Chapter 8 – Against the Rising Tides Pt. 3 Finale (The Ride Against the Storm)

…, Kthulhu, thoughtless and impressed, respawned with the others. … Heh, she's exactly what I thought she would be. I'm proud of her, He couldn't think of anything better for what she has become to be now, and he is glad she didn't turn out to be anything bad that he has thought a long time ago.

And now, looking at the present day of his cousin, Tarã, is now a proud and captain of a team, something Kthulhu didn't expect, but he ain't complaining. I wonder if the others are also captains or their team as well, He wondered. They might be captains of a team of their own but he's not so sure about it. Maybe if- no, when; when he meets them in person without wearing his disguise, he'll make sure to ask them about it.

But now is not the time to think about such things; right now, they are going through some struggle against the Rising Tsunami; his team was wiped out after Tarã managed to take them out with the Double Kraken Combo with one of her teammates, Rodhann. If she ever tries to do it again in the last minute match, they'll be screwed over by the Rising Tsunami. And he could already feel that his friends already found out who he is now, and the plan that he and his teammates make must help try and successfully not raise any suspicion.

Yet, in his case, he doubts it because his plan is something… more extreme, and it's fairly difficult to pull off…

Before he could think anymore further, his teammates are about to make their way to the splattlefield, in which the Rising Tsunami are taking their turf, and they are getting closer to their spawn area. Before they could go, he calls them out and takes their attention by loudly saying, "Ahem."

This got their attention, and they turn their heads to glance at Kthulhu with expectant and curious looks on their faces. If they have no plan to begin with in this second quarter of the match, Kthulhu's team won't stand a chance against the Rising Tsunami, and they will be wiped out again. They have to make this plan something unique, something powerful enough to break through the tides, something that everyone could agree on…

… something that is extreme…

… and Kthulhu has already thought of the perfect plan…

"Guys," He started, "I have a plan…" This piqued their interest, ready to listen…

"…but this ain't gonna be easy, so please bear with me… We'll show them how we TIP the scales of battle…"

An Hour Earlier

"So that really happened?" I asked him, quite dumbfounded of what I have heard, "That's a hard thing to believe if I say so myself…"

"Trust me, I've watched the whole thing, and it was fun to see Yudius get beaten down by a newbie rookie who has just been in Inkopolis for at least four days." Zrix said, his face is filled with odd satisfaction. He really enjoyed watching that battle, I see, which kinda scares me a little, because earlier, the white orbs in his pitch black eyes have disappeared, which usually means that something bad has happened, or just scare me. But in this case, it did look like something bad happens; about what the two girls said earlier…

I'm hesitant to give him the question, but I did anyway, "So, uhh, about the thing the girls said about the Duel… what did Yudius said about me back there?"

And in an instant, his white pupils are once again disappeared, leaving him frozen and silent, his eyebrows furrowed, and his grin shrinks ominously. This is not usual of him, he is always a mischievous dork that loves puns and stuff, but whenever he gets like this, he usually turns serious and grim, or sometimes, even agitated, which is a rare occurrence even for me.

"I… I don't think I can tell you…" He said, his voice is hesitant, and with a tinge of anger on his tone, "Maybe someday… someday…"

Is it really that bad? "How bad was it then?" I can't help myself but ask. I don't know why, but his tone of voice only gives me more curiosity and suspicion about the whole thing.

"Bad is an understatement; it was terrible. You don't want to hear it…" His tone changed in a grave and solemn manner. It somewhat made me more nervous about knowing what Yudius said about me, and maybe terrible is also an understatement.

"I-If you insist," I said as I looked back at the city. What really happened? And who's this newbie who seem to care so much for a stranger? Even if everyone doesn't like hearing whatever he said, I didn't expect that it would anger such person to the extent of splatting the entire team of ragtag group of bullies without so much effort. That would've at least made him more susceptible to getting splatted himself, and yet, he didn't get splatted himself after the final half. Like, how? How's even that possible?

I was so in deep thought, I didn't notice Zrix has sat beside me, sitting like me except his left leg is resting on the tower while the other hangs on, and looking at the city with his grin has widened a little and his pupils has reappeared again. It didn't take long before he goes back to his usual self.

"Well, aside that, which I may or may never tell you, there are more things I could tell, y'know," He said, his right pupil looks at me, "I'm not even finished yet. We are almost done, so you're ready for another round of Zrix's Supah' INKredible Story Telling?"

"I swear, you're just as childish as you were since I met you back in Ammo Knights," He is kinda childish sometimes, only to the extent of words, not actions, like what he just said earlier and it somehow made me smile. Before I answer, I looked back at the city, "I'm in for another one, I just hope my headaches doesn't just attack out of nowhere and made fall off of this edge-" And on cue, my head pulsated again in pain, but this time, it's much more painful than the previous one. Dammit, I spoke too soon!

My hands immediately and instinctively clutch to my head, and I groaned in pain of my headache, "Ghh, Kyla!" If Zrix isn't with me, I would've fall off of the edge and have to endure a painful landing down to the ground, as he quickly holds me firmly and drags me off the edge before I fell, "Hang in there, Kyla, and this time, I'm not trying to make a pun out of it!"

My ears started to ring, as I try to rub both of my temples to try and ease the pain, but to no avail, the pain is still at the same intensity as it started. That is until Zrix puts his hands on both side of my head, his thumbs near my neck, and the rest is at the temples, just on top of my hands, "Ok-… just gen-… -ub your tem-… help you ou-…" I could only make out a few words, because my ears started ring, and wavelength things are now swimming through my vision again. But I manage to understand what he was trying to say, as I comply with his instructions. I slowly and gently rub my temples with the help of Zrix, and a few seconds later, my headache slowly started to ease, until it was gone after a minute later.

I let out a sigh of relief, "T-Thanks, Zrix. I spoke too soon and I got immediately jinxed…"

He then crouches beside me, as he places his hand on my left shoulder, "Let's just say you're not thinking ahead before you-" I immediately pouted and I quickly uppercut him lightly right in the chin. A pun at a time like this? Geez, Zrix, you should know better than this…

"Ok, this is the only time that I'll say you're pun is terrible… I just got a headache, and I'm rather baffled that you can find a time to spat out a pun after I got one."

"Heheh, sorry, I can't help myself," He said through his teeth, "You can remove your hand that is on my chin now. It would be jawf- grrr!" I pushed my fist upwards, interrupting him again before he could even finish his awful pun. No, not today, Zrix; I love your puns, but still, this is not the time to say it, "Ow, ow, ok, ok, I'm sorry, please let me chin go."

I let his chin go and let my fist rest on the floor of the Moray Towers. He then stands up while rubbing his chin, and lends me a hand to help me get up, in which I accepted as I hold onto his hand as I get up from the floor to stand up, before letting go of it, "Alright, that's… something…"

"You ok still, K?"

I nodded in response, "Yeah, I'll be alright for a while…"

"And let's hope that will stay that way…"

"I too, hope for it," I then walk back to the edge where I almost fell off, and I grabbed my shake that is chilling (literally) and sitting by the edge, before I walk back to Zrix, "How about you tell me the rest of the story; this time, let's find somewhere that is not an edge of this tower…"

His grin got wider, and let out a small chuckle, "Yes, yes, we shall…"

Present Time

It has been two minutes since the eventful first half of the match between Kthulhu's team and the Rising Tsunami, with them are on the lead again. During the past minute, it was just a battle of tug of war, as both teams are trying to take each other's turf, but both only got into the centre of the stage, and not each other's base. This has been going for the rest of the middle half, and it is beginning to become a big struggle for both teams to get each other's bases. If this keeps going, luck will always be part of both victory, with the notorious fifty-fifty chance is on effect that would decide who will be the winner of the match.

Kthulhu, so far, is getting good on not letting his identity slip in front of his friends or in front of Tarã. His Blaster skills, though, not so much, but he has been hitting all of those shots from his Custom Range Blaster, albeit indirect ones, but hey, even a little improvement helps. If he had his roller for this match, though, he would've destroyed the Rising Tsunami without too much effort, though, it will prove it even more difficult to hide his identity if he just uses his Carbon Roller with the handle thing in it. That would only give it away if he ever uses that Roller.

Right now, the Rising Tsunami has the centre under their control, with a minute left on the clock. Trix is keeping them off at bay, which she somehow became astonishingly did a good job at with Mika, while they try to make their plan work. I, the narrator, won't spoil the surprise, but it something about an Ink Reserve, and that is the only hint that I, the narrator, could give you, because if I give you more than that, both the editor and the author would kill me. Moving on!

Ok, this is what is happening now; the Rising Tsunami stopped attacking, as they can't get through Trix's surprisingly tough defense. She wasn't as proficient in doing so, but somehow, she managed to make the Rising Tsunami be cautious around her radius of fire. The E-Liter may be slow at charging, but she uses this as an advantage to bait people into thinking that the E-Liter's charge could give them time, but they started to back away from her radius as soon as she started to let out shots that can still splat even if it is just almost full-charged. She may or may not have many Damage Ups on her damn gear, but who knows…

And now, let's see how they are doing with their plan…

Here we have Kthulhu and Raei, on the other pathway that leads to the centre. Both of their tentacle hair are boiling and flowing with bubbles, both of their Specials, Kthulhu's Kraken and Raei's Bubbler, are now ready to be deployed into the splattlefield. It took them long enough to reserve them for the final minute of the match, as they either forced to use it, got splatted, or both. Now, they have it under control, the actual plan is now in motion.

"Let's do this, K?" Raei asked; a grin is formed on his lips that represented his immense satisfaction.

"Yes, I was born ready," Kthulhu answered with determination, as he prepares his Custom Ranger Blaster for the final battle and the final struggle for Turf.

"Then, let the gears of the plans set to motion!"

"A minute left!" Blared the voice from the automatic speaker, which annoyed my ears rather than agitating me.

Not this again…

We got stuck in the centre, again. This has been going on for entirety of the damn match, and now it is happening again, and this time, we can't get through the sniper that suddenly became a high level obstacle to our victory and a high level threat to us. She freakin' splatted Rodhann in one damn shot one time, and heck, there may be is now way how to tell how charge they put in the chargers unless it's a full charge, but I swear, her shots are not in full charge. It might be around seventy to eighty five percent charge, I dunno, but it's around those said percent.

What the heck happened? She did not become like this when we first tried to splat her during th first minute of the game. Her stats is still the same after the first minute, but she suddenly become a walking sentry with a sniper installed on her.

"Can't get through me, huh?" Trix teased us, "Come on, I though you guys are powerful enough to get through one player that is just camping and chilling in this platform right over here."

"That's my job!" Yeran shouted in protest. Well, no one does a better job at camping spots like Yeran can, so…

"Well, you ain't camping yet, y'know. You started to get aggressive for the last few minutes."

"That cheeky little…" Ignoring her, I glanced at Verique, who is by the right of Yeran, with him glancing back at me. I nodded at him, and he nodded back, a plan has been secured, and he prepares his Dual Squelcher. I then, glance back at Rodhann, who is beside left me, and his right eye glances to me. I nodded, and he nodded back too, the plan is now in motion. If we keep this going, I will not be satisfied with the victory, even if it's close by a freaking 0.01 percent, I don't care. I will not let luck decide what team will be the winner of this damn match…

"What are you guys nodding about? Agreed that you to surrender to us? Sorry, but we don't take priso-"

"No, no, not that," I interrupted her, "But it's more like this…" I then snap my fingers of my left hand; my plan is now in effect. Both Verique and Rodhann started to ink and move towards

"Alright!" Yeran fired a fully charged shot at the Trix, making her sidestep to her right. Her tentacle hair then started to flow with bubbles; her Special, Killer Wail, is now ready to be deployed once again. She immediately takes it out and directed her fire at Trix directly, "You and Mika are screwed now!" She then fired the Killer Wail at her, emitting powerful soundwaves. Trix, managed to dodge it, but what about Mika?

"Hah! You think Mika is with me!? Not a chance, but she's still refilling back in this damn wall!" Trix then fired a half-charged shot at Verique, but he dodged it with ease. Only with a cause of making her tentacle hair flow with bubbles; her Special, Echolocator, is ready, but I don't know what will it do to help her and her team against us, though. And dammit, Mika is behind that damn platform, if we didn't splat her, we'll be done as a grilled squid.

We are now trying to get near her and splat her, but even with the weight of her Charger, she somewhat dodges most of our shot, and looking at her face, she looks really confident and determined. What gave her this kind of determination to have the ability to dodge most of our shots with ease and not tiring herself? I may never know…

Rodhann and Verique are now near Trix, with Verique has started to rain down ink at her, and Rodhann is a few feet away and directly perpendicular in front of her, serving as a distraction, "Hey, Tsunamink!" Huh? She then points her left index upwards, and the Echolocator squids came out of the sleeves of her Purple Camo LS, activating her special as the black, spirit-like squids swirl around us, giving away our location. But how can that help her and her team win against us this situation, "Better look up or down, maybe there's a gift for you coming from heavens!"

That is rather tempting, but I looked up anyway; nothing. Nothing's there. Then I looked down, and my eyes widened at the sight of a swirling marker of an Inkstrike that is by my foot! Dammit, she's just a bait! She uses herself as bait for us to get near her!

"INKSTRIKE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I look up again, and I saw an Inkstrike is now in the air and is now descending to the location where the marker is. My teammates are immediately alerted my teammates and we immediately backed off from the Inkstrike marker as fast as we can.

SPLOAW!

The Inkstrike has landed to its marker, and it expels a gigantic tornado of ink that I got almost engulfed into. If I didn't see it earlier, I would've been flown away back to the spawn base.

Alright, Mika wasted her Inkstrike, thinking that she would splat us with it. That would've been a well-placed Inkstrike, if only Trix didn't alarm me about the Inkstrike. Now, I wonder, where is Mika and her other teammates…?

…and I think I got my answer right in front of me, as I witness a spinning Kraken came out of the Inkstrike tornado and rams onto me, immediately splatting me back to my spawn.

What… in the actual crap happened?

The plan worked…

The plan "Trojan Inkstrike Payback" a.k.a. "Trojan Inkstrike Prime" or T.I.P. is a freakin' success…!

It didn't took a long time to formulate the plan, but it took a long time to actually execute it, like thinking of an idea for an illustration that took a like a few seconds to make and the illustration itself took a week to actually finish. It was a satisfying success, as this plan was a hard thing to pull off, and Kthulhu's team will make it worth it.

Earlier

"So what's this plan?" Trix enthusiastically asked, ready to hear her idol's plan.

"I'm not gonna tell you guys the main course of this plan, but all of you, fill up your Special Gauge, preserve it and fight the urge to use it as long as possible, especially you Mika. We'll need that Inkstrike if this plan needs to work, so please, keep yourselves from getting splatted at minimal as possible, and I'll tell you all how this plan will work out. Got it?"

All of them nodded, ready to comply with his plan. He'll have to take charge now if they have to win, and now, he has to keep their spirits high and mighty if this plan has to work like he expected to be, "First, though, we have to take back the centre and splat the entire team before we could think of the next plan. Ok, let the First Phase of this Plan be on motion. Let's do this, mates."

"Aiy!" They shouted in unison as Kthulhu's team proceeds back to the splattlefield in an attempt to take back the centre, all while trying to complete First Phase of their plan at the same time.

First Phase Complete

"Alright what's the next plan?" Raei asked after he splatted Rodhann who is trying to sneak up behind them along with Verique, while Yeran and Tarã is on guard of the centre. He and Kthulhu are the only ones left that are not yet splatted, with every Rising Tsunami's members are now splatted with the cost of two of their own that will be respawning at any second now.

"Next, is to preserve those Specials, and we will use it somewhere secure. We need that Inkstrike for this plan, so let's wait for Mika to Super Jump to us."

"For what was this Inkstrike for, though? I don't get it why the Inkstrike is the most important part of this plan."

"I thought you're smarter than this…"

"I'm more confused than dumb, so tell me about this plan of yours."

"Alright; after we kept Mika alive long enough for a comeback, she'll take out her Inkstrike in a more secured place, and then we will paint the very middle of the Inkstrike with some ink, and we will hide in it."

"Wait, so we are basically going to ride the Inkstrike? Isn't that against the rules, though, is it?"

"No, because there's nothing said about "No Riding Inkstrikes" Rule on their Official Rule Book, so we are good," Makes sense, since this story is not like the actual game after all, so simple logic and laws of physics will be safely implemented in this story. There's nothing better than writing a story about squids fight each other that is not like in the game itself, "Once we launch the thing and successfully land without getting spotted during the Inkstrike launch, we should be able to get out of the ink that we made, and go splat the rest of the team."

"So, we are basically gonna be trying the ancient humans' tactic, the Trojan Horse or something like that. I like it, but can we really do that? It will be hard to see while we're in the air, so there's not much sight that would help us," Then, Trix and Mika has arrived via Super Jumping. Both boys glanced at Trix, and glances back at each other.

"Looks like we have already found a solution for that…"

Second Phase Complete

"Alright, Mika!" Trix shouted as they successfully pushed the Rising Tsunami back at the centre, with the two boys are absent, "We've pushed them back to the centre!"
"Yes, I could see that," Mika sarcastically said, as she stopped firing a barrage by submerging back to their own ink in the platform they are on, "And my Special is ready to deploy."

"Then this should be fun…" The sniper lets her lips form a grin that tells that their plan is going according to plan, "Now go with the others, Mika. I'll hold them off at bay as long as I can!"

"Are you sure that being the bait is alright with you?"

"Actually, no, but if this means victory for our part, then I am only gonna hope it's worth it, and if it's not… welp, I gotta have to smack my idol for making me the bait."

"He's him after all, so we have to trust him."

"Yeah, yeah, he's my idol after all, and I admire him for being the best fighter I've ever seen. Now go! We don't have much time."

"A-alright, be careful out there," She then jumps down from the platform and lands behind the platform she was previously standing on. The last thing she heard before she is out of her earshot is Trix teasing or maybe taunting the Rising Tsunami, "Can't get through me, huh?" A few seconds later, she has arrived to the raised floor where Raei came out of during the first thirty seconds of the match, doing the Bob Brush thing. She rendezvous with the boys of her team there, with their tentacle hair are also flowing and boiling with bubbles; their Specials are also ready. Looks like the plan is going as it's has planned…

"Here she is," Raei said as Mika turns back to her Inkling form, "Inkstrike's ready?"

"Yeah, ready to deploy," Mika answered as she approaches the two boys, "Ready you two?"

"As ready as we can be, Mika," He then glances back to Kthulhu, who is observing the wall next to his right, to the direction where Trix is holding them off, "You've prepared the signal, K?"

"Mmhm," Kthulhu answered, as he glances back to Raei and Mika, "Alright, when Trix got her Echolocator on, that's when we will book it and finish the final phase of the plan. If we execute this properly, we should be able to stand a chance and go-all-out again."

"Are you sure this will work, K?" Asked Mika, who is getting nervous by the second, "Remember the first time we go all out, hoo, good gracious, that didn't end well for all of us. Will this one work better than the last one we did?"

"Maybe…" Kthulhu answered so vaguely, it made her more nervous, "It will work, Mika, just have to believe in it, and everything will work out fine. If you believed in Tarã when you were battling with her and almost every plan she make worked out, then you can believe on us that this plan will work out as well."

This gave Mika some faith for Kthulhu and this plan, because what he said is right; she did believe in her captain of her team, she entrusted her with the plans that will usually lead them to victory, and these plans almost always worked out in the end, so having faith in Kthulhu, who is the one leading the Orange Team and the one who has been working hard for his plan to work, may not be so bad after all, "Then, I'll hope for the best of this plan of yours, Kthulhu."

"That's the spirit, Mika," He then lightly pats her shoulders, giving her some encouragement, "Keep it up and we will make get through this match victorious."

Mika nodded, as she puts up a smile on her face, showing a sign of confidence, a rare sight to behold of the shy Mikaela. She then joins the others to wait for Trix to activate her Echolocator.

The signal is soon sent when Trix has activated her Echolocator, giving away the Rising Tsunami's location. This is their cue to begin the Final Phase of the plan, "Now, Mika," Mika nodded as she activates her Special, the Inkstrike, as well, "Final Phase of the Trojan Inkstrike Payback is in motion."

"Alright, let's get this on the sky!" Raei then immediately flicks his brush at the middle part of the Inkstrike, Orange Ink sticks into it, making it able for Inklings to hide and ride the Inkstrike. It's time… it's time to initiate the final phase of the plan of the Trojan Inkstrike Payback; is to actually execute it and ride the damn Inkstrike to the fray. Raei quickly turns to squid form and jumps to the Orange Ink he made on the Inkstrike, "Alright, Kthulhu! Time to ride this baby!"

Kthulhu nodded, as he impressively flips his way to the Inkstrike and immediately turned into his squid form as soon as he is about to hit the Orange Ink that is on the Inkstrike. You got to admire how hardcore and extreme he can get. Kthulhu then ordered, "Launch the Inkstrike, Mika!"

Never in her life had she pressed the fire button so fast, and the Inkstrike launched into the air, soaring through the sky with Kthulhu and Raei. After they reached the skies, they started to descent back to the ground, into the target location Mika has marked. On the way there, both squids heard Tarã shouted the name of the Special they are hiding and riding on to alert her teammates. A moment later of descending back down in high speeds, they landed on the marker, with Kthulhu and Raei as the Inkstrike expelled a gigantic and powerful ink tornado that could splat anyone in milliseconds.

As soon as they landed, Kthulhu immediately saw the name of his cousin, Tarã, in front of him. This is the perfect opportunity for a payback from splatting him earlier with the Double Kraken Combo, as he immediately sprinted to her direction, jumps into the air and started to do a barrel roll, and he once again released Krakenthulhu. After he transformed, he came out of the tornado, right in front of Tarã, and he rammed his head against her, immediately splatting her without letting her to react. After that, he later on jump backwards as soon as he splatted Tarã and quickly swims his way to the oblivious Rodhann. He pounces at the brownish squid, and before he could even turn around to face Krakenthulhu, he was met by a ram to the face by Krakenthulhu's pounce, splatting him as well.

In Raei's part, he came out of the Ink Tornado in unison with Kthulhu, with his Inkbrush ready to smack it on Yeran's face. Without hesitation, he smacked her face with his Inkbrush so hard with adrenaline, she stumbled and fell backwards. With her down to the floor, he puts an Ink Mine right between her thighs, making it explode a second later and it splatted her in an instant. The T.I.P. plan is working as they have expected, and now, the Rising Tsunami is going on a low tide after that.

Thanks to the well-placed Inkstrike placement, this gave Trix the opportunity to charge her E-Liter while her opponents are vulnerable, and decided to aim at Verique. She fired an almost fully charged shot at him, but he quickly notices her and he managed to dodge it. It was until that Mika arrived to her location, and she started to charge and fire an ink barrage at him, something couldn't make him dodge too many shots. She used this opportunity to keep him from seeing her shots, and she charges another shot for her E-Liter. A second has passed, she fired the shot away, and it turned Verique into a puddle of Orange Ink.

Final Phase Completed

Trojan Inkstrke Payback is a Major Success

"Yeah! Good work everyone! We have ultimately taken the centre for our team!" Raei shouted triumphant with their success with the plan, "But it isn't over yet! They can still retake the centre, and we ain't gonna let that happen!"

"Mates, this is the final push," Krakenthulhu said with a booming voice thanks to the Kraken, as he goes sliding his way to the very centre, "We have to keep them at bay and not let them take the centre for another time! It's time to take on to their base and fight them with the remaining thirty seconds!"

"Thirty seconds left!" On cue, the automated speaker blared out of the speakers, announcing the remaining seconds of the match.

"Then, let's rock! Lads, quickly to their spawn!" Raei raeillied as the two girls started to swim towards the two boys; Raei started to flick and flick to ink the centre, and Krakenthulhu went ahead and goes to their opponents' base before back to his Inkling form. There are no sign of the Rising Tsunami yet, but they will be respawning soon, so he has to be quick with this if he needs to win. So he started to ink their base, by starting with a Splat Bomb; he threw one on the ramp that near him, and he dived into it, submerging into ink briefly after it explodes. He then resurfaced again to shoot out Blasters shots at the Blue Ink that is on the Rising Tsunami's base.

That is until Tarã finally respawned, he stopped inking the base for a while as he backs off from her range. She then glares at Kthulhu with a wicked grin, and she exited the spawn point, and started charging and firing her Squiffer directed Kthulhu. He dodged it as backtracked and hoped backwards, as he submerged to his ink again to refill. Then Yeran respawned and started to help her out as she charges and fires her weapon at Kthulhu, yet even with the combined forces of the two snipers, they couldn't hit him because of his incredible speed and reflexes, as he continues dodge and dodge the shots with ease.

"Dammit, he freakin' moves and dodges like Kthulhu!" Ergh, Kthulhu almost chocked at the sound of his name called out by Yeran. She is getting suspiscious, so must be Verique as well. hrgh, someone must avert their attention before they could know it was me…

"Who's that guy anyway!?" Tarã demanded as she fires another fully charged shot at Kthulhu, while the others respawned as well in their spawn point, "Are you having some weird new friends while I was gone or something?"

"You don't know him!? I thought he's your cousin or something!" Cousin? I don't have a cousin named Cthulhu…

Dammit, Yeran, he could hear his heart beating in Mach 5, but it didn't let that stop him, and he continues to dodge their shots, "I'll tell you later, let's take them out first and defend our spawn area!" Yeran then pointed at the direction to the centre; Raei came out and started to rapidly flicking his Inkbrush to ink the base with Orange Ink, Trix climbs up the platform where Yeran first used in the first minute of the match, and Mika came in and jumped down from the same platform as she started to charge and release ink barrages at their base.

"Merde, we are in a danger zone now! Everyone; go all out and defend our base!" Tarã commanded her team, as she started to target Kthulhu, who keeps dodging and dodging all of their shots without much effort or even breaking a sweat. Yeran, Verique, Rodhann, started to find a better location and they started to pick their targets.

In Raei's side, he continues on flicking and flicking, until he saw the Rising Tsunami coming towards, specifically the members of the Masquidteers. He glances back at his teammates, "Take care of the two! I'll go and assist our captain!" They nodded, as they started to target the approaching Masquidteer members and Raei quickly brushes his way past the two Inklings and went to assist their captain, all while activating his Bubbler and he gave his two teammates Bubblers as well, giving them better advantage against the Masquidteer members. He then brushes his way to Kthulhu…

He arrived to Kthulhu a two seconds later, but he was about to get squished by Rodhann's Splat Roller and a laser is pointing right in his face. Nope, ain't happening today, bro, As soon as he got near, the Bubbler has been passed to Kthulhu in time, saving him from a quick splat, and instead, he got knocked back only by a few feet away from his current position. Kthulhu recovers quickly, and he bounces back to his original position and rammed onto Rodhann so hard he got knocked back further and his back hits the ground, along with Raei also smacking him the face with the Inkbrush. He falls on his back right beside the desk full of computers along with his roller that he lost grip of after he got rammed by the Bubbler.

He quickly shoots a Blaster shot at the vulnerable Rodhann, but he managed to dodge the direct hit by rolling his right, also removing the Orange Ink that is splattered across his face, but was hit on the back and heavily damaged by an indirect blast of the Blaster Shot. Stifling a grunt, as his back is lying on the floor again, he saw a sight of Raei lunging towards him, he is about to bring down his Inkbrush like a hammer about to smash the earth.

Before he was struck by the Inkbrush, he rolled again back to his original position after he got rammed, ignoring the Orange Ink that his back is lying on, and immediately grabs his Roller and hastily used it to block an incoming Inkbrush attack, with the bristles almost hits his face again. He then started to struggle defending himself from Raei, with his back on the floor, and the brush is about paint his face, until he kicked Raei away from him, breaking free from the hold, as he immediately stands up and started clashing with Raei.

At Kthulhu's side, he shoots out a Blaster shot that leads towards his cousin, which is by firing over the desk, inking it as well as the computers. He jumped over it in his squid form, dodging an incoming fire from her. She then throws a Suction Bomb right a few feet in front of him, but it didn't scare Kthulhu, and he runs past it as soon as it get stuck to the ground, continuing to Blaster shot his way to Tarã as it explodes.

While he tries to make his way to her, in Tarã's mind, she is starting to get agitated, and she is about to lose this fight. She can't take losing too well, so in an act of desperation, she decided to bayonet charge him after Kthulhu shoots out another Blaster shot, almost caught him off guard, as he got hit by Tarã bayonet charge. As soon as she hits him, she is about to release a almost fully charged shot at Kthulhu that she's been charging before she could hit him, but it missed the target, because Kthulhu quickly recovers, grabbed the long barrel of her Squiffer with his left hand, and quickly redirected it to his right. The shot almost hit Raei in the face.

After that, Kthulhu then points his Blaster at Tarã's face and fired another Blaster shot, but her head cocked to the left, dodging the Blaster's point blank shot other than the trail the blaster leaves with, which did little to no damage to her.

(10) Kthulhu tried to shot another Blaster shot, albeit to the body for a guaranteed hit, but she didn't let him by grabbing the barrel of the Range Blaster and redirect it to her right as well, shot missed its target. (9) Both on a cross hold, Kthulhu then, with no other choices left, he let go of her Squiffer and he quickly does his signature 360 degree spin move to his left, forcing Tarã to let go of his Blaster, (8) and after he stopped spinning facing Tarã, his Blaster is now pointed at Tarã and is about to shot out another Blaster shot, but Tarã immediately hopped backwards, avoiding the shot, (7) and fired a quick half-charged shot at Kthulhu, which also missed when he leaned backwards. (6) Kthulhu then quickly dashed to Tarã, and dodges another half-charged shot from her Squiffer, hitting Rodhann in the back instead. They can hear an "OW!" in the background coming from him. (5)

Tarã was thinking of bayonet charging him again, but if he is what she thought he is, the same tactic will not work. But, she thought of doing something similar to that…

As soon as he got near, he was about to fire another Blaster shot at her, until he is stopped when Tarã is about to hit him again with a bayonet charge. She then thrusts her Squiffer at him, but he has seen through the attack, and dodged it. (4) She missed thrust, but she then turns around, and she quickly aims her Squiffer at Kthulhu with a fully charge shot in it. (3) She was about to release the charged shot of her Squiffer and splat Kthulhu, but he quickly dashed to her and grabbed the barrel of her Squiffer, and lifts it up to the sky, her charged shot missed. (2) He then points his Custom Range Blaster and puts it right on her neck. Both looked at each other's eyes for a moment, letting Tarã have a glance at Kthulhu's faintly glowing green eye, (1) before he pulls the trigger of his Blaster, splatting her one last time in the entire match. (0)

(GAME!)

Blue – 35.8%

Orange – 52.9%

Team Orange Wins!

Kthulhu is panting quietly in exhaustion. This is just as tiring as the First Ranked Match with the Masquidteers against Zayd's team. All of those stunts and hard-earned preparation are worth it after all the trouble and difficulty they had to go through after during those whole two minutes, trying to keep Mika alive as long as possible and the rest of the Orange team for their plan to work. In the end, nothing has gone in vain, and the victory they earned is a worthy trophy to remember.

Both teams are now teleported back to the lobby…

The Rising Tsunami and Kthulhu's team are now completely teleported back to the lobby, albeit far apart from each other. Kthulhu glances back to his team; all of them are exhausted during the fight, with Raei is holding onto his knees and panting, Mika is sitting beside her Heavy Splatling, and Trix is on her knees, panting as well. This is also one tiring match, like some other matches Kthulhu and Raei played on, but this is by far the most tiring one today.

"Wow… we freakin' did it…" Mika weakly said, due to exhaustion, "Baik pertolongan, what a… match that was…"

"Yeah, damn, couldn't be more tired than this…" Trix said as she tries to stand up, but had difficulty doing so due to exhaustion of the match.

Déjà vu really hits you hard right in the face…

He then glances back at their Rising Tsunami; Tarã's head is lowered while she rubs her neck with her free left hand. That might've hurt, literally, her neck got blown to pieces during the final seconds of the match, and figuratively, her pride must've also blown to pieces along with it. Yeran and Verique looks the same that time they got exhausted after their First Ranked Match together. Rodhann is leaning at the lobby wall, probably exhausted as well as the rest.

He didn't waste any more time, as he lightly nudges at Raei, who is just by his left, "Yo?"

"I'm out. Don't want to get caught by those two," He pointed at Yeran and Verique, "You guys act natural as long as possible."

Raei nodded, understanding what he meant, "Alright, go, before they notice you leave."

And there, he immediately walks his way to the exit. He was about to leave the Battle Lobby, until something or someone tugged him by the left shoulder, making him stumble to the right and changed direction he is facing that is hopefully away from the direction the Rising Tsunami is in, and forcefully pulls down his hood as well as his bandana. Anak ng pating… Looks like his disguise didn't worked out so well, as he saw Yeran went in front of him, staring at his double colored eyes. A second of staring at each other, her suspicion turns out to be true as a big smile slowly forms on her lips.

"I knew it was you! I freakin' knew it!" Yeran shouted in excitement, as she throws her hands up in the air, "You thought you could hide yourself behind that hood and bandana of yours, eh?"

Speechless, his eyes averted their gaze away from Yeran, bashfully saying, "Dammit, Yeran… You got me…"

"Hey, don't forget about me, lad," Verique came out of nowhere beside Yeran, "I was suspicious as well, y'know."

"So much for acting natural, I guess," Raei approached Kthulhu with a sarcastic and amused grin.

Yeran then glances to someone behind me, assuming she's glancing at Tarã, "Hey, Tarã! Come here, and let me introduce you to Kthulhu!" Faq Sheeeet…

"Alright, alright, who's this Cthulhu guy, anyway?" He heard Tarã's voice behind him, "Unless I see his face, I wouldn't know who he is."

"Come on, K, turn around! I'd like to meet you our Captain of the Rising Tsunami!" Yeran urged. Kthulhu looked at Raei for a moment; he shrugged, as he also urges him to look behind him without his disguise on. Sigh… here goes nothing… He can't really hide himself forever from Tarã, his other cousin, and from his sister, Kyla, and they will eventually know who he is. With every heartbeat, he gains up the courage to finally turn around, meeting his cousin again after two and a half years…

That… hurt… I winced as I rubbed my neck to ease the pain of getting blasted on the neck by the Custom Range Blaster. That 'Zhed' guy, or possibly, 'Cthulhu', whoever he is, is pretty damn good. He's not fearful of any danger he is freaking facing, and he's pretty quick that he could dodge my shots even at point blank range. And cousin? What does she mean? I don't remember having a cousin named Cthulhu… whoever named that guy sure has a bad taste of picking names.

"So, tell me Yeran," I glanced at Yeran, who is recovering from exhaustion, "Who is this… 'Cthulhu' guy you are talking about? I don't remember having a cousin named like that."

"You… seriously don't know him?" Yeran, dumbfounded, asked as she stretches her back, "I thought you would know him…"

"That's why you tell me who the mierda is he." I demanded as I put my Fresh Squiffer behind my back.

"Y'know what? I'll just show you what he looks like, ok? Come follow me." Yeran then runs up to Zhed, who is about leave the Battle Lobby. I have to follow her before she does anything rude...

Tch, she already did, Yeran then tugs Zayd, making his back facing towards us, and takes off both of his hood and bandana, revealing his four orange long and untied tentacle hair with red tips that is reaching his shoulders. Weird, he somehow looks like Yhavin if you look at his back. By the looks of it, she definitely found this Cthulhu guy, as she's shouting, "I knew it was you! I freakin' knew it!" Let's see who's this guy…

"Welp, looks like he is Kthulhu," Verique remarked, as he walk to Yeran's side, "Hey, don't forget about me, lad. I was suspicious as well, y'know."

"Well, so much for being natural," Raei then approaches the three; his face is amused and quite sarcastic.

Natural… he's hiding from someone or something? I couldn't think about it more when Yeran glances at me, "Hey, Tarã! Come here, and let me introduce you to Kthulhu!"

Always the eager squid, "Alright, alright, who's this 'Cthulhu' guy, anyway?" I asked, an eyebrow rose, "Unless I see his face, I wouldn't know who he is." Since she is always referring Cthulhu as one of my cousins, I don't know if what she said is true or she's just messing with me. Seriously, I have no idea who is this guy is.

"Come on, K, turn around! I'd like you to meet our Captain of the Rising Tsunami!" A title I am proud of.

He didn't immediately turn around to face me. What's so shy about? It's not like I'll bite. I've waited for a quite a while, he finally turned around, giving me a better look… on his… face… Wait… "Cthulhu", as he turned to face me, has two other shoulder-length tentacle hair, has a two piece moustache, one from each side of his lips, and… closed… eyes… like hers…

No…

It can't be… I could feel my eyes widened at the sight of his face in shock.

"-he's the one who… Tarã, are you ok…?" Yeran worrying asks.

I ignored her question, as my focus is on "Cthulhu." Both of my shaking hands started lift up to my lips, covering my mouth, but that couldn't hide the shock that I felt wave through me. And there, my vision begins to get misty, and I could feel water forming on my eyes upon the realization. I couldn't hide it… I couldn't hide and hold the shock of the realization that I am now looking…

… at my own cousin, my cousin that we have thought went missing two years ago…

"Tarã…" 'Cthulhu' called out my name, marking the point that I have now lost it.

"… i-is that r-really you?" I struggled to say, as I say the name of my long-lost cousin.

"… Kael?"

A/U – And that's a wrap! It is finally revealed to Tarã the cousin she, Kyla, and Sero thought to have went missing for the last two and a half years now! And of course, me, the Author and my subordinates, the Narrator, and the Editor has agreed that we will end it with one of our specialties; leaving a cliffhanger in every chapter, that's what. *evil laugh* :D And it ain't over yet! The story is just beginning to unfold it's drama between Kthulhu, or in this case, Kael's cousins and his sister, Kyla. Next chapter we will see what happens next after the confrontation between Tarã and Kael!

Also, like the return of the fight during the last few seconds of the match? I''ll call that Ten Second Countdown Fight, and it will be the term for the event fight between two battlers or even a team during the ten second final countdown of a match. It will be prominent here in the Kthulhu Arc during important Turf War matches that involves intense fights, like the one in the Duel.

Anyway, thanks for reading the chapter! If you want to get updated on the story progression, be sure to follow this story! If you like the story, press that heart button and favourite the story! And let me know what you think about this story by leaving a review for this story! Thank you for reading the chapter and the story, and I'll see you guys, in the next chapter!

Now the fun part, begins…

Development starts - Tomorrow/After upload

Chapter will be uploaded in – Middle of June