The neon lights of the night-less land of Octaria sparkle with the artificial sky reflecting the dazzling hue of blue, green, and other assorted lights. The atmosphere throughout the town felt different as the usual crowds of octarians and octolings roaming the city were surprisingly calm. Unlike before where the slums were lively thanks to the various crimes carried out, the slums were now abandoned with not a soul to be found as well as the numerous beggars scattered at every street corner also gone without a trace. Even though the city never slept, there was indeed a period in the night where most of the civilians knew the drill: don't go wandering around too late or else risk getting swept up to never be seen again. An effort by her highness to lower the crime rate, it proved somewhat effective, but there was more to this suspicious collection than meets the eye, and that's what interested many of the people of Octaria, who were curious about what the Queen was doing, but too afraid of the consequences that might strike them should they meddle, and such, everyone minded their business and continued as though nothing changed. Shiva was disgusted by the developments unfolding, and the lack of unity within the people of Octaria. She roams the streets as most of the shops and clubs are closing up, noticing the vast amount of people briskly shuffling along to their homes before the sweepers come. With her hands in her pockets, decked out in all black with purple highlights in her outfit completed with a hood decorated in purple designs, she wore a black facemask similar to what kunoichi wear, her eyes the only thing visible. In her hand, a metal baseball bat that had strange teal line patterns etched into the bat, as if it was more than an instrument for a sport. She stood along the sidewalk, watching cars speed up, and with a glance to a building with a giant clock, she noticed that the sweeping hour was approaching.

4 am… she narrows her eyes with disgust, tightening her grip on the bat envisioning the arrogant laughter of her mother, imagining how lavishly her mother has been living while her people suffer in various ways. As the future ruler of Octaria, she felt it was duty to help her people in any way she could, even if it meant putting herself in danger. She holds a finger up to her ear as she gets a fuzzy vibration in that area, "Yeah...I'm here."

"We've detected a few of them to the northwest of about eight blocks from where you are. The people are about a couple blocks from your position. Just head east and you should see them in an alleyway.

"What about C and Lu? Are they also doing well?"

"They've recovered the last remnants of them. All that's left is on your end. They should be heading your way soon to back you up."

"Thanks Rie, sorry I can't call you by your full name like this."

"It's fine, boss. We can't risk giving away our identity after all."

Returning to her mission at hand, Shiva cautiously looks around and begins her nightly duty. For the last couple of months, the princess and her retainers have worked with the resistance to rescue as many people from the clutches of the sweepers as much as possible. The sweepers are an elite crew of policemen deployed by the Queen to collect anyone who isn't in their home by the designated time or found homeless or without shelter. Her highness claims that this is to clean up the streets by sniffing out all the criminals and poverty stricken people, but Shiva and her retainers know the truth and have shared with those who seek refuge in their bunkers: The Queen is abducting these people to perform disturbing experiments for the sake of military gain. A despicable act the enraged the young princess to her core, she bore witness to it one night while sneaking around the palace to make it to the underground where she saw what became of her people. Tortured on beds, walls and the ground until their minds were numbed into submission, she witnessed the "cleansing of the victims as their skin turned a bluish purple with no life in their eyes, their hair automatically shifting to green, and incapable of speech. They resembled some sort of sick zombie, but there was something far more disturbing. These people were gifted with an incredible amount of raw strength equal to that of Maya Royale and other notable heroes from the past. In addition to those experiments, Shiva uncovered the massive arsenal stored underground as well, witnessing the vast storage of powerful weapons. One weapon caught her eye however, from both size and its functionality. A gigantic drill tank, it was modeled with what looked like jet engine thrusts to allow the vessel to soar the heavens. It was there that Shiva quickly realized the intentions of her mother, deciding then that it was high time this get put to an end. And thus, the resistance was born. To combat the efforts of the corrupt Queen terrorizing the nation, it was the resistance who hid in the shadows plotting their chance to fight back. With DJ Octavio on their side thanks to the mutual disgust in the Queen's behavior, they worked together to save as many people from her clutches while carrying out a plan to take back the throne and set the nation on the right path. Tonight is another night of the same for them as they're out to rescue the last remaining people who could still get swept, predicting that after this, the Queen would soon target breaking into the homes of the lower class with all the homeless and hopeless slums cleared out.

"Tonight looks like a fine night to go sweeping, Charles." The Queen said holding a glass of red wine, a fervent gaze on her partner in crime as he sat at a table with dozens of papers scattered, a glass of water nearby as he reaches for a gulp. "Why so nervous? Don't tell me you're still reluctant about this illicit relationship?"

"It's not that, your highness. It's just that we'll be nearing our due date and a few things are still incomplete."

The Queen's smug face catches his attention as the artificial glow of the starry night sparkles her, "Everything will be fine. Our production of soldiers is moving at a great pace and our weapons are ready. All that's left is mobilization to the surface."

"Yes my queen."

"Oh, Charles, do you have any news on the thief who stole the Octavio heirloom?"

"Unfortunately no. We don't know who took the gauntlets nor the orb, and the guards are still on the lookout."

"I see. That's a shame." she said with a discerning gaze to the streets down below, her motherly instincts warning her that she might already know the culprit. Overlooking the nightless city below her, she gives a piercing stare through every street she cleaned out and pans out to the village outskirts where she has yet to invade, intending to "cleanse" them next and bless them with her grace. Chuckling to herself at how smoothly her plans were going and of the luxury she could live while her husband was nowhere to be seen-probably dead for all she cared-she closes the curtains by the windows with her shadow in the light then moving to where her bed is, awaiting her company. As she indulges in the spoils of being a ruler, the future ruler of the nation is doing her hardest to spite her. Sprinting along the rooftops, Shiva's acrobatically moving along to avoid detection by the many traffic lights and lights of the buildings that all had sentries built in to detect movement that didn't belong to the sweepers or any personnel of the queen. Her legs moving like a runner's on the track, she hurdles the roofs and performs some swift climbing on the walls after just narrowly missing the mark on her jump. Hanging from the ledge, she takes a quick glimpse of her right, where a hazy pink light shines on the street. She's suspicious of it however, as it was a moving light, and soon she realized it was a sentry. Heaving her upper body up, she narrowly avoids it's detection as it shifts its sight to the spot where she was. Hidden on the rooftop catching her breath, she quickly gets up to check the surroundings of the area below where supposedly a dozen families were in hiding, doomed to be swept. Scouring the edges of the rooftop, she finds an alleyway that looks oddly smaller than usual. Thanks to being royalty, one of her tasks was to memorize the entire infrastructure of both Octaria and Octo Valley as part of her training under the idea that a true ruler knows their environment like the back of their hand, able to see all-including everything in the dark. She concentrates her sights to the area for a little, spotting some stray movements here and there. Soon she hears a baby's cry and the sound of a mother trying to hush the distressed child. Though they concealed themselves well in the darkness, the scent of fear was as strong as the brightness of the lights searching for them; they wouldn't last long at this rate-the sweepers could catch them effortlessly. Taking a leap off the rooftop, she does a backflip and opens up her jacket that doubled as a cloak allowing her to float to the ground, landing before them with an eerie presence. The glowing purple pattern on her hood fascinates the child, making silent immediately as she rises, her gaze scouting the area before her.

"How many are here?" she asked softly with a whisper while putting her finger near the baby, to which the infant wrapped their little fingers around, prompting her to smile a little.

"There are a dozen families, only a trio out here and the rest are deeper in the alley-no more than five a family." A shaken man spoke shielding his wife and two children, unsure if this was their savior from the perils of the streets or the foe who'd deliver them to the sweeper.

Shiva lifts the hood and reveals her identity, to which every adult dressed in tattered clothes with dirt covering their bodies immediately dropped to their knees and knelt with due respect before their princess. Even in a situation as dire as this, where every second counts, not a single person in her presence dare show disrespect to the one ruler who cared the most about them: their princess and future queen. As they solemnly bow, Shiva raises her chin with a serious look, requesting that they all rise because there isn't much time to evacuate. The sweepers were in the area and would scavenger ever crease of the city in search of any unfortunate souls. Ih they were going to have any chance to survive, they needed to move now. Shiva notified the man that answered her to send someone to alert the other families further down the alley and prepare to escape; they'll be under her protection from this moment-their lives in her hands. As a man from another family hastily gets up and makes a sprint to the other families, Shiva begins the count as her eyes scan the petrified families of mothers shivering holding their children to protect them from the brutal cold "nights" of Octaria while the children were too scared to even stare straight, the trembling bodies mimicking their mother's movements.

"That's more than What I was accounting for." she said under her breath after counting about 15 people including the one man that left to signal the others. If there were more, it would be risky to guide them to the sanctuary by herself. If anything, it was wiser to wait for the reinforcements of Ciri and Reluna rather than tackle this alone. The problem however is the fact that the sweepers are nearby, the howling cry of the mashing and their swishing brushes on the pavements growing louder by the second. Almost like a warning shot to spook the enemy, Shiva knew the longer she stayed there, the greater the risk of encountering the sweepers. By herself, she's no fight for those machines. Her thoughts racing as she crafts together a plan that'll let her and these people escape, she's met by a radio call from Vaairie, codenamed "Rie" to avoid being detected by the surveillance of the enemy networks, aware that they were probably being wiretapped as they spoke.

Vaairie came on but her voice was concerning to say the least, "C and Lu are in trouble. They intercepted some sweepers while heading your way." It made sense to Shiva, since she could hear the sweepers nearby. "They're not too far off from your location. Is it possible you can evacuate the families while they hold them off?"

Shiva brings her fingers up to her ear and looks away from the people-lowering her tone so they couldn't hear her concern, "Unfortunately there's more people than I can handle guiding. Plenty of children too. I'm not sure if I can secure the first route."

"It's fine. If you want to take the long way, I'll guide you. It's still early so the full force of the Sweepers shouldn't be in effect until another hour."

"What's the ETA if I take the long route?"

"Long route is about an hour and a half to a couple hours, depending on how fast you move and avoiding any confrontation with the Sweepers, you could make it within the first hour at best."

Shiva frowns, "That's not very reassuring."

"Neither is taking the linear route. Those Sweepers pose a problem if you're spotted."

The first route was a safe linear route by cutting in and out of the back alleys to reach the sanctuary and it was considered the safe route due to there being a lesser amount of sentries along the way. The problem is that along the safe route, there would be parts where they had to cross the road to get to the other side of the alley, leaving them out in the open-a risky move to make in a large group like what Shiva had. The long route instead took them around Octaria with them staying concealed, in the alleys and parks along the way to the door of the bunker-the problem? Many sentries were located on the outside of this route which made it difficult for anyone to move around freely and then there's the sweepers who'll be crawling around at every street corner. There's no way they can take the long route without catching someone's attention since it was far longer-an increase in sweepers would be detrimental, and they would surely multiply and the night continued. These options weighing on her mind like bricks, Shiva puts her hands at her waist and comes to a conclusion.

"Alright. I've decided on taking the linear route after all."

"Okay, I'll guide you. I'll do some quick searching and do my best to assist you. You know the way back?"

Shiva nods, "Yeah, it's just the fifty-something people that'll need to be following me that'll need to keep up."

Gathering the families together, Shiva counted 57 people in her hands-their worried stares nothing more than a reminder that this was a crucial mission. Luckily this wasn't the first time Shiva was out in the field rescuing people. As part of the resistance, she opted to lend a hand in helping rescue potential victims. Guiding them, she's reminded of the looming threat of Sweepers in the background, their warlike cries piercing the ears of everyone within the vicinity, even pretrifying a few to fall to their knees in fear. Shiva snaps them out of it and leads them throughout the alleyway, taking a right-then left, arriving at the edge between two buildings with the road in sight. Shiva pokes her head out and does a look of left and then right-the coast is clear. Only cars are parked on the road next to the sidewalks, the lights of the rooms in the buildings all turned off, though some windows were open with people keeping watch for anything that might happen on the streets; though it was an unwritten rule for no citizens to snitch on their brethren, some stayed up at times like this to scout for the queen. Because of that, Shiva had to put her hood back on and keep her head lowered, knowing she'd attract unwanted attention if anyone spotted her. Shiva motions for everyone to move quickly, pointing her finger at the back alley across the street as their next point of interest. Keeping cover for them while they move briskly across, hand-in-hand, she notices that some of the dimmed lights from inactivity were now back to full brightness and wandering around again thanks to the movement on the streets. With the others reaching the alley safely, she does a quick look again and spots some sweepers approaching after making a turn onto her street. More than likely they were from the group engaging in battle with Ciri and Reluna and were searching for anyone else as a precaution. From their truck like size to their huge brushes that swept anything in its path to absorption, Shiva couldn't take her eyes off the vehicles used by her mother to capture unfortunate civilians and take them away to what she only imagined to be hell. The metronome in her body picks up pace as the tension grows, having to hide behind a nearby car and peek every second to see if they are closing in. At this rate, they'd discover the people since there was no chance they would leave their princess behind, to which Shiva knew she couldn't put their lives at risk. At their current position, the Sweepers were nearing the alley where the people were while she was a little further away from their sight, but though she was safe, the Sweepers would probably detect the people, which meant she needed to get their attention somehow. She looks around at the asphalt for any spare pebbles or debris she could use to lure them, but alas, nothing. A last resort, she brings out her Octo shot. An exhale of breath followed by beady eyes, Shiva shifted to a serious state-one like a beast about to go on a rampage. Her gun in her hands, she squats and positions herself. Diagonal from her in the direction of the people and the sweepers just beyond the alley, there's a sentry light right above the sign of a local business. A long stare at the sign, she knew there was only one thing to do: Fire away. Launching a shot at the light, she sets it off, catching the attention of the Sweepers who backtracked to find out where the shot came from. Shiva uses this chance to run and makes it to the alley safely. Only one problem: the Sweepers were now aware that someone was in the area and would be on high alert. Vaairie warns Shiva that the Sweepers are on the lookout for them and they need to hurry through the alley as soon as possible, with enemy reinforcements due to arrive. Luckily, Ciri and Reluna managed to withdraw from battle with the Sweepers, but by no means were they in the clear.

"...They took the high ground?" she asked in reference to her comrade's whereabouts while running ahead of the pack of families to guide them to the next point.

"It's the only way to escape them. They move fast but they can't climb walls, at least not yet, I suppose."

"I don't want to find out!" Shiva yelled guiding her hands along the brick walls.

After minutes of running at top speed, they nearly arrive at the bunker that sits across the street buried deep in the alleys. Luckily, the moment they cross into that section their security is secured. The problem? This was the widest street they would be crossing and also had the heaviest of activity from Sweepers and Sentries alike. Shiva holds her arm up to stop the families, putting a finger up to her ear after getting a buzz. Vaairie warns her that the Sweepers are swarming the area and they had to be as careful as possible so as not to risk detection and possibly revealing the whereabouts of their hideout. Shiva asked for an update on Ciri and Reluna's locations, but before she could get an answer, the connection dropped. When she looked around to find out the cause for the disconnection, she saw an octoling sitting along the rooftop out of the corner of her eye with his arms crossed and wearing a devilish grin that glimmered in the darkness with yellow eyes similar to gold. It was none other than one of her mother's royal knights, and the youngest one at that. Known as Mad Max by his peers, he was the youngest among the elite royal guard and wore an outfit similar to what Agent 8 wore, though his was decorated with some green and magenta, and a royal headband around his head given by her majesty. Without a warning, he jumped from the rooftop and sprints in their direction, which sent a wave of warning signals to Shiva, who quickly readied herself to intercept the dangerous octoling. An untimely situation when the goal was right in their reach, Shiva had to conceal her presence to avoid the sweepers and sentries in the area, and yet here comes one of the most powerful members of the royal guard in the flesh and seemingly already tracking her. Readying herself, she takes out her octo shot and prepares for battle. The people behind her are terrified for their safety, but more so worried for their princess' as she was the only reason they survived this far.

"I finally found you, culprit!" Max yells approaching the opening where Shiva and the people hid, unaware that the person he seeks in none other than the princess; Shiva lowers her hood and brings up a mask to cover her face, having kept it hidden in her coat like a turtle neck up to this point.

"Stay back and wait for my orders. I'll engage in battle with this man. When I shout to move-MOVE!" she warns, jumping into the streets to intercept the boy before he catches a glimpse of them.

Leaping from the alley, she lands in the street facing bullet-like octoling who wields dual chain sickles as his primary weapon with a huge gun on his back. His weapons connect with Shiva's octo shot, immediately sparks as they grind against each other. In that split second, Max's eyes locked with hers, and he was stunned for a moment as he swore he knew those eyes from somewhere. But before he can recollect, Shiva went on the attack. Shooting and performing martial arts, Shiva left no openings as she went on the attack. A leg sweep sweep transitioning to a low shot aiming for his head, Shiva made sure Max couldn't get near her nor past her. But at this rate, they'd be there all night and sweepers would surely show up because of the commotion. The sentries were already detecting their erratic motion but recognized Max's presence and therefore left it in his care, but the moment he ceases motion, they'll alarm the nearby Sweepers. If Shiva was going to wrap this up without killing him, she needed to strip away his mobility and senses, figuring that the inactivity of the sentries meant she had less than a minute at best to move everyone across the street and deep enough into the alley to avoid danger. Max notices that his opponent doesn't seem to have any intent on killing him, which only makes him more intrigued. Lowering his guard, her approaches her, though Shiva still has her weapon aimed and ready to shoot.

"It's clear you won't kill me, so I have to ask: what's a lone octoling doing out here on the streets at this hour? Surely you know about the sweepers, dont'cha?" he said haughtily, but she offers no response, which only interests him more; "I heard about a resistance group that wear black and purple that roam the city at night fighting the sweepers and abducting people, claiming that it's for their own protection from becoming fuel. You wouldn't happen to be one of them, would you? If so, I'll need to bring you back to the palace and interrogate you. Her highness can't be having rats like you run amok ruining her plans."

In a deep tone to protect her voice, "Queen Octavio is going to bring nothing but ruin to Octaria! This nation can't handle another war. We need peace and to re-establish a functioning economy-"

"I don't care much for politics." Max said digging his ear with his pinky, then flicking away the wax; "I'm just doing whatever she orders because that's my role as one of her personal guards. However, I must say, for someone as young as me, you definitely got some moves to keep me at bay like this. A shame you're on the enemy side I suppose. I'd love to spar with you without any hostilities."

Shiva shakes her head, "A thirst for nothing but battle. I'd hate to see you get serious."

Max chuckles, "I only get serious when my life depends on it. If you want to see it, come for my head then!" he rushes at her, throwing his chain sickle to try and hook her like a fish and reel her in, but Shiva rolls to her left and fires-Max blocks the shots and laughs approaching her, ready to go in for the deciding blow; the people watching in the alley were afraid this was the end for their princess since they were sure Mad Max would try and kill her. Calm and collected, Shiva didn't flinch as the octoling approached her which only excited him further since he sensed no fear from her. Indeed a shame she was an enemy. Just then, an arrow splits ground between them causes everything in the area to quake a little. Shiva smirks, knowing that type of terrifying accuracy belongs to an ally she knows. As she looks up, she saw an octoling man with a blonde Mohawk-his face hidden behind a mask but arms exposed by his sleeveless black vest.

"Get moving, boss!" he yelled, preparing another arrow that instead had a head covered in ink; Shiva recognizes what's going on and waves for the people to follow her, motioning them to follow her while the enemy is distracted and with haste they follow.

"We brought backup, boss!" Ciri said while wearing her disguise similar to Shiva's.

"The best archer ever!" Reluna added while joining in wearing the same disguise as well.

Max guffawed as his attention turned to the archer, "Well, well, if it isn't the Robin Hood of the Resistance. Former Royal Guardsman that even the queen saw as a child of hers...Hatu Mareloka. A descendant from an island tribe of the octarians far off from even the eyes of Inkland, it's always a pleasure to be in your presence."

Hatu doesn't say a word, only drawing his bow and firing again. Max dodges it, but not without some damage as it grazes his ankle as well as ink covering the area he walks, trapping him. Shiva secures the last of the people and disappears into the alleys followed by Ciri and Reluna, who notify Hatu to join them once he takes care of Max. As they make their escape into the darkness, Hatu descends-shooting down sentries on the way. Slowly approaching the trapped Max, he gives a vicious glare in response to the cackling Max, who knew this was his defeat. While Hatu took care of Max, Shiva and the others arrived at the bunker and quickly filed everyone in, journeying to the bunker down below and getting everyone situated. As the families were greeted by members of the resistance who guided them to all the facilities underground, Fuchsia and her retainers joined up with Vaairie to report to the leaders of the resistance and her father, DJ Octavio. Marching through the corridor, they arrive at the vast room where the other leaders of the resistance are along with DJ Octavio. The long table that sits all the leaders is packed down the row as all resistance members were awaiting the news the princess had to give. She explains that her squad have completed the mission and now they can transition to the next phase. Greeted by Denise, one of the legs of the resistance, the rest made their opinions felt awaiting the orders from DJ Octavio and resistance leader Jonah.

The resistance were a huge group who believed in the welfare of Octaria, believing that the country should abandon conflict with their close neighbors Inkopolis and instead establish relations to improve their failing economy. Jonah-leader of this resistance-is an aged man who was still in peak health thanks to years of braving the multiple wars fought by the two rival races, learning the dark sides of both parties well enough to man rebellion against his native homeland's leadership. A remnant of an old era that should be forgotten, he strove to create a band of followers who shared the same goal in saving their people from suffering as issues like famine became a bigger deal the greater the strain of underground resources. Rough facial features worn like medallions from his days of war, his eyes were as stone cold as the bulk build of his torso. Grey hair that was no less than mere stubble on top of his head and a thick Grey mustache that nearly became a goatee, with just a change in his posture was enough to straighten out the wildest of lost souls. Within the resistance, respect came first and he personified it to a tee. The rest of the resistance leaders were all referred to as legs by Jonah-a pillar of support for the weak and unable. Each leg commanded their own sector but still answered to Jonah and were composed of skilled octolings that varied from veterans to young ex-recruits. 8 in total, each leg in command had their own purpose for aligning with Jonah with their goals all the same. From lowest to highest, the first leg of the resistance is an octoling boy named Felix. An intelligent prodigy who was once working in the labs underground performing experiments, he found inspiration in Jonah after overhearing one of his speeches in the streets and soon followed him, ditching his old life as an orphan raised by the crown-a measly number within the masses used for labor-and soon finding himself work through the ranks to become one of the 8 legs who kept balance within the organization. As their most skilled with technology, Felix was responsible for everything regarding octarian tech and equipment and often collaborated with fellow leg-Abraham for weapon enhancements. The second leg is Abraham. A specialist with weapon construction and general agriculture, he was once an architect who operated under the crown, accidentally uncovering the secret plans of the queen to sweep the unfortunate into her grasp and use them for various projects such as fuel for the very machines that captured them to turning them into mindless corpses "cleansed" from their impurities to only operate as a soldier under her command. Horrified, he quit and soon came across Jonah, who inspired him enough to take his side against the inhumane nature of the crown.

"You rescued the last of them. As expected of the princess, you're incredible in more ways than I can count. It's great that we were able to collaborate!" Abraham said giving a thumbs up, the goggles on his forehead tight enough that to any passerby he looked like gadget head obsessed with the latest in technology.

DJ Octavio also looked pleased to see his daughter return safely, though he expressed his worry about what his wife would plot next now that their immediate supply was cut off completely. He factored in the possibility that the Sweepers would probably start breaking into innocent people's homes to gather fuel instead, or possibly journey to the outskirts of the big city to go after the many small villages as well. To quell the king's concerns, Abraham reassured him that things would be fine with the resistance's involvement. The rest of the 8 Legs agreed and offered their words of encouragement, including Felix, who felt the most confident in the cause. Settling down next to her father at the long table, all members awaited the arrival of the 6th leg, Hatu. Told to go reinforce the princess by Jonah's orders, he was out handling Mad Max. As they waited, Denise-the 5th leg, decided to pass the time by with an update on her latest works. The 5th leg of the resistance, she was in charge of the medical division of the resistance as their lead doctor. Responsible for making serums and potions to help heal the sick as well as treat those injured during their continuous fights with the Sweepers and Royal guardsmen, she operated on at least a dozen unfortunate people every day. Apparently she was working on a possible anti-cleanser meant to counteract the effects done by the cleansing and revert the mindless soldiers back to functioning octolings. Taking remnants from chemical compounds she found underground that seemed potent when mixed with octarian genetics, she began experimenting with them and was gradually creating a solution to a major problem. She didn't want to kill anyone, nor did she want anyone to suffer hence her reason for abandoning her position as a top surgeon within Octaria to lend her support to the underground scene. If she perfected this potion in time, she could save millions of lost souls and a million more from massacre.

"How far did you get?" Faye-the 3rd Leg-asked with genuine interest in the process it took; enlightened by the young Leg, the doctor dove deep into the details, which revolved around the theory of a cure-all drug that can handle any sickness.

After minutes of humoring Faye, Hatu returned, catching the eyes of the other upper four Legs. As the 6th Leg and most skilled among shooters, Hatu wielded a bow instead of a gun and still found his shot with the deadliest of accuracy. An ex-royal guardsmen, his purpose for joining the resistance was unknown, and among the 8 Legs, he was the most mysterious with no interest in congregating with his peers; even his sector were a mystery as they mostly comprised of fellow archers looking to follow in his footsteps as fans or at least assist in whatever way possible. Taking a seat in between a blushing Denise and uninterested Veronica-the 7th Leg-the meeting begins shortly. A briefing on their current situation and of the following phase. Jonah explained that thanks to their efforts, they were able to slow down the progression of the Queen's efforts for war. By removing their supply for the Sweepers, they couldn't gather more soldiers for their army. However, the battle was far from concluded as many enemies still remained in their path from the massive army of Sweepers to the elites of the royal guardsmen. If they wanted to succeed in their goal of retaking the throne, they had to go through quite the impenetrable wall. Cognizant of that factor, Jonah continue onto the next phase of their plan. Next on the board was how to infiltrate the palace and retake the throne held by the Queen. But before that, there was an announcement that Shiva wanted to make in relation to this plan, an idea she wanted to propose for a while but never got a chance to make the announcement due to everyone being separated in different parts of Octaria; this was the first time all 8 Legs of the resistance have been present. Luckily, Jonah was in her corner, but she still needed the cooperation of the other legs for it to be accepted. As she rose to her feet, her presence silencing the indistinct chatter in the room, she spoke of an opportunity of a lifetime. Agent 8 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, offered to help them in aiding the king back to the throne. After learning of the situation in this country and the plot by the Queen to start yet another war with Inkopolis, Agent 8 has decided that she will make an effort to stop her on octarian soil, willing to fight alongside the resistance. Even though Jonah was for this because of her history as one of the country's most talented soldiers ever- the very few alive capable of ever going head to head with Agent 3 and even winning, it was clear that having a fellow octarian of that experience would be irreplaceable. Shiva also included the likes of Agents 5 and 6 in the mix as potential allies and cited that they hold some connections to the Octarians by sharing the same ideals as the resistance in wanting to establish relations between the two nations. An enticing idea to have inklings who shared close friendships with both of the octarian princesses, the idea of Inklings entering Octaria was not received well as the 8 Legs begged to differ; discord grew between them as they quickly picked a side.

"We're going to receive help from Inklings, now? Isn't it a little presumptuous of them to be sticking their nose in our business?" Sigmund-the 4th Leg-said with confused tone, a mixture between rage and annoyance at the mention of inklings in such an important topic like the seizure of the octarian throne. "Even if their help would be beneficial, I'm against their involvement. They have no business here!"

"H-hold on, Sigmund!" Felix called holding up his hand; "I can understand where you're coming from, but shouldn't we accept it?"

"I agree that it's a little bit of a foolish move to enter our business so late, but I understand where Princess Magenta is coming from." Veronica, the 7th Leg spoke with wisdom present in her tone; "The forces we have would be greatly bolstered by their involvement. We can allot our resources along with theirs and eliminate the problem our lack of items. However, I also understand the idea of letting Inklings join our cause. As a proud Octoling who once fought against them, the idea does bring a sort of displeasure."

As everyone offered their input about the inclusion of Inkling forces to their plans to seize the crown, the views of the 8 Legs were split: Faye, Sigmund, Veronica, and Porter-the 8th Leg and strongest of the group-all opposed the idea of Inklings interfering in their plot to overthrow the queen on several notions. From pride to logic, they didn't see any benefits to their involvement. On the other hand, Felix, Abraham, and Denise all supported the idea of the Inkling's involvement; Hatu was the only one undecided, though attributed to offering no input of his own. Shiva was torn between the two as well, understanding why there would be some reluctance to accept help from Inkopolis. Jonah crossed his arms watching things unfold as each of his members offered their strong stance, pleased to read their thoughts through their input. DJ Octavio was also a little on the fence about their involvement, mostly because he knew the morale of the resistance would deplete if they got involved, but at the same time, he was curious about the possibility of Inklings and Octolings coexisting together for a just cause. Shiva steps forward yet again and offers her insistence to work together once again and doubling down on the principle established by the resistance that one of their goals was to coexist with the Inklings, which could be tested by this very project. Silencing the naysayers, they all reluctantly agreed to at least meet these people and hear their side, using the excuse that if their boss Jonah, the DJ Octavio, and Princess magenta all supported the idea, then they should at least be open. With a meeting secured, Shiva was one step closer to her dream of social liberation for her people, and to be able to proudly stand by her best friend's side.