An Inkling man approaches the two teams: it seems to be an employee of the Turf War Station.
"Excuse me, kids. I have an important announcement."
All the other Inklings look at the man, with curiosity.
"Oh shoot! We have a battle to start!" Enrick remembers all the sudden.
"That battle is cancelled."
"Whaaat?!" Most of the Inklings said.
"There are serious problems going on in the Waiting Room. It's impossible to enter in the arena." The man explained.
"Well then, what are those problems again?" Grina asked.
"I can't tell you… I'm sorry." The man apologizes.
"Being sorry is not enough, mister!" Grina said. "I request a reason. A pretty good, no-contradictions reason."
Mirii and Bars looked at Grina worried.
"Grina, what are you doing?! You can't force him reveal confidential information to us." Mirii said.
"Do you wanna give us trouble, girl?!" Bars asked.
Grina turns behind, looking at Bars and Mirii with a smile.
"Guys, that's ok. I can handle this little inconvenience. I mean, we all wanted to do this Global Testfire… right?"
Mirii and Bars nodded.
"Then, we're going to have it. No one can stop us now that we have finally a team! I promise to start our careers and reach the very top! You know me, guys… I really can't live without keeping a dear promise, so I'm going to bust this obstacle for good and we'll have the best fun, you can possibly imagine!" Grina said, while turning back to the man.
Mirii tried to stop Grina, but that was no use: Grina was already talking, while Zira was cheering for her.
"All right, boss. What's the deal?"
"The deal is this: you don't have any rights to know about this problem." The man explained.
"Eh eh… I can see your little games, mister." Grina smiled. "Yep! Actually, all of us already figured that one out."
The man wasn't reacting much in front of that speech.
"… what's she talking about?" Nick asked to Ana, which in return he got a bad look from her.
"Let me guess: being frustrated a lot, recently?" Grina asked.
"… so? What about it?" The man replied.
"Well, nothing really important… unleeess you start looking in a near future. Yes, I'm talking about YOUR future!"
"My future is telling me, how bright and cheerful it is. Now, how about you scram before I lose my patience?"
"Scram? Really? Are you throwing off, an opportunity?! You sure look mature, in appearance…"
"Stop talking like that, kid! I was nice before, but you're forcing me to show my bad side!"
"Then… do it. Really. But who's the one blamed for everything at the end? Gee, let me guess… the one that blowed up the Global Testfire?"
The man reacted very bad, in front of that question.
"BE QUIET KID! I have so much to do right now! Leave or else I'll call the bouncer!" The man menaces.
"Tsk, tsk… mister, did you realize your situation?" Grina said, while shaking her head.
"YES! And you are making it worse!"
"Really? I don't think that the situation could be any worse… I mean, when you don't have any ideas up on your sleeves, not even money can help you solve it."
The man got really frustrated from that talking. He wishes to kick the kids out, but something is holding him from doing so.
"W-Why you little…! Who said that I didn't have any ideas?!"
"No ink, Squidlock. What would you do, if you have a Free-Win idea on the top of your head? You weren't even talking to me, now. Instead you'd be in that Waiting Room solving the problem, pronto!"
The man thought about it, for a moment…
"All right, you got me kid. Yes, I'm clueless about this problem. However, I don't see what forces me to talk about it with you."
Grina got closer to the man, while doing the biggest smile yet.
"… still thinking about it, riiiight?" Grina asked.
The man got surprised by that question.
"W-what do you mean?!" The man asked in panic.
"George, are you serious?! Are you going to spill the ink, just because of that child?!" The Inkling woman speaks up.
Grina noticed her.
"Ooooh… now I see it." Grina said.
In no time, she jumps on the reception desk while looking at the woman.
"Defending an employee in a time like this… calling him with his name… yeeeah, he sure got some eyes for a while, ain't right miss?" Grina asked.
The woman blushed a bit.
"W-what does that even mean?!"
"Well… gee, I could tell. But, I believe that would be some confidential information… especially when there's a certain man around here." Grina explained.
The woman understood everything: she blushed so much, that she couldn't tell anything.
Even George blushed a bit.
"H-hey, stop! Who's this man you're talking about?!" The man said while looking around.
"Huh? What's that? You want to know something confidential, from me?"
"YES! TELL ME!" George said, getting really impatient.
"All right… if you insist, I'll tel"
"NO!"
All the sudden, the woman stands up while slamming her hands on the desk. Everyone looked at her.
"… I'll bring you to the Waiting Room." The woman said.
"WHAT?! No, Jeanna! Are you crazy?!" George shouts, however Jeanna doesn't seem to be concerned.
"That's fine, George. Really. Maybe those kids will help out… they seem something." Jeanna explained.
"B-B-But we aren't"
"GEORGE!" Jeanna shouts, making George calm down a bit.
"There you go, guys. We have a match to start!" Grina said with enthusiasm.
The other Inkling kids exulted loudly and they all follow Jeanna to the Waiting Room.
"Wow… I can't believe she did that!" Ana commented, impressed.
"I know right. She's so unpredictable… you can't tell what she's thinking right now." Enrick explains.
"I-Is she able to read minds?! I don't want people know what I'm thinking!" Nick said in a worried state.
"Don't worry Nick: you don't think anything at all." Ana said.
"Oh, that's a relief! You see how being stupid helps a lot?!" Nick said with proud.
Ana really wanted to slap him some common senses, but she decided that it wasn't worth it knowing the Inkling in question. Quickly, everyone reached the Waiting Room where two starting points were full of greenish goo.
"Well, you see those starting points?" Jeanna pointed at them.
"Huh?! They have both the same color!" Enrick pointed the problem.
"Interesting…" Mirii said. "It seems they are corrupted by this goo. Did you try spray ink on it?"
"Yes, but that goo comes back very quickly. There's no way to penetrate through this barrier." Jeanna explained.
"Penetrate…" Grina repeats.
"Uh, uh! Let's use the Inkzooka!" Nick proposed.
"Are you crazy?! You'll destroy the panel!" Jeanna said.
"Oh… then, a Splat Bomb?"
"You didn't understand?! The strong weapons can damage the Starting Points!" Ana said to Nick.
"This is really tricky. We need a weapon strong enough to penetrate through the goo, without damaging the panel."
"Hey, maybe we can eat this stuff!" Bars said while looking at the goo.
"Yay! I wanna eat it too!" Zira said excited.
"No, Zira! This could be poisonous!" Enrick stops Zira.
"Aaaaw, really? It seems fun!"
"Come on, couldn't this be just a funny joke? Like you do something you'll never ever dream to do?" Bars explained.
"Go ahead, Bars. Taste it." Mirii said.
Bars starts to lose the courage, after hearing Mirii…
"W-why you say it like that?" Bars asked.
"I'm not implying anything." Mirii answered. "Except your tummy doesn't have an insurance."
"Gulp! Better not then: those insurances are too pricy, even for my stomach!" Bars said, while massaging his stomach.
"Don't worry Bars. We don't need to get you an insurance." Grina said.
"We need someone special enough to solve this problem."
Grina looks at Hun, while he was watching the weird goo. He didn't notice how everyone was looking at him. Then, he turned towards the others, realizing how he's been watched by all.
"Huh?! W-why are you looking at me?" He said, getting a bit shy.
Grina quickly goes to Hun's back, while leaning her head on his left shoulder.
"Hunry-dear! You're our only hope." Grina said.
"Our only hope?"
"Pretty much. I want you to do a little trick, to our beloved audience."
"Audience? What's that?"
"Us! The audience is us! Now Hunry, don't be scared… I want you to dive in that goo." Grina pointed the goo.
The team Temanga got surprised by that request.
"What?! D-dive into that?! I-I could get hurt!" Hun said, while getting really scared.
"Shh, shh… Hunry please, calm down." Grina said while smiling. "You know how I said to trust me, yesterday?"
"Yeah… I remember."
"You see how everything got fine? Even after our training?"
Hun nods a bit trembly.
"I promise to you, right now… that you'll be safe and sound. Nothing is going to hurt you, nothing will make you leave us. I'd never ask my friends something dangerous or inconsiderate. I know you can pull this one off, because I believe in you." Grina said, while leaving Hun.
Hun and Grina looked each other: he still feels a bit insecure.
"So, Hunry… can you promise to always believe me?"
Hun thought about it… and ultimately he nods to that, gaining confidence. Without thinking twice, he dives into the goo, while becoming a Squid. The reactions were a mix of surprise and cheers, from everybody.
The ink left by Hun seems stable and eventually the Starting Point becomes available again.
"He did it!" Nick exults.
"Way to go, pal!" Bars cheered.
"W-what was that?!" Jeanna asked, without comprehending too much the situation.
"That's the sign of victory, miss. And we're going to join it!" Grina said.
"Yeah! Let's check the arena guys: we may find the cause of all this goo!" Enrick proposed.
"Ooooh yesyesyesyes! I'm already feeling it!" Zira said.
"Wait, what about our weapons?!" Nick asked. "We didn't choose any yet!"
"Did you already forget?! Our weapons comes automatically to us, while warping through a starting point." Ana explained.
"Oh really? I actually never notice it before!" Nick replied, while scratch the back of his head.
Ana did a facepalm in disbelief. Enrick just shook his head.
"Well, what we're waiting for now? Let's jump in it!" Enrick ordered to his team.
All the members of Temanga jumped in the panel, one at the time. Mirii and Bars did the same. Grina was looking at the panel and after a big breath, she jumps right in there too!