Octavia's PoV
Several rounds later, the Deca Tournament had arrived at the semifinals. There were only four teams left—both teams the Rainbow Squids were in, Octa Prisma, and a team called Walleye Workers. All of them had pictures taken before the semifinal announcement was put up, so all the teams now flashed across the screen, one-by-one.
Octavia assumed the Walleye Workers all worked at Walleye Warehouse. They appeared to be her age, and they all wore Squiddor polos. Otherwise, they seemed to be a rather balanced team. Which is probably why they made it this far, she realized. If the Warm Rainbow Squids were up against them next, then they would have to try their hardest to win.
"Hey, Bon-Bon?" Via asked, leaning over to her blue-haired friend. "What if both of us make it to the final round?" She frowned. "We'd have to fight each other."
"Well, we can't just throw it. That's just poor sportsmanship," she noted.
"Can't we split the prize we get?" Inigo pointed out.
"Yeah, but the winner also gets bragging rights," Alexis added. "And we know who would brag if we win." She glanced over to Roy, who crossed his arms and huffed in response.
"And on our side..." began the indigo-haired boy, "that's also a little obvious."
"That's me," Perry admitted.
"Hey, welcome to the semifinals, Inkopolis!" Pearl suddenly greeted, directing everyone's attention over to the stage where Off the Hook resided. "We're almost at the end!"
"Isn't it exciting?" Marina reckoned. "But anyways, to the match-ups!"
The screen behind them suddenly filled in the bracket, displaying the match-ups. The Warm Rainbow Squids were up against Walleye Workers, while the Cool Rainbow Squids were up against Octa Prisma. Octavia glanced down at the stands to see Giovanni looking at her friends over his shoulder, smirking. It did not take long for him to return his attention back to the pop duo.
"The Warm Rainbow Squids vs. Walleye Workers!" exclaimed the pale-haired idol. More pictures of them flashed on the screen.
"The Cool Rainbow Squids vs. Octa Prisma!" the dark-haired idol then followed, even more pictures of the mentioned teams flashing on screen.
"This time, it'll be Rainmaker." informed Pearl.
"Ugh, I hate Rainmaker," Via grumbled quietly.
"So, good luck, and may the best team win!" Marina finished.
Two launchpads appeared beside the stage, and the remaining teams started walking over to them. When they arrived, the Rainbow Squids gave each other one last encouraging look before stepping onto them, whisking them away to their next destination.
Moments later, they spawned into Port Mackerel, and the whistle blew, starting the match. Immediately, Octavia put her bristles down to the ground and started running towards the center of the map, a determined look on her face. She was confident her friends were swimming behind her in the trail left behind, ready to back her up when the time came. They managed to reach the barrier first, so they began firing their weapons, making it expand and covering it in red-orange ink. For a moment it shrunk, and through the golden haze surrounding the Rainmaker, she spotted a turquoise trail straight ahead. It did not hinder the Rainbow Squids at all, as the shield soon exploded. Immediately Alexis charged towards it and picked up the Rainmaker.
"I wouldn't advance just yet," Yuri advised, his yellow eyes drifting towards the trail. He started charging up his splatling.
Via nodded in agreement. "They're probably waiting to ambush us." She submerged into the ink and began lurking around in the ink left behind from the shield's explosion. She opted to wear a sweater with Ninja Squid as its primary ability today instead of her normal one with Swim Speed Up, allowing more surprise in her attacks.
From the side of the clearing came some bullets, hitting Yuri's side. He swam back, abandoning his charge, and threw out a splash wall to block the incoming fire. He gestured for Alexis to go, and after a few moments, she fired a charged shot from the Rainmaker and began swimming, the glow marking her. Roy ran after her. Once the splash wall broke, the dark-skinned inkling started firing, and a male inkling soon screamed. Behind him, someone rose a Splat Roller.
Alarmed, Via emerged and started running towards her friend to push him out of the way. "Watch out!" she called. Yuri's lips formed an 'o' and began looking around. Unfortunately, by the time she got to him, they slammed down their roller, splatting both of them. When the two respawned, Alexis soon appeared after them.
"Where's Roy?" the spiky-haired boy asked the younger inkling.
She shrugged. "I dunno, but we gotta get moving." The short-haired inkling started swimming down the stage, and they promptly followed her. More turquoise ink covered the area now, and the light the Rainmaker emitted peeked above the crates. The wavy-haired inkling started meandering around the crates until she could comfortably catch the holder off-guard. A boy with a ponytail was walking towards the open area near the Rainbow Squids' base, charging up the golden weapon and firing as he went. Smirking, she ran up behind him and started swinging her brush, quickly bringing him down. The Rainmaker began to glow where he was splatted, and a barrier soon formed around it again.
"Over here!" she yelled. As she was swinging her brush, sharp ink suddenly pierced through her back, splatting her in a single shot. Or not! she wanted to say as a response, but she had been incapacitated at the moment.
When she respawned, theories of what had splatted her ran through her mind. It had to have been a charger, but what kind? An E-liter? A plain old Splat Charger? Or maybe even a Squiffer? She recalled seeing a girl with a charger in the pictures depicting the Walleye Workers, but she couldn't remember which one it was. Whatever the case, she couldn't let them inhibit her ability to battle. She super-jumped to her sister, just in time to watch the Rainmaker shield explode in their own ink color. Roy picked it up, though he was splatted by another charged shot as he was swimming through the red-orange ink.
"What the heck?" Octavia muttered.
"Up there!" Yuri yelled as he pressed against a crate. Via turned around, and illuminated by the sun was a wavy-haired girl holding a Custom E-liter 4K Scope, standing on top of a crate. Her red eyes, one of which was covered by an eyepatch, were narrowed as she aimed. Seconds later, she fired and landed a direct hit on the distracted bronze-skinned inkling.
She cursed herself for not paying attention as she respawned and super-jumped to Alexis again. Admittedly, it was a miracle someone else didn't splat her beforehand. Meanwhile, the enemy team popped the Rainmaker shield again, and a boy with almond skin, who previously wielded a standard Slosher, picked it up. A girl with the Splat Roller threw out a curling bomb, creating a trail for him to swim in. They were heading dangerously close to the goal.
"What's our plan?" her sister whispered to her.
"Let's ambush them to get the Rainmaker out of their hands," Octavia started, "and then we take out that sniper."
"Why the sniper?"
"She's the biggest threat, with that good of an aim."
"Mm, I think my dodge rolls can confuse her."
"Not for long."
"Then why don't I be a distraction, and someone else can take her out when she's not looking?"
"That's... not actually a bad idea." The elder sister placed a squid beakon on their hiding spot and called her teammates over to them. "Explain to them the plan while I do this."
Alexis gave a thumbs-up, and then Octavia dove into the ink and swam towards the opposing team. The boy with the ponytail from earlier, who was revealed to normally wield a Splattershot Pro, was covering the turf around them. With the threat of enemy ink drawing near, she acted almost immediately, launching herself towards the boy with the Rainmaker and attacking him until he splatted. She smiled and changed her target to the other boy. Panicked, he threw out a point sensor, marking her with the swirling black arrow, before shooting at her. She managed to get a hit on him before she splatted herself.
She wasted no time getting back onto the battlefield, super-jumping to the beakon she placed and replacing it. She arrived just in time to see the sniper retreat from an incoming bomb, in which Alexis then went after her. She jumped from the crate down to the ground, backing up as the short-haired inkling closed in. She threw a burst bomb at her before finishing her off with a shot from her dualies. She then pulled out some Tenta Missiles, launched them, and continued inking the turf.
Behind her, the barrier blew up, and Yuri grabbed it. With a nod, Octavia put the bristles of her Octobrush Nouveau down to the ground and began running straight ahead, creating a convenient trail for him to swim in. Occasionally, she looked behind her back to make sure no one was about to ambush them. When they reached the middle of the stage, Roy joined them.
"Don't you think Alexis's being a little too cocky?" he pointed out.
"You're one to talk," the wavy-haired girl teased.
Yuri emerged from the ink to charge up a shot from the Rainmaker. "What do you mean?" he asked the red-eyed boy.
"She's charging ahead, inking everything without a care in the world. With a team as good as that one, it's just too risky," he explained.
"Well... she's still new to ranked battles," Octavia defended. "She'll learn from this."
"I guess you have a point," Roy admitted.
"On the bright side, if she keeps this up, then we might just win," Yuri encouraged.
"Well, I like winning," he said, a smile on his face, "so, let's do our best to win."
They now arrived at the open area on the enemy's side of the base. Alexis was nowhere to be seen. The dark-skinned inkling fired a shot from the Rainmaker, with the boy with the Splattershot Pro jumping out of its path. He threw out a point sensor at them, followed by an Ink Storm. The turquoise cloud rained on them, the droplets creating a burning sensation on contact. They were forced to scatter. Roy went to the left, Yuri continued straight ahead, and Octavia steered to the right.
The sniper camped out on a side passage, steadying her aim. Via grumbled. Bombs would be really nice right now. She surveyed her surroundings, using a sponge for cover. The Walleye Workers had done a good job covering their turf back up from whatever damage her sister had caused. Suddenly, she felt a shadow loom over her, and she rolled out of the way just before a Splat Roller squished her. She swung her brush at the wielder's feet, knocking her down. There, she made a mistake and emerged from behind the sponge, making her an easy target for the sniper. She splatted and was sent all the way back to the other side of the map.
I really hope Yuri took the lead. She super-jumped to her beakon again to shorten the walking distance and replaced it once more before moving on. Taking a side route, she placed another one for her convenience, and soon she arrived at the enemy's side once more. The shield had formed once more, its light poking out from behind the furthermost crate. She scanned the area once more, spotting Roy and Alexis at the other end. The former was soon splatted again, starling the latter. Via looked up and noticed a turquoise beam lengthening above her. She had an idea...
She made herself visible to the sniper, jumping up and swinging her brush to try to reach her. With some ink splatting onto her Squiddor polo, she looked up from her E-liter and began backing up, eyes widened. Regardless, she continued to charge it, the beam becoming longer. Octavia ran behind the sponge as the sniper was about to fire, seeing as it would absorb the impact. She heard the mechanical sound of the E-liter's fire, ensuring her safety once more. The bronze-skinned girl appeared once more to distract the pale-skinned one, doing the same method. Catching on to it, the sniper retreated, so Via ran back to the Rainmaker.
The battle to pop the shield was intense, the gold continuously expanding and deflating. The enemy had the advantage right now, but with Octavia now joining her own teammates, they could turn the tide. Pulling out some Tenta Missiles, she locked them onto the inklings behind the barrier and fired, the red-orange missiles quick to rain down on them. This move allowed the shield to pop, and several inklings screamed as they were splatted, whenever by the barrier or by the missiles.
"Grab it, Via!" Alexis yelled. "Now's our chance!"
Without a second thought, the wavy-haired inkling swiped the Rainmaker and ran up the ramp, towards the goal. Thankfully, the humongous explosion had painted the hill, allowing her to easily climb up it. She leaped up into the air and set the Rainmaker in place. It glowed as it locked in, and then a whistle blew.
"Booyah!" the Rainbow Squids exclaimed in triumph.
"Booyah, indeed," a new voice agreed. The almond-skinned boy wielding the Slosher walked up to them, clapping, followed by the other Walleye Workers. "You deserved it."
"Amid your...creative...solutions to take me down," the sniper added, "you guys work really well together."
"A solid team, really," noted the girl that wielded the Splat Roller.
"Thanks," Yuri said, smiling. "We are the Rainbow Squids, after all. But you guys were very good too."
"Guess I'll return the favor—thank you," the Splat Roller wielder replied.
"No problem."
"Where's the other half of the rainbow?" asked the boy wielding the Splattershot Pro rather sheepishly.
The sniper looked over at her teammate. "...You did read the bracket, right? Or at least see the pictures?"
"They're the own separate team," the Slosher wielder elaborated.
"Oh, yeah..." He hid behind the other boy once more.
"Well, we just gotta wait for Judd to make it official, now," remarked Octavia. She sat down next to the goal and started fiddling with her Octobrush.
Roy yawned and leaned against the bumpy wall. "I'm taking a nap after this."
"Same," agreed Via.
"Count me in," added the girl with the roller, rubbing her red eyes. "At least the Walleye Workers get to take a break at last."
At that moment, Judd and Li'l Judd arrived near the goal and started dancing. Judd struck out a red-orange flag, marking the Rainbow Squids as the winner of the match.
"Well, that's done and done," Roy stated. "Let's go back, now."
"Before you leave..." started the boy with the Slosher. "We should battle again sometime. It'll be really fun!"
"What Dominic's trying to say is..." continued the sniper. "We want your numbers."
The Rainbow Squids agreed, and the two teams exchanged phone numbers briefly. "What are your names?" asked Alexis.
"I'm Deadeye," the girl with an eyepatch introduced. "As you probably guessed, the squid with the Slosher's Dominic. The girl with the roller's name is Scarlet, and the boy with the shooter's name is Forrest."
"Nice to meet you all," Yuri greeted. "I'm Yuri. The girl with the brush's Octavia, AKA Via. The boy with the blaster is Roy, and the girl with the dualie's Alexis." The other Rainbow Squids waved as their names were called.
"Now can we go back?" the tan-skinned boy asked.
"Yes," replied Octavia. All of them transformed into squids and super-jumped back to Deca Wings. The bracket was already updated by the time they got back, much to her surprise.
When they walked back to the stands, they sat down and closed their eyes, trying to take a quick nap. A little later, Via heard footsteps approaching them. When she opened her eyes, she was met with her distraught friends. Bonnie had her head down, staring blankly at the Squiffer in her hands, while Perry was wiping tears from his eyes. Inigo immediately ran past them and sat down on the far end of the bleachers, facing away from them, while Asher was nowhere to be seen. Octavia brought the Warm Rainbow Squids' attention to the other squids, and as soon as they saw their faces, they gave concerned looks to each other.
"Guys?" Octavia spoke up, reaching a hand out for them. "Are you alright?"
"We lost," Perry croaked, setting his Sloshing Machine down and crossing his arms. "It isn't fair."
The wavy-haired inkling looked aghast. "You lost?" she reiterated under her breath.
"Then that means..." Yuri started, looking over at the other team that had arrived on the bleachers. Octa Prisma was chatting away happily. Giovanni looked over his shoulder and then stood up, smirking.
"We're facing them," concluded Alexis.
A/N: Hey guys! I just wanna thank you all for 1,000 views on "The Rainbow Squids"! Thank you everyone for reading, and Branchwing, out!