Ok! So I forgot to put this on the previous chapter but I 100% the Octo Expansion and boy did I love it! I won't spoil the ending or any of the major things that ocurred but, hoo boy was that an experience! As a person who has loved the game since launch back in 2015, I'm very proud to see how far the game and community has come (the memes are top quality imo). As for the remaining questions I couldn't answer before...friendship with the Squid Sisters ended, now Off the Hook is my new best friend (I'm hoping to snag those amiboos-No, I didn't misspell) and while I love all the songs from the expansion, Shark Bytes is easily personal favorite (Pearl's rap is adorable and Marina's vocals are bliss). Dedf1sh is definitely better than DJ Octavio and it's solely for THAT one theme, you know what it is if you've seen how long this story has been going on. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the Expansion and I can't lie about Octo Expansion being possibly Splatoon 3...It had that much content. I pray to Naga that there won't be a Splatoon 3 (Unless I finish this first) because I can't do it. I can't handle all this fresh lore.


"AAGHH!"

A horrifying scream cuts through the air that quakes a sudden concern in Squidcom. That voice that the painful scream came from… only one person had that type of unearthed emotion in her voice that they knew. The familiarity left them all frozen as they feared for the worse for the person on the other end. Cobalt's red irises trembled furiously as that voice belonged to only one girl. The same girl that brushed pass him earlier, her tan hue slipping by with an orange blur. Frozen for a moment, Cobalt tried to process what was happening on her end. Sally runs over to statue-like Cobalt and slaps him on the back of the head, snapping him out of it, and giving him an urgent look. He had to go to her, that much he could tell from her angered eyes. Sally assured him that her and the others will look after Azule, so he must attend to Tangie immediately; that scream wasn't a normal one, instead it felt like a yelp filled loss. Something was lost on her end. Without a hesitation in his step after the urge of Sally, Cobalt raced out into the direction of the scream, his carbon blade in hand and a fresh spurt of energy in his system. Outside of the arena where Saya and Tangie were battling laid a massive trail of blood with a ravaged Tangie dragging herself to where an arm from the forearm to the fingertips laid dormant on the ground. Tangie was dragging his herself with the only arm she had left.

"Watching you helplessly drag yourself to that arm sickens me." Saya said with disgust as she watched the crawling orange beauty.

Earlier in the battle, Saya had questioned Tangie's resolve and whether she'd be willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of Cobalt. Her response infuriated Saya which led to a fierce battle that cost Tangie her right arm, slicing the limb off her body cleanly and sending it a great distance away to watch the horror on her opponent's face Tangie grinded her teeth with each pull of her body, leaving behind a trail from her arm. Her eyes filled with tears as immediate pain jabbed her nerves. Saya slowly followed behind Tangie, watching her prey desperately attempt to escape the inescapable as her blade shined with a glint ready to take her head as the prize.

I... I'm here for Cobalt, dammit! Tangie thought to herself while grimacing in pain, reaching her lifeless arm. She'd came here for Cobalt, the one she loved, not for this battle. She was prepared to risk everything in return for him to be together with him, so surely, she foresaw an outcome like this? As she cradled her dismembered arm, dozens of thoughts and feelings rushed through her mind as she thought about her future. Was she going to die from the blood loss? Was Saya going to kill her before she could even utter another word to her beloved Cobalt? The last image of Cobalt in her mind was out the corner of her eye, seeing her stunned expression as she kept her gaze on her opponent. If she she'd looked over to him and flashed the same bright smile she always did whenever he'd look her. If only she could look at him once more and say the three words that had been stuck in her head since they spent that last night together.

Watching Tangie slowly fade to unconsciousness, Saya smirked at her helpless opponent. "You'll be on your way out, I suppose…" Saya said with a grin, her weapon raised and ready to finish her off. "I'll send Ao your regards…"

Right when she was about to bring down her sword, her mind, heart, and entire body saw the flash of glaring red eyes quickly approaching. Though she didn't physically see anyone approaching, that alarming image was a fair warning for her. She needed to back away from Tangie immediately! Instinctively jumping backwards, Saya felt her body quivering with fear on the inside as she saw a blue bullet shoot to where she and Tangie were. It was a livid Cobalt who responded to the cry of his orange maiden, his carbon sword unsheathed and ready for action; Saya's knees began to buckle as she felt weak. He was here. Not the cousin she played big fashion and threatened, nor the one she spent with Norh the day before the selection. This was the Ao she knew. A ruthless Ronin who abandoned everything and seemed to only treasure a worthless ex-martial artist as his love. Covered with plenty of wounds of his own, Cobalt seemed to have moved at the quickest pace possible with bullets of sweating pouring down his face, but his breath as calm as ever. His eyes were trembling with rage as he saw the beaten Tangie before him.

"T-Tangie!?" he yelled with heavy concern, getting on one knee and holding her in his arms, seeing her hold her dislodged arm in her stretched palm. Her face was covered in cuts and scratches as well as the scar from Saya, but nonetheless, she looked to be in peace-smiling with closed eyes as she heard his concerned tone.

"Y-you came for me…?" Tangie smiled weakly with a meek look in her opening eyes, gazing at her blue samurai. She'd been holding back the tears of pain but seeing finally seeing Cobalt's face and being held in his arms, she couldn't hold back. With streams trickling down her face, she rested her head on his chest-her fingers curling inward as she reached for his heart. "I missed you."

Cobalt choked up, "I... wh... what happened here!?" he shouted desperately, feeling her strength fade as she closed her eyes again.

Raising the arm that was missing most of its limb, she shows Cobalt. She couldn't open her eyes anymore; the pain was too much to handle. "I sacrificed something for the sake of love."

Cobalt bit his lip until blood came out, his eyebrows trembling furiously as he tried to keep his breathing under control. He was far past the point of composure, seeing Tangie go through this. "Y-you gave up your arm!?" he yelled, unable to keep calm.

Tangie nodded softly, "If it means giving up a limb, I'll do it. Ever since you told me how you felt when we were younger-ngh!"

She was dripping too much blood.

"Please! Please save your strength!" Cobalt yelled with horror.

Tangie shook her head, "You need to hear my words, Ao."

Cobalt's trembling eyes shrunk as his mouth dropped; Tangie never addressed him by his given name, instead choosing to call him by the name she picked for him. Feeling her warmth in his hands, Cobalt knew the next words she was about to utter would change him completely. As his chest beats loud in anxiety and love, Cobalt closed his mouth and gazed at Tangie in anticipation.

"I love you, Ao. I love you so much to the point that it hurts not being around you. You've always looked out for me, even when I had no one left in my life. You've always made sacrifices for me, so this time I returned the favor for the sake of love. I love you more than anything in existence." She said tearfully as she brought her hand up to his face, caressing his cheek while flashing that same bright smile she'd always give.

Ba-dump

Cobalt doesn't move. Tangie's eyelids quiver before closing. She passes out from the blood loss, her head losing strength to hold itself up as she buries herself in Cobalt's bosom. Saya's stunned by the entire scene, though not too surprised since she was aware of Tangie's resolve throughout the fight. Her blade ready in-hand, she knew her battle with Cobalt was about to begin the moment he put her down. There was a very slim margin of victory for her after that performance by Tangie. Staring at her cousin's eyes and hands, she saw the rage beginning to take over him.

"Saya…" he said under his breath, sending an ungodly number of chills down her spine. Never had Cobalt addressed her in such a tone of authority.

Rising to his feet, he locked his vision onto his cousin. The light in his eyes vanished with only the dull feeling of despair left in his scarlet eyes. Gripping his carbon blade in a backhand style, Saya knew she'd made a grave mistake by coming in between Cobalt and Tangie's love. Taking a few steps back, she lowers her chin and focuses on Cobalt, preparing for his attack. His red aura turned maroon, then to black. In his eyes was the yearn for Saya's blood, possibly her death by his hands. Taking a furious stomp forward, all of the color in Saya's complexion drained and left her pale and sweaty. She saw the incarnation of wrath standing before her waiting to reap her soul.

"An 'eye for an eye'...have you heard of that expression?" he with intimidation as his black blade shined, "I'll be taking one of them as compensation for Tangie's arm. If my Tangie is to lose an arm, then my Saya will lose an eye. I will rob you of your vision the same way you robbed her of her limb!" he shouted violently, leaving an afterimage.

Before she could take her next breath, she was already in midair seeing her cousin at point blank range about to dunk his sword into her right eye. Dust and bits of pebbles were scattered through the air in response to Cobalt's speed, the image of his lost color with only black and white being seen; Saya saw her death awaiting her as Cobalt resembled a demon about to purge her life. Visions of her brief life flash before her as the sword nears penetration. Seeing her disappointed father's face after her countless attempts to surpass her limit, the visions of a young Cobalt who'd always looked out for her, and her brothers when they weren't being idiots.

"S-stop!" A voiced yelled from far away stopping Cobalt from taking his cousin's eye; the voice was another familiar girl.

"Norh!?" Saya gasped, seeing her friend run towards them before tackling Cobalt away from Saya.

"What are you doing!?" Saya shouted, flabbergasted.

"I don't want to see you guys fight!" she responded, holding down an unresponsive Cobalt. "The selection is over, and there is no need to fight any longer. So why are you about to kill Saya-chan!?"

"She took her arm." Cobalt said lifelessly as he looked over to Tangie who laid on the floor with much resemblance to a corpse. "She took my Tangie's arm." Cobalt said with rage returning to dulled irises.

Norh was speechless as she watched her senior's emotions come to light, "She's special to you, senpai?"

Cobalt nodded, "She means everything to me."

Norh got up and let Cobalt get to his feet. Turning to Saya, regret filled her eyes as she watched her stunned best friend tell her to get away from the area. Cobalt rests his hand on Norh's shoulder and gives her a look of fair warning. If she stayed any longer, she might witness something scarring. Saya continues to beg Norh to get away from the scene, knowing that Cobalt was going to show an ugly side. Norh stands firm and looks at both them before giving her response. "I'm staying." she said with resolve. If they were going to kill each other, then she'd witness it. She wasn't afraid to see a bloodbath, and she wasn't afraid to see them kill each other. "I'll take the orange haired girl somewhere distant so that she won't get caught up-"

"No need." Cobalt cuts her off. "This'll only last five seconds." he said with his carbon sword emitting a black aura.

Saya nodded, "I have no regrets. Do your worst." She said with no remorse for disabling Tangie; veins protruded from Cobalt's hand as he clenched his sword hard enough that it could give him blisters just from the sheer force.

The calm and howling wind blows between them, the evening sky is lit up by the moon that watches along with the stars at the fight about to go down. The air feels hot and humid with plenty of heat surfacing from the asphalt. Both swords are unsheathed as they wait for the starting signal to tear at each other's throats. Looking at one another, the cousins share the same fate that their fathers had many years ago; a duel to the death. A leaf blows between them, giving them the start. Cobalt darts to Saya, Saya shifts to the left. No use, Cobalt's afterimage was what she dodged, the real Cobalt had already pierced her kidney when she dodge right into his sword.

1 second passes by.

"H-how!?" Saya's struggling to pull the blade from her body, but Cobalt doesn't loosen.

2 seconds pass by.

"I told you this would only take five seconds…" he said kicking her away; her body crashed to the ground, afterwards she struggled to get to her feet.

3 seconds pass by.

By the time she can come to her senses a moment later, she already saw the reaper at the doorsteps with Cobalt's eyes turning white unbridled rage, his sword in the stabbing position ready to tear her eye out; she froze in fear, unable to move as she fell to her knees and could only marvel her cousin's magnificent superiority. Her life had already flashed by earlier, so this time she could only see darkness enveloping around her as he closed in with a piercing light shining from the family treasure.

4 seconds pass by.

"COBALT!" Tangie shouted.

5 seconds pass by.

Cobalt's right foot has Saya's arm pinned down-her sword out of reach. His left knee was pressed on her other arm, and his sword just an inch away from carving out her eye. He was on top of her in a final position ready to make her suffer when Tangie called out to him. His glint was as fierce as ever as the light in his eyes returned before looking over to where he heard Tangie's voice, his sword still in position ready to pierce her eye.

"Tangie…?"

Tangie had rolled over to look to her beloved, but her smile was gone and instead replaced with a look of disapproval. "Darling, don't do it." she said with care for Saya, while she was out for a moment, she understood what the right thing was to do. In the end, she came for Cobalt-nothing more, nothing less.

Cobalt struggled to process her wishes, but ultimately nodded and showed mercy. Getting off of her, he rushed to Tangie's side and sheathed his blade, sweeping her off the ground and holding her close. Their foreheads gently connect as she smiles at him, her orange eyes are radiant like a tangerine basking in the sunlight after being washed. Norh rushed over to Saya and gave her a hug, trembling furiously as her nerves overcame her. Saya's mouth dropped as she couldn't process what just happened. The girl who she robbed an arm of just saved her life from being robbed by her own flesh and blood. No words could describe how she felt as she watched the couple walk away from them.

After Cobalt left in chase for Tangie, Squidcom split up and worked to help stop the conflicts with Sally, Violet, and Reice taking to the action to help resolve by whipping everyone with their guns, preferring to avoid shooting. Battles were resolved quickly with the strongest members of the Kotari alliance putting their foot down to squash any futile attempts. All of the opponents who refused to give in to the alliance's command were tied with rope and some were gagged. An unconscious Kenji rests in the lap of one of his security guards from the household, with most of the Tokugawa family unable to resist the writing on the walls. They lost this battle. But while nearly everything was wrapping up finely for the Kotari alliance, who practically ended the tyrannical reign of Teitsu by taking down all his forces, only the head of the Tokugawa remained, still battling Simone Tokugawa.