Aaron furiously swims with the Rainmaker equipped along with Austin inking the path for him and Pearl keeping cover from behind; the three were operating like a unified entity with each member supporting the other as they marched to the goal. A nervous drop of sweat trickles down Pastelle's face as she watches the match with deep focus, her eyes tracking the multiple events taking place from the Elites' push to victory, to the Special Forces first-years high rally to defend, to Sky who was quite a bit further behind, and slowly tailing her was Jin-hungry for a battle.
Pastelle combed her hair that covered her eye, "The execution of that play was just as I'd expect from the Elites, but they made one costly mistake."
"Hmm? What's the mistake?" Azule asked, surprised by her analysis; he was expecting her to give high praise for the impressive surprise attack.
"For the Elites, the fastest runner and swimmer is Sky; one of the many reasons why she's the Ace of the team. Aaron on the other hand is significantly lacking compared to Sky, especially in physical abilities. Basically, the last person who should be on the Rainmaker is Aaron since he is the slowest member on the team."
"Then why is he the captain if he's so inferior to my sister?"
Pastelle laughed a little, "There's no doubt he's fit to be the leader of the team. Aaron's qualities are more in his personality than in his talent on the turf. He knows of his weakness and has turned them into his strengths, relying on the heavy skills of Sky, the reliability of Austin and the creativity of Pearl. With him leading the charge, reassuring them that if the chemistry runs strong, they can overcome anything. That's why he's the captain. He's the glue that keeps them together."
"So, he's just a good leader…"-Azule thought hard on that meaning- "And despite him not necessarily being as talented as his teammates he still manages to be the leader."
"It's called being a natural leader, captain." Cobalt interrupted; apologizing afterwards for butting in. "It isn't very uncommon to see situations like that. In fact, in the samurai world, my father would tell tales of some of the most powerful samurai warriors across the lands and in clans, and usually they were led by men who weren't as strong or gifted as the men they commanded...but my father told me 'what doesn't make a leader is his gifts or talent, but with his adaptability and willingness to change to the environment that he's in. In this case, Aaron's environment is the team-one he's become well adapted to since he's embraced the talent given to them and has led them this far."
Azule was impressed by Cobalt's explanation, and slowly Azule began to understand the message given. Azule crossed his arms and studied the match intently, slowly beginning to respect Aaron once he thought about how far the Elites have gotten, both in the school and on the big stage.
Pastelle nudged Azule's arm, "Pay attention to how your sister plays. Observe her closely and understand the purpose of why she'll give everything her all in this tournament. I want you to find your objective through watching her."
Azule nodded, unsure of why Pastelle was being so much mature than usual. Little did he know it had entirely to do with the fact that this would be the last time Pastelle would be mentoring him. During this time, the match had reached some action again with the Special Forces making their rally to retrieve the Rainmaker and thanks to the spacious map, they were able to stop the Elites at 67. Aaron uses the Rainmaker, shooting it behind the opposition to squeeze them forward and another trap play that'd force them to within firing range for Pearl. 18 slips to the left, avoiding the deadly fire as his allies retreat momentarily. Austin spots the slippery first years and heads to cut him off before he eliminates Aaron.
Pat, Pat, Pat, goes 18's 96. gal gun as he splats Austin swiftly, returning to his ink and swimming to his previous spot to refill ink; Aaron doesn't waver as he readied the next shot to fire, but he was torn between whether to solo splat 18 or risk it and draw all three back to him and take them all down once more.
I can risk all three coming at me since I can take them all down with me if they get too close, but it's a risk because they're faster than I expected, meaning I could get splatted and Pearl gets hung out to dry, which I can't let happen. But if I waste my shot on this guy, it'll difficult for Pearl to hold it down with her charger while I also must charge up my next shot…
It was at a time like this that Sky would be critical in the match since the way she uses her charger varied differently from Pearl; Sky's mobility and maneuverability while on the scope was incredible-as if her instincts alone were all she needed. As Aaron hesitated on the kill, unsure of whether Pearl could handle it, but as he turned to Pearl, he found his answer.
"Whichever decision you make, I'll have your back regardless." was the message Pearl's momentary stare gave.
Aaron takes a giant leap to the right and away from Pearl, firing his Rainmaker at the charging 18, who sensed the hesitation in his opponent. Aaron leaned back as 18 aimed his gun, leaping into Aaron; 18's eyes had turned ravenous. After being splatted that first time around, 18's inner self had awakened. Now, he was hungry for battle after having been embarrassed and was ready to pounce; one of the many qualities Jin admired in his young team.
Splat, Splat, as ink flies everywhere, with Aaron firing the Rainmaker he splats 18, but 18 made sure not to let him get away this time and splats Aaron as well. Pearl hears some stone crushing footsteps near her-feeling fear overcome her body as she's forced to throw out her splat bomb in the direction of 12 and Kary in hopes to take one of them down before she gets splatted; she's too late as she gets brutally splatted from behind, her fear messed up her throw as the bomb was just a little too short of reaching far enough to give 12 or Kary any severe damage. The audience roared by his arrival after seeing him absent for most of the beginning of the match, but now he was making his presence felt by eliminating Pearl and destroying the Rainmaker's barrier, ordering 12 to take the Rainmaker.
"Honestly, I'm gone for a few minutes and you guys allow them to grow this miniscule lead? It seems I have to take matters into my own hands again…" Jin said as he lifted his chin arrogantly smiling at his juniors.
Shiva's stunned by Jin's appearance, "W-what!? Since when did he get past Sky!?" Shiva blurted as she pulled on her hair with a comical face.
"Please calm down, our match is next." Vaairie said, who was watching the match with the princess upon her request; Vaairie would rather be alone preparing mentally for the major semifinal against Beacon Hills, but because of Shiva's personality…
"Sky was ahead of Jin last time we saw them in the same frame. He...didn't splat her, did he?"
"I highly doubt it since he seems to be rather annoyed. More than likely Sky went hiding to avoid him and he realized his team was in a pinch, so he put his search for her on hold." Vaairie explained.
Shiva smiled, "Ahh..."-she relaxes and rests her head on Vaairie's lap- "it's great that you chose to stay with me. I prefer your juicy thighs over Ciri or Reluna's…" she said, squeezing Vaairie's thighs while snuggling.
Vaairie wasn't fazed by her highness' nature, "Shiva, I'd appreciate if you took this seriously. We're about to face his team again."
Shiva's playfulness didn't fade, "Don't worry, when I step on the turf, I'll leave everything I have in my performance..."-her smile fades away from Vaairie's sight, who'd turn her attention away from the match and onto her captain- "I promise to not let you, the others, or our fellow brothers and sisters.
"Captain Shiva…"
Shiva returns to normal, hopping out of Vaairie's lap and then stretching; Ciri and Reluna enter. Vaairie smiles, at her captain-understanding that the captain before her was much different from the one she'd known in the previous years together. Ciri and Reluna scold Shiva for holding Vaairie back once they learned that Shiva kept Vaairie back. For Beacon Hills, everyone was fixated on the TV monitor watching the game; Gin sat like a statue as he watched his brother's performance.
Aaron, Austin, and Pearl respawn back at the house-wondering where Sky had gone since she hasn't been seen since the opening whistle. Aaron begins to analyze the possible scenarios that might've happened while they were battling for the Rainmaker, but when they realized that time was ticking, and that the Special Forces were marching to victory, Aaron concluded.
"If we're going to have Sky be effective in this match, we'll have to lure her out. We'll do a tactical change and do the 'silver linings' formation." Aaron said as he bolted out the door; Austin and Pearl follow him but are opposed to the idea.
"Aaron, that's one of Sky's plays and it's very risky to use that so early in the match!" Austin said adamantly as the three make their way to wherever the gold ink is most active.
"Even so, it's clear that Sky wants us to do this formation...I have a sneaky feeling this match will have heavy reliance on what she does. If we're not seeing her right now, then that means she waiting on us to adapt to her style. That's what Midnight would want." Aaron said reassuring them afterwards to trust Midnight Sky.
Over where the other Elites members are watching, Ollie and Apollo both recognize what's taking place with their team. Apollo smirks at the formation the Elites shuffle into, which is a strict single line formation meant to bolster their speed since they feed off the momentum of the leading squid. Apollo claps in satisfaction, "Aaron's finally pulling out the riskier moves…"
"Heh, this is rewarding to watch. Nothing beats seeing Aaron make bold moves like this. First he uses Pearl's strategy and now he's using Sky's..." Chlora said with a condescending expression.
Gileslie shuffled around in her seat, "Sky's making me worry with how long she's taking to go into Midnight…"
"Well, it's not usual that Sky enters that mode. It's understandable if she's struggling to reach that mentality again." Ollie said with comprehension of the difficulty of entering "Midnight" mode; Midnight mode was the alter ego that Sky went by in the underground whenever she had to assassinate someone. Her eyes would glow with bloodlust and abilities seemed to triple in effectiveness. In a way, Midnight seemed like that of a major power up.
Jin halted his teammates as he saw the approaching squids speeding towards them at an unusual pace; now, the score was 41 to 67 with Special Forces having taken the lead. Jin sensed a strange difference in how the Elites were moving and warned his team to be on their A-game, instructing 12 to stay behind him and 18 while Kary forces a second route to be open in case 12 gets splatted; 12 still wants to help and decides to charge up the Rainmaker for a chance to wipeout the Elites.
Aaron smirks and then yells, "Midnight, Silver Linings!" and promptly afterwards, the action begins.
The Midnight Silver Linings play was a play designed by Sky around the time when she briefly took competitive play very seriously, devising multiple different tactics along with Aaron that they'd later experiment with in the Rank Wars. The way the play was supposed to work was that Aaron, Austin, and Pearl would file into a single line and stick to the that uniform formation-only changing when Sky made the command. In this case, Aaron led the way dishing the most damage with Austin swimming around to set up attack on 12 and the Rainmaker, while Pearl adds pressure with her Splatterscope to ensure that the plan stays in their favor. The goal was just to have at least 1 member survive when "the clock struck midnight" so that they could retrieve the Rainmaker and regain the lead from the reeling Special Forces.
"They just might pull off an early victory if they land it." Sally said; she'd been explaining what she thought might happen in the upcoming moments of the match to Violet and Reice.
"That's oddly specific. But, good eye in assuming that." Reice said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Why thanks. I happened to do a lot of research in what little time I had that I didn't devote to music or turf wars." Sally said, feeling a bit under appreciated.
"Either way, let's hope we can see an Elites and Octo Valley final!" Violet added.
"She's coming…" Jin yelled to his teammates as he recognized the intentions of the Elites; Special Forces adjusts to their captain's orders and have 12 retreats and create his own path while Kary joins the fray, stretching the Elites as she fires multiple long shots, making it tougher for the Elites to close in.
Fwoosh! went a line of purple ink in the direction of 12, knocking him to the floor; Austin recognized the chance opportunity and immediately splats him, making him drop the Rainmaker. Everyone in the building is in awe at the sudden turn of the tide as a certain bobble hat-wearing inkling decides to show up after being gone for the entire match. Sky's dragging her signature E-liter charger, her eyes filled with bloodlust and a snarling expression; finally, Midnight Sky had awakened.
