Chapter 10: Ocean's Sonata

Walking into the small lobby, Luke and Brodie were greeted by Deborah's smug grin.

"Well?! Who won? C'mon and spit it out!"

"Stop barking Deborah, we hear you fine. Luke won." Brodie retorted, irate at her "enthusiasm".

"Oh dear! So Luke won that match huh?" She snarled in laughter. "Well then I know either way I won't be beaten so easily."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Brodie said, sounding rather offended

"Nothing, it's just a fact." she gave a haughty chuckle. "Anyway, you ready?"

"I-," before he could even get a word in, Deborah snatched his arm up in her right hand and dragged him down into the lobby.

"Good luck Luke! Me and Nova got your back!" Brodie shouted out.

Luke waved as he entered the corridors of the dojo once again.

As Luke left, Brodie looked at the wry expression that Nova was trying to hide behind a smile.

"What happened to you?" he asked, noticing her a bit hunched over, and stomach clasped in a hand. Nova gave an exasperated sigh at her teammates obliviousness.

She glanced over to Tytus, who was watching the two competitors go around the corner. She got a little closer to Brodie, "I tell you over there." She whispered and pointed to the shops down below.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Luke waited on the steel plating making a portion of the upper confines of the rig. He waited for the cue to start, anxiously awaiting for this competition to end. At the match's start he walked to edge of the upper portion of the rig.

He gulped nervously, the drop looked intimidating.

He looked around. The northern section of this platform looked like it was raised just as high, if not a bit higher. He walked over to peek at the two other drop offs that weren't so easy to assess from his starting location due to the obstructions that acted as walls, which Luke though must act as good cover for teams seeking cover from enemy ink.

The drops to his right and behind him were not much better, the one behind him being a longer drop then the others.

"This is going to be a long match…"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"So, you got dunked on for trying to stand up for us?" Brodie looked up to the ceiling in contemplation. "She's very tyrannical, isn't she? And the way Hot-Head over there seems to listen to her with no question is just something out of a millionaire's life"

Nova cocked a brow, "A millionaire's life?"

"Y'know, like when very rich or important people have bodyguards? They follow them around and make sure they're masters don't get harmed and all that?" Brodie took a quick look behind him to see what Tytus was doing, the hot-orange inkling was rubbing his nose and staring down the dojo's halls, waiting quietly. "Does that mean Deborah's loaded?"

"Doubt it. She may be snooty, but she just doesn't seem like the millionaire type." Nova said almost too quickly.

"Never know." Brodie chuckled, "Some things are not that easy to figure out after all."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Come ouuuuuut, Luke." Deborah cooed. "I want to make sure we see eye to eye…."

Luke moved slowly, going quietly as possible. They were now at the center of the rig, with Deborah standing over it with a hawk-eyed gaze. He had to snatch his hand back as a trail of pink ink quickly covered where his hand was going be.

"Come out and stop being such a tuna fish, shark bait. Make it easier on the two of us and come out into the open." Luke didn't know what she took him for, but he was not coming out to get splatted. He knew he couldn't stay there forever though.

"Are you just going to stay put like a good boy then? Good."

Deborah had brought her weapon up to the balloons. Luke dared to take a peek at the charger-wielding girl perched ahead. Her aim was a bit shaky as she focused on the balloons.

Tightening his grip on the Splattershot, Luke rushed towards the sniper. Everything seem to slow as he gripped at a burst bomb and lobbed it towards the distracted inkling. With it connecting with her face, Luke pivoted and ran towards the balloons in a frenzied dash shooting Deborah down.

Confirming her termination, he focused on his targets above. Bursting the balloons above him, he panted heavily and went to spreading his ink down on the floor.

Luke was as terrified as he was thrilled. He sat in the cyan that he laid and hid in a corner to catch his breath. He felt himself shiver as his blood coursed through his body.

After some of the adrenaline had left Luke peaked through the corner, heart still beating hard in his chest.

Nothing.

He made a mad dash towards the southern side of the rig. He splattered cyan all over the place. Diving in and out to beat his competition to the punch, he left the mess behind him, letting his rush drive him to his destination. He leapt down the edge and landed on a descending elevator.

The beacon of light shone some feet away from his eyes. All had to do was wait. Somehow, he felt more tense waiting for something to happen. For anything to happen. He continued to coat ink all over the area until it was sufficient for cover. Huddling onto the corner of the bridge leading towards the southern space of the rig, Luke gathered his befuddled thoughts,

'I've got the lead…somehow. That weapon is strong but it's not too quick. If I can reach her I can splat her before she can catch up.'

He looked around. Paranoia fueling his movements.

Quiet.

'It's 24-16 isn't it? And time's ticking. I haven't heard the 1-minute alarm bu-' As if on cue he heard the bellow of the alarm system. The ring of the alarm brought the balloons into sight.

Luke aimed upward only to feel the searing pain of foreign ink explode him. Deborah snide smirk could be felt even as he regenerated to the left most side of the rig.

Despite being on the stage for the duration, they barely exchanged blows. Luke was too skittish to stay out in the open while Deborah refused to remove herself from her perch. Had the timer not reminded them of their limits, they'd likely be locked in impasse.

It hadn't stayed that way. Now that they were pressed for time the both of them would be more eager to attack the other over popping balloons in an attempt to delay the win for either side.

Luke dragged himself out of the ink and hurried back to where Deborah was, determination on his face.

Deborah, who waited at the top of the elevators, was immediately on him. Aiming for his chest she released her hold on the trigger.

Luke barely dodged out of her way. The ink landing on the ground below him covering his legs in sticky rose ink. He began to freeze up.

Deborah haughtily snickered holding the trigger, one more hand movement he would be no threat.

Luke noticed the box behind him. It was his only shot. He shot the box open and rolled to his right getting splashed in the face by the onslaught of ink raining besides him. He continuously pushed himself through the mire that was Deborah's ink towards his prize.

This was it. Even if Luke could have rolled away the second shot, he was trapped in the sniper's complementing ink. Rolling was no longer an option.

"Poor, poor Luke…." She mocked as, she waited for her charger to fill with ink, "Well, any last words before I-?" Suddenly she noticed Luke's tentacles flare up with a fierce light. Before she could register what special he could have possibly opened, they both had super jumped at the other's previous location. Disoriented by the sudden switch, she looked up in time to get 3 burst bombs to the face.

5….

POP! POP!

4….

POP!

3…

A sigh of relief.

2…

He whispered amongst himself, the glee dancing in his eyes.

1...

"That was actually fun."

GAME!

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Walking out, the two said nothing. Despite that, Luke could tell by the furrowed brow, Deborah was upset at her loss. They were greeted by the sight of Brodie and Tytus both passed out on the ground hugging each other with Nova looking over them stifling a giggle About to take a picture with her phone.

"Do I dare ask what you're doing?" Deborah said flatly, letting out some irritation.

Nova tried to hold herself back before an explanation came.

"I was talking with Brodie before he and Tytus got into an argument. They decided to try and kill some time by doing laps around the plaza" She paused for momentarily to gather some air to laugh a bit. "Brodie passed out after 3 laps and Tytus passed out right behind him! Next thing I knew they were hugging it out on the floor! It's PERFECT!" She snapped some pictures of the two dozing off.

Deborah sighed with exasperation before Kicking Tytus awake. "Get up." She growled.

"Ok! Ok! I'm awake!" Tytus shrieked in alarm. "You didn't have to break my ribs in…." She kicked him again, which left Tytus wincing from the blow. "What was that one for?!" he whined.

"For being dumb enough to believe you had ribs." She then proceeded to kick Brodie awake.

"OW!" he cried. "Why are you kicking me!?"

This time Deborah didn't answer. She stormed off in the direction of the Catfish Café, muttering obscenities along the way.

"I take it that means you won. Congrats Luke!" Nova roughly hooked her around his neck. "Let's go celebrate!" Before Luke could say a word, Nova helped up Brodie, who was still reeling from his assault to his stomach, and jovially whisked them away from the heart of the city, leaving Tytus on his own.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Within the walls of the café, the quiet buzzing of conversations filled the room, the owners' words mingling with each other forming a blanket of liveliness.

Among them however was one girl sobbing quietly to herself, very few looked in her general direction, much less noticed her sniffling. Her strawberry cappuccino swirled around in its container as she gently prodded the straw around the open rim of the lid.

'How could he have won? He's too much of a coward to be able to have outsmarted me….' She pondered for a bit longer. As she was collected in her thought's, her other hand coiled by her tentacles, familiar fiery tendrils caught her eyes. She simply sighed through her nose and continued to sulk.

"Hey…. there's always next time, right?" Tytus soothed. "Besides maybe it'll be ok?"

All that replied was a huff and a sniffle.

Tytus sat down and scooted closer to his dearest friend, 'Let's… just stay here for a little while longer…'

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Nova lead the boys to an outlet a few streets away from the plaza. Her male entourage waited patiently, looking inside of the window. Brodie lowered onto the windowsill to rest his legs while Luke leaned on the windowsill, watching the passing sea life among the busy streets. Luke's cobalt eyes darted over the various tonics and head clothing in the shop. From what he could tell she was in a tentacle care shop. From what he could make out for the small sized store, he saw many different bottles of Tentacle Varnish and a few brands of diluted Tentacle Solvents.

"So, what do you think she's buying?"

Luke turned to his head to his chocolate friend.

"I dunno, girl stuff?" He said absentmindedly. "I see a lot of tentacle stuff in there, even mom doesn't have that much…"

Brodie let out a chuckle, "You seem interested in what's in there. Is there something you should be telling me?"

With a playful scoff, Luke managed a grin "Hah. Funny."

Some time passed, the two shuffled around to find a small amount of comfort in moving their limbs. Occasionally a yawn would echo between them. After 25 minutes of fidgeting, Brodie broke the silence.

"So, what do you plan to name the team?"

"What?" Luke said, aroused from his stupor.

The question was repeated, "What name are we coming up with for the Splatoon?"

Luke was at a loss, it had just dawned on him that they hadn't even chosen a name for their new team. He sat there for a bit to think, the occasional stink of car gas registered by his mind distracting him for a second or two.

"How about…" he thought a bit more, "How about the Ocean's Sonata?" When his teammate raised a brow, he hastily composed an explanation. "I mean it's just sounded like a pretty name. My mom is often listening to orchestral music and it seems like a good idea, and-"

"Calm down man!", Brodie put his hand up as if to defend himself from the onslaught of words. He chuckled warmly. "It's a cool name. I like it."

"Yeah, sounds totally fresh, Lu."

The two looked at the source of the voice. It seemed like Nova had finished her shopping as she now had a black plastic bag clutched in her hand. As she walked back to the square, the boys left from their seats.

Luke briefly looked at the bag that was ensnared by Nova's hand before looking the pink tentacled girl.

"What did you end up buying that took so long anyways?" He gestured to the aforementioned container." That bag isn't very big."

"It's tentacle dye." She answered with a grin. "I love this stuff. I just got a Limited Edition "Soul of the Sea" Aquamarine. I've been eyeing the website for years wanting to try out their dyes. Ever since I got my hair dyed pink a few years back, I've wanted more."

"So you're not a natural pink? Would have never guessed."

Nova gave a less-than-amused look to Brodie's comment. "Yeah, I am." Luke noticed her pick up in speed, leaving a larger gap between the her and the boys.

"I don't think she liked that." Luke commented. "Your flirting needs work." He sped up to catch up with Nova.

"I was NOT flirting." Brodie blushed as he went to catch up with his friends.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

In the Catfish Café, Tytus and Deborah were still chatting amongst themselves and the atmosphere had quieted down a bit since it was a bit later in the day, when the other three came in. Luke could only hear a snippet of their conversation

"…not sure even where they are. How're you-," Tytus had his dialogue cut short. Whether it was because they entered or because Deborah silenced him, Luke was not sure of.

"Hey guys, how are you?" Brodie greeted to the two inklings sitting down at the table joining them, he was greeted with nothing but a cold glare and silence.

"Eesh, tough crowd…" He sat down, followed by Nova and Luke. Nova scooted a bit closer to Luke realizing that Deborah was a little too close for comfort for her liking, Deborah's icy glare only became sharper when she noticed this.

A tense silence filled the air around them. No one bothered to break it, as if saying something would blow apart the little shop in a flurry of yelling.

"I came up with a name for our new Splatoon." Everyone seemed surprised that the one to break the silence was Luke. No one had said anything during his pause, so he went on. "W-would you all like to hear?" He was beginning to break into a nervous sweat.

"Sure." Brodie said reassuringly as he glanced over to Deborah who saw the expectation in his eyes.

"…"

Everyone tilted their head, in an effort to hear the belligerent inkling.

"…fine…" she growled behind gritted fangs. "…go on…"

Their eyes when back to Luke expectantly, listening to what he had to say.

With a clearing of his throat and tug at his shirt he started. "I thought a bit about this, and I was thinking of naming our Splatoon Ocean's Sonata. I think it'd be a nice name…what do you…what do you guys think?"

"I think it's great Luke!" Nova chimed. "You have my support!"

"Same here man." Brodie added. The three of them waited for Deborah and Tytus's reaction.

Deborah still had that venomous stare burrowed into the other three, but not soon after gave a sigh filled with resignation, with a hint of resentment.

"It's ok…" she said. Tytus immediately nodded his agreement. The whole team had agreed to it just like that.

"Then it's settled!" Nova stood up grabbing Luke suddenly and pulled him along with her. Before he had time to react, he had been dragged to the doorway. "Me and Luke'll get us registered!" she called back. "See you guys sooooooon!"

The duo left the café, the blue squid being dragged by his female friend leaving the others in silence.

After a while, the three remaining squids began to try and talk and wait for their new teammates to establish the official team.

"So…" Tytus began, not knowing how to start the conversation. "What did you guys do while we were here?"

"Uh…." Brodie paused, not sure how to continue the conversation now that the other two weren't there around him. Considering that they had beaten up Nova, he didn't want to say the wrong thing or he'd incite similar wrath.

"Excuse me," A voice spoke up, "Your taking new members still right?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Nova sped past the other inklings in the buzzing plaza, careful not to let her friend be swallowed up in the busy crowd.

Luke tried to keep up with the hyperactive inkling as best as he could, he fumbled and slipped as she brought him up the slope to the tower. Once they made it to the counter, Luke's chest heaving from the workout Nova gave him. Luke tiredly filled out the needed paperwork and was told to wait there. He leaned on the counter, exhausted.

'How much energy does this girl have?' he wondered to himself, 'The café's not that far and I'm already tired.'

"You really need to get out more Luke." Nova told him, breaking into his thoughts. "Turf Wars are more strenuous then that after all."

"I know, I know..." he tiredly waved at her, "I think the dash here along with the 3 nonstop matches before wore me out though, I'm a bit tired still."

"We might need to work on your endurance then." Nova offered. "How about some evening running, you and me?"

That caught him a bit off guard, "O-oh- uh sure."

"Great! If any of the other team needs it we can ask them too, but for now I think a bit of bonding time is necessary." She said cheerfully, not noticing Luke's blush.

Before another word could be spoken, Judd leapt up onto what Luke could only assume was a stool and handed Luke 6 plastic badges that seemed to shimmer under the cool lights of the lobby.

"Thanks Judd!" The said in unison as they walked out of the lobby.

Luke and a small, content smile on his face. He held a card in the air. It had their team name embellished with an ornate design of the Great Zapfish on it. The center read:

Ocean's Sonata.

'Mom would have loved that our team is named this….' His expression turned somber. 'I think I'll ask Feli to take me home next week…'

"Hey, you alright?"

"Hmm?" Luke was snapped out of his sadness by Nova's voice. "I'm fine."

"You aren't." she insisted.

"H-huh?"

"You seem sad, what's wrong?" she pressed.

"It's not much of anything." He was keeping to his story no matter what.

She kept her eye on him till they reached the doors of the café again. "Alright then." She had given in to his secrecy at last. "But please tell me if it's something really bothering you."

He looked at her for a moment before nodding, he smiled inwardly at her concern. It was nice to feel someone else care for him in the city.

As the two went inside, they noticed quite a few things. The dying noise in the café, the cluttered tables that had yet to be cleaned, but the main thing that caught their eye that here was a rather tall and handsome turquoise-tentacled inkling sitting at their team's table.

"Who is this?" Nova asked as she closed the distance to the others at the table. Luke followed her staring at the new inkling studiously.

"Please to meet you." The inkling started in a rather silvery tone. "Name's Cass." He held a hand out which Nova hesitantly took. "You're friend here said that they had one position open, so she gave me the spot on the team."

She took a glance at Deborah before looking at the eager young man. It was hidden, but she could see it; the ghost of a smirk aimed at her. Instead of glowering down her adverse rival, she focused her attention on the lithe newcomer in front of her.

"It'll be nice working with you Cass." It had seemed everyone but Cass could hear a strain in Nova's voice. Nonetheless, she smiled at him.

"Well I guess we have a full team then, we'll have to register you at the tower Cass." Luke nodded, silently handed them each a card.

"Well Now we're a full-fledged team! Let's go kick ass and take names!" Tytus rocketed off towards the tower full speed, despite his large carrying case weighing his shoulders down.

"Moron…" Deborah grumbled under her breath. She grasped at Cass's arm and led him along to the tower, "Let's go, shall we Cass?" she sounded unnaturally sweet when she spoke his name to the point Nova had visibly made gagging gestures. Once the two were close to the door, the remaining three began to walk.

"What a loach…" Nova sneered. "I'm certain she recruited the guy for some reason other than him looking like a good teammate…"

"H-hey, Nova…that's not very nice…" Luke began to be concerned about his friend's change in attitude.

"Yeah, but then again Deborah hasn't exactly been nice to us either." Brodie pointed out. "She looks like she's trying to get on the guy's good side."

"Mhmm…" Luke wanted to say that maybe Deborah is nicer than she seemed, but didn't if only because he wasn't sure if the two he was with now would react badly to it.

'I don't exactly have evidence that she's nice either…' He thought to himself, he knew it was likely wishful thinking for things not to go wrong.

When the trio got into the tower they saw the other half of their team waiting for them.

"What took you guys so long?! We had to wait for you guys forever!" Tytus was back to his energetic shouting.

"At any rate." Deborah interjected. "Let's discuss who's going in for Turf today."

"Oh yeah. How does a Splatoon team work in this case?" Luke was pretty sure only 4 members were allowed, so what would the others be doing.

"Simple, Luke." The orange eyed girl, leaned forward. "While you and the rest of the team are out there turfing. Me and Cass will hang out and get to know each other."

"Why you of all people?" Nova started to show her agitation.

"Because Nova, you all need the experience last time I check. Our "fearless" leader is only at level 2 with you, Brodie and Tytus at levels 2, 3, 3 respectively." She pointed at each of them.

Brodie turned to Cass. "So, wait what level are you Cass?"

"I'm level 6." Brodie, Luke and Nova looked a bit surprised.

"Oh…"

Deborah gave a smirk to the rest. "Now you guys get to work. Me and Cass are going to go shopping." Without another word, they had left the lobby. Nova let out a sigh.

"Let's get to work guys…"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As Luke left the locker room with Tytus and Brodie, he felt a twinge of pain shoot up his neck. He swatted as if something had bit him and scratched at it viciously.

"Hey, are you alright?" He turned to see brodie eyeing him curiously.

"Yeah…I think I'm just a bit nervous." They sat down in a bench and waited for Nova. Tytus had sat a bit farther down from them. Luke leaned over to Brodie, his voice whispering into his ear. "More importantly, you noticed how Tytus is when Deborah isn't around? He's completely quiet."

"Yeah..." Brodie whispered back, taking a look at him. Even though Tytus was staring down the exit, the forlorn look on his face was hard to miss. He let out a sigh, seeming oblivious to their stares.

"Think he's worried about Deborah?" Luke suggested.

Brodie responded with a shrug. "Maybe, heck the guy might even have a crush on her."

Luke widen his eyes in shock, "You think? They don't look like they'd be together like that."

Brodie looked at him, "Hey, your guess is good as mine…" Brodie flopped back onto the bench and closed his eyes, exasperated. "What's taking Nova soooooo loooong?"

"She's right here."

Brodie jumped up in shock, clutching his chest. Nova had seemingly teleported in front of him.

"Oh what the hell! You nearly gave me a heart attack you know that?!"

Nova raised her brow at him "If I nearly gave you a heart attack then you REALLY should check your heart. I don't think turf wars are from you." She let out a giggle, Luke couldn't help but chuckle himself at Brodie's reaction.

The sat down on the same side of the room and waited. It wasn't long before another team had came in. A level 4 girl with a splat roller hauled over their back, a level 3 guy with another splat roller, a level 6 boy with a weapon that could only constitute as a cleaning bottle connected to a hollowed mop handle, and another level 6 boy with a splat charger.

The two teams faced off before walking down the tunneling hallways.

Even though it was his second time in these tunnels, Luke couldn't help but feel the cold emptiness that surrounded them. Even if he didn't know how to feel about the dead halls, he was glad that the others were at least close by.

Finally, they had reached the end of the tunnel. Luke could see everyone else tense their arms and grip at their weapons. He replicated their actions, he wobbled a bit come the rising of the platform. As the rose up into the light, Luke blinked at the intruding rays opening them to see the stage they were meant to play in.

His stomach dropped seeing the slops and height of the stage. Arowana Mall. It was rather inviting looking if Luke was honest about it. But those drops that made up the stage seemed worrisome.

"Ready…" He heard the faint meows of Judd. He gulped, shifting himself into a position to run.

"GO!"

Dashing to the right, Luke hugged the wall, not looking at how far he was from the ground. Slipping away from the edge into an alley, his heart pounding from being near the drop. Nova sped past him with no signs of slowing down. She had left mint ink in her wake. He lagged behind, not wanting to get flanked easy on a new map.

Turning the corner, he slid down the slope of ink and took a look around. The middle of the stage was clear of enemy fire. The reason had shown itself immediately. Tytus and Brodie were keeping the other team at bay by acting as distractions. Nova had left her own trail of ink amongst the center. He followed, not wanting to stumble down onto the lower areas of turf.

Rounding the corner, he faced down the handle of a mop. Luke only had seconds before a line of ink pierced the air and splatted onto the pavement. He fell on his back to the center platform. Even with the coat of ink on the floor and the lack of bones, the signals reaching his brain communicated the pain of the collision. Scrambling onto his back he held his weapon in his hand, and sat. He could see the laser of the charger's sight, it was only a matter of time.

Time had stopped, his body moved separate from his mind, and instinctively his sight sharpened. The charger had rounded the corner, weapon fully charged, prepared to confirm his splat. Like flowing water, Luke dove out of the way smoothly and changed to squid form. The charger panicked suddenly, not expecting his opponent to move as quickly as he did in a counter attack, the charger edged closer to get a good shot.

The die was cast, and the charger was a turquoise splatter. Luke clambered up to the opposition's corridor. The boy's heart throbbed with the thrill of playing the game. Enthralled by fervor, he scrambled though and slipped quietly within their opponent defenses, inking some of the ground. Nova and Tytus were hiding behind cover to shelter themselves from the long-ranged shots of the Splat charger with Tytus fending off the girl roller. Brodie was nowhere to be seen, likely dispatched of and returned to spawn.

KER-PLUNK!

Luke entered the nest of the charger as quietly as he could, staying still to make sure the enemy charger wasn't aware he was being sneaked up on until Luke was upon him.

A wail of pain was faintly heard on this side of the arena. The two looked up to see him standing above. Throwing bomb down to scatter their harassers, Nova smiled and waved at him. Her eyes briefly lit up in alarm before Luke saw nothing but black stretched out.

The mop handled sniper had gotten him in the back. Somehow, he knew a satisfied grin was on his splatter's face even if he couldn't see it.

As the respawn point, Luke rose from the depths of the ink as his self molded into the ink. Inhaling the air into his reformed lungs, he stumbled from the spawn point transforming into a squid this time as he fell to soften the blow of the impact. Once he had recovered he swam off.

He was soon met by the male roller in the corridors above the main arena. Before he felt the weight of the weapon he shifted onto his feet to splat them before he was aware he was there. He kept on his feet, if that inkling had reached their side then they had made a path through. Luke quelled his thoughts. Thinking wouldn't do much right now. He need only to act. Act and claim the turf from the other team.

' Run, splat, splat, run, run, run, swim, swim...'

He kept running this track in his mind. The thoughts drummed into his head as he weaved through charged shots that began to waver when he neared.

"Keep going," he uttered to himself, the mantra embedded into his brain, the signals of each word thought of had caused the firing of thought in his brain even when the darkness that came with being splatted shrouded his sight.

By the time the clock had reached the one minute mark the opponent had over powered them. Luke didn't know what to do but to keep going. Rising from the spawn point for the 6th time, Luke had clawed forth from the spawn gritting his teeth before and slippery hand grabbed his legs.

He swiftly looked down, his body tensing at the moment of slipping away.

"Whoa! Calm down Luke!" Nova cried out forming from the roiling ink. "You've been shooting at them wildly since near the start."

Almost as if he hadn't changed, he untensed a bit and bashfully rubbed his head.

"S-sorry..." he stuttered. He had no idea what came over him. Was he going crazy? No, he couldn't be… why would he? A small pain seizing his head told him to not worry about it now.

Nova had already left her friend to himself as she routed the enemy players as they approached spawn.

With a deep breath he went to his right. The avenue's dizzying height from the main part of the map startled him but he edged closely to the end. His friends were fighting a losing battle now. The chargers had pinned the others down. Tytus was the only one who was bold enough to move from his position. Luke had to do something.

The rest of Ocean's Sonata were backed up into a corner

"Come and get some!" Tytus sneered, just barely getting away from the Splat Charger's aim.

"Wow, you can't aim for jack, buddy!"

Brodie was hiding from the other charger's range with Nova, who was watching their backs for the rollers. "At this rate, we'll lose the match!" Brodie whispered to her.

"Where is Luke?" Nova questioned. "He was supposed to be down here fighting with us!"

"We can't worry about that now! The clock's almost up!" Brodie sternly looked at her. "Cover me."

Without so much as a confirmation, Brodie leapt from cover. He tossed his burst bombs at the sniper. The both of them were drenched in enemy ink but only one remained standing. Nova wore a face of shock as the charger leapt down from where he was perched. She tripped, sitting down on the ground, frozen there.

2…

His finger pulled on the trigger, a grin on his otherwise cold face.

1…

Nova saw nothing and could hear nothing.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Luke looked at the cat that was calculating who had won, with a grin of satisfaction on his face.

The enemy team had won.

But a least they didn't win by that much.

The score was 42.52 to 46.48.

Nova came to and nearly screamed in shock "How did we-?!"

"The other team's side was really vulnerable." Luke told her, grinning ear to ear. The group started to descend into the tunnels below and began walking away from the mall. "The snipers were so busy with you guys the only ones there were the rollers and even they were too focused on claiming the other side that they didn't notice me until it was too late."

"Well that explains where you went then!" Brodie chuckled, slapping the frail inkling boy on the back. "No wonder we didn't see there in the end, you busy saving our hides."

"How can you guys be so happy about this?" Tytus asked his teammates incredulously. He had stopped walking with them altogether and the three started to look at him, the atmosphere changing around them "WE! LOST!"

"Winning isn't everything Tytus, we'll get them next time." Nova soothed.

"There won't be a "Next time" if Death's Tide wins." Tytus shot back. Everyone went silent before Luke dared to end the quiet.

"What do you mean?" he asked before Tytus shot a look at him, huffing violently as if ready to blow up again any minute.

"Haven't you heard the rumors?" He continued at Luke's puzzled look. "Turf war teams that fight Death's Tide for keeps are cursed if they lose."

Luke didn't need to look at the other two to notice how tense they were.

"I've never heard that…" Luke said, he felt like his hearts could be crushed by the immense pressure building up in them.

"Didn't either…Deborah told me." Tytus looked away. "Whatever the stakes were... they got raised, big time."