Elites of Squid Academy!" Aaron's face intensifies as a glint appears in his eyes, "You kids haven't even seen a star pitch!"
Kary, 18, and 12 felt it at that exact moment-the intimidation, the experience, the valor of their opponents; after having relied on Jin for most of the preliminaries and all of the winter, they finally felt what Jin had warned them earlier about. It wasn't that Squid Academy was known for for producing any dangerous talent, and it wasn't that the Elites had any overpowered talent outside of Sky, but it was that the Elites played a different type of game from the other good teams in Inkopolis. The Elites were a team of oddballs, a group of creative minds that played in the most unconventional ways and always found a way to win regardless of how crazy their tactics were.
For all three of them, a flashback of Jin entered their mind from when he was training them, and they asked about the most terrifying team he's ever witnessed. He responded, "I know it'd sound weird to say since they aren't a top ten team but, Squid Academy's premier team known as the Elites are the scariest team I've ever seen. Their play is so unconventional that many good teams struggle to face them, but if one thing that really stands out about them that I should mention...it isn't Sky who you should be wary of, but instead, the rest of the team."
"Why? Isn't Sky the best sniper in the country? She's ranked in the top ten best players in Inkopolis despite being on a team like that." Kary asked, unconvinced with his entire answer.
Jin shook his head, "The Elites aren't any pushovers, and they've earned a nickname amongst the top teams in Inkopolis. They're known as...The Dark Horses of the Shadows. Always being cast in the shadows behind the big four and the many other teams that near of status, and yet even though they always get overlooked by everyone in the country, they still manage to always be a contender in the quarterfinals…whatever you do...don't fall into their trap."
"How come?" 18 asked.
Jin's face turned serious, "Any team that doesn't take them serious falls into the trap of underestimating how they operate, and it's there that their fate is sealed. In other words, if you fall into one of their crazy traps, your fate is sealed for that match. Always remember that…"
It was at that moment 18, 12 and Kary realized that they'd already fallen into the trap that their captain warned them about, foolishly underestimating the Elites had now cost them dearly. As they listened to Aaron's declaration of war, the same thought entered their minds: Did we just lose the match!?-the sight fades to black for all three of them as they see the Rainmaker barrier explode and splat all three of them, returning them to spawn.
