In the Arena's break area, Amber finally stirred before opening her eyes, groaning as she sat up.
"Well, look who's finally awake." Vashyron smiled.
Amber made a surprised sound before having a sad expression.
"We all know what you're thinking about, Amber. And we know that the Doomsday Vanguard's gone completely off the grid." Hope said.
"Yeah… the last time I saw them was when Miriam and I were with them and the Reformed Society, collecting the Infinity Stones." Al said.
"Not much about them has sprung up since then. They just dropped us off at the KOF Stadium, and that was that." Captain Cold said.
Amber tried to speak as the group just stood there.
"And…we have no idea what she's saying." Rainbow said. "There any translators here?"
"You mean us?" a couple of voices said as standing there were two other Inklings.
"The Squid Sisters!" DJ said.
"You know these two, DJ?" Ethox asked.
"Anybody in the music business should know them! They're one of the two hottest music groups in Inkopolis. Also two of the wild cards here." Ibuki said.
"We're also wild cards in this tournament. In fact, you socked my sister in the brawler fight." Marie said.
"Oh…right. Sorry." DJ said.
"No worries." Callie said. "It's how we…"
"Stay fresh!" the two said.
"Ah, they said it!" Rainbow said.
"Would you two be able to help translate what Amber's saying?" Al asked.
"Sure thing!" Callie said.
"Alright then Amber, take it from the top." Hope encouraged.
Amber nodded, and started stringing together some sentences in Inkling speak.
"She says that the reason the Doomsday Vanguard's been off the grid for so long is because they've been….. Kidnapped." Marie said.
"Wait, kidnapped? Are you serious?" Nesma asked.
Amber nodded somberly before continuing.
"After the whole business with the Black Order and The Infinity Stones, when Al sent them across time and space the first time, the Doomsday Vanguard continued on their way to Africa. They then came across a strange facility and went to investigate. They went inside… but only Amber escaped, as something happened inside the facility that led to everyone except her being taken."
"What was the facility supposed to be full of?" Rhatla asked.
Amber made hand motions over head before briefly turning into her squid form and back.
"So they were attacked by a different type of Inkling?" Ace asked.
Amber nodded her head before pulling out a pencil and paper as she quickly drew something before showing the group the image of some sort of octopus.
"Is that some sorta… octopus tentacle creature?" Ethox asked.
"Close… They're actually Octarians. Said to be the Inklings' mortal enemy." Mayumi said.
"So Octarians nabbed your friends?" Callie said. "That's weird. They haven't made any moves on us ever since I got squidnapped."
"And DJ Octavio is still locked up back at our base camp." Marie said.
"This must be something else, then." Hope said.
Amber then continued talking.
"She says the facility was supposed to be a BOW creation facility headed by one of Gardle's commanders, but they saw Octarians there. She wasn't able to get a good look at them, but they seemed different from the Octarians and Octolings seen before." Marie said. "She escaped the facility, and then tracked the Vanguards' whereabouts to somewhere in Inkopolis square near an old subway station."
"But before she could investigate further, she got called up for this tournament, and that's why she's here alone." Callie said.
Amber sadly nodded as she looked down.
"Don't worry, Amber. Like Sachiko said, after this tournament, we're gonna go look for them." Hope said.
Amber perked up as she smiled happily.
"Well, at least now we know why AJ, Kido and the others were MIA for so long. I dunno what could've kidnapped them, but they are members of our Alliance, and if they're in trouble, we've gotta go rescue them." Hope said.
"There is also one member that has Cheetah in their crosshairs, though. Uzaki Hitomi." Poison Ivy said.
"Yes, I vaguely remember her. Unfortunately, we'll have to settle our unfinished business with Terry before we can catch up with you all." Cheetah said.
"No worries, Cheets. We understand. Try not to take too long, okay?" David asked. "Sachiko is driven to help Nu rescue Ragna and the others. We might need all the help we can get to rescue all of them."
"Come on, it's us. The three of us can hold our own against him." Captain Cold said.
"Well, if you say so." Leopardmon said.
"Speaking of which, there were some pretty intense matches today. The Brawlers, Marth, Mega Man and Kazuya, to name a few." Shuichi said.
"With Kazuya's defeat, that leaves only seven newcomers." Mari said.
"And I bet Kazuya was not too happy when he heard that Heihachi was a Brawler Wild Card." Rayleigh said.
"Considering that Kazuya believed that he killed Heihachi himself, I can't really blame him for being fumed about it." David said. "But his death occured before the World of Light, so by that logic, he's been resurrected as well. *sigh* That's just one more thing related to the World of Light I will have to answer for…"
"I'm still wrapping my head around that." Axl said.
"It's not that hard. Anyone dead or spirits Ace tried to banish got brought back. Seems simple really." Zexi said. "Least anyone who ended up in that world."
"That includes villains too. That's quite the backlash I'm getting." David said.
"Don't beat yourself about it. All things considered, that was probably the best outcome you would've gone with regardless." Belladonna said.
"It was either that, or let either Galeem or Dharkon have their way. You had to pick the least of all evils with that choice." Shuichi said.
"But was it really worth it? Now because of me, all of the villains that were either spirits or fighters are brought back to life." David said.
"Dave, the whole Multiverse was close to being erased. It was totally worth it." Mark said matter-of-factly. "So some villains are back, so what? They got killed once, they can get killed again."
"Besides, if you didn't, I probably would have." Jexi said.
"We'll deal with them when the time comes, so cheer up." Ace said.
"Yeah…the fate of the worlds don't rest just on your shoulders…it rests on all of us." Theo said.
"You guys are right. I took that risk, and now I have to live with it." David said. "That's the whole point of making choices, right? You have to take the results of those choices head-on, come what may."
"Well said." Spade said. "This is a burden we all help each other shoulder. Do not torment yourself with looking back. We are at your side, come what may, going forward."
"Amen to that, Spade." Hope said.
"You really did have that mentality around you, didn't you?" Cheetah asked.
"Heh. You would know more than anyone. I was the one that brought Diana to Universal Prison, after all. Your constant pursuit of me until Paris was a result of that choice." David said. "After all, it's a saying that it's our choices and actions that define us."
"Geez, he has a habit of getting philosophical, does he?" Rayleigh asked.
"Uh…you guys in?" a voice asked as they saw Shantae standing there.
"In here, Shantae." Jude said.
"Hey, after this tournament is over, I was wondering if I could come with you guys." Shantae said, pressing her index fingers together with an unsure expression.
"Really? You wanna join us?" Hope asked.
"After I saw all of those fights you all were in…how could I not help but feel…compelled to join." Shantae said.
"We would be happy to have you with us. It will be like old times." Ace smiled.
"Thanks, Ace, I'm happy to be part of the team!" Shantae smiled. "I promise to bring nothing but joy to this alliance."
"And that's all we ask." Ajna said.
"Just keep in mind, there are going to be some intense operations coming to the alliance in the future. Think you can take them?" Hope asked.
"Oh I know I can." Shantae said. "Because I'll help everyone dance through the danger."
"Only three days left. So many more matches left." Sunset said.
"And I get the distinct feeling that things are going to get much more intense from here." Revali said.
"Well there aren't many fighters left so it makes sense." Cobalt said.
"Yes, they're slowly upping their game." Spade said as he saw Ganondorf in the distance with King K. Rool nearby making a throat slitting motion towards the group.
"Yep. Lots of intensity here." Kokoro said.
"And we still have a lot more vets to go through as well. The fights are heating up." Zephyr said.
"Yeah. Let's make these three days something to remember, huh?" ZS said.
"Oh, you bet we will." Leopardmon said.
"Yes…things are going to get more and more epic." Jexi said.