Winded and gassed are Squidcom, who managed to pull off the fiery rally in the previous round but only fell short after Sally lost possession due to the pressure of Deadquake forcing her off the tower in overtime. Beads of sweat pour down Reice's face as he hunches over with his hands on his knees-at his limit. For some reason, he found himself to be more fatigued than the others though the reason was clear: He was all over the map and was fighting at every single opportunity and giving himself no rest.
"I hope Reice is doing fine, I'm concerned about his condition right now." Jory said with worry as looked at his staggering teammate that looked like he was about to fall over. Only one round had gone by and already Reice looked out of commission.
Fuchsia crossed her arms, "He used up his stamina too much in the first round. He must've tried to invest his energy in grabbing the lead and allow the others to carry the load in the second round, but that surprise early run of Deadquake was too much to overcome.
"No big deal, this is Reice. If anything, he's just getting started." Kosami said with confidence as she turned her attention to the breathless Reice who caught wind.
The next round was starting after everyone gave their signal before the timer ran out; team members had the option to switch out their weapons by exiting the spawn area and manually selecting a weapon of their choice from the options of guns they used in regular turf wars. Reice made the switch to a surprising choice: the splattershot pro. To the shock of his teammates, he was joining Azule and Sally on the attack, exclaiming that a third attacker would be necessary, though the issue was that he didn't play attack. Feeling sure of himself that he wouldn't burden the team, Reice made a vow right there as he returned to spawn.
"I'm not going to let any of the bad guys get on the tower, so...this match must end in a knockout. Can you promise me that?" Reice said, still winded. His words would've seemed empty to a someone who was watching him play for the first time, but to Squidcom, that tone and that look of ferocity in heart and soul that showed itself in his burning eyes told the story. He meant what he said.
Azule smirked, "If you got this, then I'll show them no mercy in the final round."
Reice gives a devious grin, "As expected, you really don't know when not to hog the spotlight."
"That's a captain's role, no?" Azule said with sarcasm along with a condescending grin.
"I'll give them no chance to recover, so… crush them in Game 3." Reice responded with a nod, .
The next game for the match was set as both teams readied to jump out the spawn gate. If Deadquake won this game, then they won the series. If Squidcom won, it'd force another round. Prepared for the start the comeback, Squidcom make a linear path to the tower that sits near the canal; Deadquake try to make the same push as last time, but there was a lack of intensity in their speed-perhaps they used up their fiery motivation in the first game? Noticing the sluggish body language of Deadquake, Reice identifies his chance opportunity to bring the house down, to contain them before they could ever go on the attack. Reice was planning to shut them down by himself, a crazy plan that might work depending on how well he could work against the numbers.
"Suicide Calamari...I didn't think they'd use that formation so early." Fuchsia commented with a subtle hint of confusion in her town as an unsettled look dominates her face. She was upset at the early use of one of the riskiest formations she'd created, and one that especially targeted at Reice having to solo.
"We warned them to hold off on using any of their solo formations until later in the season. I guess they're seeing this situation as adequate." Kosami added along with a trusting smile, believing in their judgement.
Jory lifts his hand to his chin and goes into a thinker's pose, "This is Reice's character arc. If he can take down an entire team on his own will, he'll send a message to not only Deadquake, but to the entire audience. Besides-"
Somewhere else in the bleachers of Snapper Canal…
"It's not like he's doing this without a reason. Reice is the primary defender of Squidcom and has the tendency to do more defensive actions such as falling back to the rear and guarding his side of the turf and focusing more on supporting whoever on the team carries the objective as primary. If he can somehow shift from a purely defensive asset to a assertive attacker capable of shutting down an entire team, he'll have proven he's a step closer to polishing away any grime left from the weaknesses found last season." Bianca said with enthusiasm as she cheers on her favorite team, decked out in their home colors of Blue and Pink; sitting next to her were some of her friends from her police club and Sky, who wasn't too interested in the game after the lackluster start from the first game.
The tower is seized as Azule and Sally occupy it and take the front, guarding both sides as they ride the tower; Violet stood on guard and stalked behind the tower, ready to splat down any bad guys that tried to ambush. Ahead of them, taking on the enemy spawn was none other than Reice, who'd managed to get a triple splat with the use of the vertical flick and an assist on the fourth member of Deadquake who'd taken so much enemy ink damage that it was enough to splat them despite having not directly been splatted. A shocking occurrence for them as they watched Reice swim over to enemy spawn and throw down his ink wall to block them from landing any direct shots at him as he catches the Respawning Okabe and Valerie making a push to get around them. Just at this time, Squidcom were able to get to about halfway and were nearing their goal; but that's where a problem came. Since he did a team wipeout, Deadquake decided to split up. Two took the main route down the middle near the goal, and the other two took the route onto their own lower platform that led to a ramp and resembled an end-around move to ambush the tower from behind. Reice spotted where everyone was going and quickly signaled for backup as Valerie slips past him, leaving Okabe with the Clam Blaster to finish off Reice while she and the rest of Deadquake try and contain Squidcom and even claim the tower.
"This Way!" Reice yelled as Okabe slips by him and takes to higher group to use his gun to a greater effect, able to dip into his ink and refill quickly and confuse Reice. While Reice struggled on a 1v1 with knowledge that he was at a disadvantage for damage per second thanks to using arguably the worst weapon in its class, he knew he couldn't just rely on stats.
Even if you have the high ground, you have to run out eventually. I'll try to keep my distance but at least remind him that he ain't getting pass me unless it's with a splat. Reice thought in his mind as he became mindful that he couldn't waste his ink, he had to use it efficiently in a pinch like this.
The rest of Squidcom were also in a battle of their own as the tower stops just on the edge of going over the water thanks to the rally of Soza and Jeremy in forcing the attacking pair of Azule and Sally off the objective; it wasn't an easy task as they had to avoid the thundering shots of Violet, who had an eagle eye as she got gradually closer to mercilessly splatting them in a way that they'd want to quit, until the help of Valerie arrived that helped even out the battle. Azule and Sally dodge the enemy orange ink any way possible. Azule goes into squid form and splits away from his teammate as he looks to go high and regroup for a second, but gets followed by Jeremy, who's on a mission to splat him down before he makes another move. Sally doesn't go into squid form to leap out the ink like her buddy Azule, but she instead stands her ground and gives them a fight with her Blobobber as the bubbles instill a fear that if she can at least land a pair on them, she'd have their heads. Violet throws her squid beacon onto the tower and steps back for a moment to leave the tower open for claim, Valerie takes the bait and gets on the tower to focus on eliminating the beacon place, and Violet makes her pay by unleashing her special: the bubble blower. Jumping in the airs with each bubble she releases, Violet made sure to send all the blue bubbles at Valerie and the tower to keep her stalled until backup could arrive.
This is not the time to be playing around! Reice yelled in his mind as he retreated to the tower, recognizing the plan of Okabe's isolation. Even though there was a little over 3 minutes remaining in the match thanks to the quick push of Squidcom, the match was far from over. The score is 32-79 in favor of Squidcom.
Grabbing the attention of the Okabe, Reice made a break for the tower occupied by Valerie as she was able to fend off Violet's attack and get the tower moving in the direction she wanted; Azule and Sally got splatted but were able to take down their attackers with them. Reice makes his jump for the tower, only to meet his demise at the hands of the wary Valerie of splats him down in mid-air. Violet throws a beacon behind her as she takes aim at the tower to try and hold Valerie and Okabe back as they make their push. Time is running out for Violet as she spots a duo of orange inklings squidjump to the tower and now the entire team were on board! Time wasn't running out, but their lead certainly was, and Violet had to do something as Azule and Sally were making their return. With the score at 32-54, Squidcom's lead was dying, until…
"NOT AGAIN…!" A voice yelled from the heavens as he squidjumps to the point of action.
Azule's on the point trying to make a rally, Violet's not too far back as she tries to pick bodies off, and Sally is close by adding an annoying distraction by causing mayhem with her Blobobber, but the last member they needed to shut down Deadquake was none other than Reice, who immediately returns with a splat to Valerie and claims the tower back before the others can jump on. Azule recognizes Reice's plan and picks up a double splat off a stunned pair in Jeremy and Okabe, and Violet adds the nail in the coffin as she buries Soza in blue ink after having been trapped by Sally; Squidcom managed to secure their lead but now had to decide on whether to defend, or attack them, while they're down.
"We'll stay on the tower, Reice. I know you'll handle them!" Sally smirked with confidence as she winked to him, lighting a fire in his heart as he nodded, brimming with expectation.
Darting to Deadquake's spawn, Reice's only task was to somehow contain them long enough for Squidcom to get to the goal and claim the knockout. Filled with radiance from the confidence his sister placed in him, Reice couldn't back down, but once he saw all four of Deadquake respawn and immediately take aim at him, he knew it was easier said than done. Throwing up his splash wall to protect himself, he thought he was done for until her heard the whistle blew and saw that all Deadquake stayed in spawn as tenta missiles came raining down like meteors, forcing them to take shelter and admit defeat as Squidcom's tower reached the goal thanks to Sally and Violet keeping on the objective. Squidcom won Game 2 via Knockout, and now one final game to settle the winner of the match. With the completion of the second game came a wave of sighing from many spectators who had to hold their breath throughout the match, worried that Squidcom would somehow manage to screw themselves over and lose their first match of the season.
"It's not over yet…" each member of Squidcom said under their breath as they all try and catch their breath yet again at their spawn; Reice on the floor and breathing heavily through his mouth as he tried to take in as much air as possible, filling his lungs before emptying them and feeling that familiar burn.
With a short rest being allowed just before their final game, there weren't any words left to be said as Violet, Sally, and Reice all turn their sweaty faces to look at the glowing eyes of their captain who sat relaxed on the ground with focus, a cold stare present as he resembles a predator stalking his prey in anticipation of a kill.
"Let's go." he said in a chilling tone as he rose to his feet; the trio could feel the shiver on.
The audience is anxious for the final game, Squidcom's members in the stands were on their toes with their fingers crossed, and their fans were showing their full support as they chant Squidcom's name. An impressive victory that showed that this team had maturity, Squidcom needed another victory in order to bring home the victory in the match. Waiting on standby, the heavy pulse of their heart beats hard like a drum as the physical activity they did today felt like a higher intensity than what they were used to. Without another word said, they burst out the spawn and make yet another race for the tower led by their captain.
The final round has begun!
For most of Game 3, the tower didn't move far as both teams exchanged possession as though they were trading blows in a boxing match. Each time Deadquake took possession of the tower and grabbed a point closer to a lead, Squidcom knocked them off the tower and fought to get two more points than what Deadquake had. A plethora of specials got used from left to right as the match continued with ferocity in the eyes of Squidcom and Deadquake alike. Squidcom had to win this match, they had to stamp their authority as one of the favorites for the Rank Wars now that they had their captain back along with their ace player Sally, but Deadquake also had something to prove, being one of the newcomers in the Rank Wars gave Deadquake a chance to separate themselves from the other newcomers.
The game begins to get ugly as multiple 1v1s and 2v1s go down between the teams at different intervals of the match and further added to the fuel of frustration as the score kept rather close at 68-73 in favor of Squidcom but was subjected to change after a convincing flank by Deadquake helped them in capturing the tower. It was there that Deadquake dug their own grave after managing to splat Azule, sending him back to respawn and forcing the rest of Squidcom to fight a 3v4 battle; the flashbacks of the sleepless nights spent studying the films of the previous come rushing back to Azule as the only thing going through his mind is the strange sense of deja vu of his team about to blow another lead after fighting so hard. Remembering the inspiration felt when he watched his team show such undying determination in the films, seeing their resolve in going into each match at a 3-player disadvantage, Azule knew that it was moments like this that defined an individual. Respawning into the match, Azule's nerves give off a strange sensation as his eyes dilate with a fiery glow. The smell of the musty water, the damp air that fills his lungs as he inhales, the slight chill on his skin as he closes his eyes and opens to reveal the emergence of Midnight. With the current series in the match tied at 1 apiece and a crucial final game being played, Azule's hair began to glow the team color of royal blue as his cerulean gems shared the ember glow. Targeting Reice's position, Azule launches himself to his teammate's coordinates but notices that there's a a pair of camping Deadquake members waiting to splat him as he lands after having already splatting Reice. A mistake. A big mistake on the part of Deadquake. Landing in the pool of orange ink, Azule doesn't hesitate for a nanosecond as he brutally lands a double splat doing a spin, then inking the turf below his feet and with a hop in his step, makes a break for the tower that sat in Deadquake's possession. Lowering his head with a darkened expression, a gust of wind engulfs him as he takes off at full speed for the tower. Coming at Deadquake like a freight train, the members of Deadquake couldn't help but sense an incredible chill down their spines as death came towards them. Seeing a shadow of Sky Royale rush at them, Deadquake couldn't help but feel the quaking fear that trembled their entire bodies to a shiver as the cool blue Azule neared them with a murderous intent.
"Oh no…" Jeremy muttered with heavy strains of fear present as she catches sight of the speeding blue inkling that zoomed past his teammates with his focus on the tower.
"He's coming!" Okabe braced as he hopped off the tower in anticipation.
"R-Retreat!" Jeremy shouted with despair.
"NO! STAY ON THE TOWER." Okabe yelled as he stood his ground, ready to take on Midnight Azule as he stayed near the tower in wait for Soza and Valerie to squidjump to his location.
Azule dips past Okabe and does a swift inking of the tower, skimming over with a knee slide and splatting Jeremy in quick succession, throwing his burst bomb behind him to trap Okabe and leave him for dead at the hands of a vengeful Reice. Squidcom grab the tower, and the pivotal turn in the match had finally arrived; the audience turned electric as many had to blink and rub their eye to truly take in the rare sight unfolding before them. As if possessed by the spirit of his sister in some mythical state, Azule's body moved just like Sky did when she used Midnight, and his aura, there was an unforgiving nature about him filled with aggression that seems reminiscent of Sky when she first used Midnight. As people rose to their feet and clap with excitement, Sky sat speechless with her mouth wide open, her eyebrows trembling furiously as she saw the other side to her brother. No matter how hard she tried to protect Azule from making the same mistakes as her, from falling down the same path, he always kept following her...
"Who said you could run? If you won't stick to your guns, then perish." He said with a darkened face as his blue eyes glow with intensity, raining splats from his tenta missiles on the approaching Valerie and Soza who try to aid in stopping Squidcom from ending their hopes. Trapping them by forcing them to stay back as his team get on the objective, Azule gives them a death stare that leaves them frozen in place as Squidcom ride to another knockout victory. Stunned by the vicious glare, Deadquake experienced firsthand what it meant to be going up against the leader of Squidcom. It was over. The match was over with a knockout as Squidcom rode to victory thanks to Azule's aggressive push in eliminating every opponent and trapping them in spawn while the other three stayed on the tower and ride to victory.
Securing another win that oversaw Squidcom claiming the match outright, the team flashed radiant smiles all around as they returned to their spawn and gave each other hugs, though Azule's Midnight form was still present, he now had an aggressive smile as he brought his team in for a group hug. Everyone in attendance-the people watching on their devices too- roared with cheers after watching an unforgettable rise of a talent who'd surely become a fan favorite after today. Not only did his team win in convincing fashion, but there was a message tied to the performance. The talk that's been happening about Squid Academy with the loss of their "royalty" in the Elites, the uncertainty on the future of the school in identity and security with Ixia emerging as a potential foe. Azule's performance confirmed all the doubts: he was their future, and he finally made his mark. Sky sat in her seat with a stunned look as she tried to grasp what she just saw. The absolute madman went into Midnight mode! Dozens of thoughts swirl through her mind as she tried to process what her little brother just did, but after a nudge from a satisfied Bianca who got to see her team win, Sky knew she had to worry about it later.
Giving a hard blink, his glowing eyes return to normal as his blue hair return to its darker shade of royal blue, and giving the usual innocent smile of his, he gave a thumbs up to Fuchsia, Kosami, and Jory who sat in the stands cheering them on. The crowd's enthusiasm grows by the second as Azule's smile pumps them up with even more excitement. They'd been waiting for another big name to step up and challenge the veteran Kidvel led by the fan favorite Pastelle, but with Sky's little brother making his presence known, Pastelle's influence would soon mean little. Inspired by her former apprentice's performance, Pastelle flashes a grin filled with motivation to show Azule how it's done. She's not the only one as Todd sits by himself with his arms crossed, unsurprised that Azule would show up already with a presence-now he couldn't hold back. As Azule stole the spotlight, the evening was ending as a few matches were still left. After Squidcom's victory came a few more surprises for the audience in attendance: Todd and his new team were playing immediately after Squidcom-not failing to disappoint, after that they were followed by the Rebels-Todd's former team, and then the night ended with Kidvel's victory of 2-0 in the match. After the first night of the Rank Wars came to an end, Squidcom were too tired to even celebrate getting their first win as night quickly approached after the last match. The main four were so tired that Violet had fallen asleep on Fuchsia's shoulders, and Azule on Sally's lap as they took the charter buses back to campus. Day 1 was over, but there were 19 more to go.
