It was beginning to get early into the afternoon, as Aureolin and Linen were heading side by side to the Inktopolis Plaza. The tournament was going to begin soon, and they could see a lot of other Inklings heading toward the plaza square. It was like a parade was going on. Once the two close friends arrived, they easily found Folly waiting for them.
"You saw that interview this morning right?" the pink tentacle haired teen asked. They both nodded. Aureolin still had trouble understanding why it mattered that Sky went and became the leader of another team, but she assumed the reason why was where they were more curious for.
"Yeah. That was Sky, alright…" Linen agreed. They hadn't imagined things. Even though they had gotten up kind of early this morning, their imaginations weren't playing with them.
"When does the competition begin?" the yellow inkling asked. Their leader pointed to their right where a small stage was set up. They could see the Squid Sisters on it, as well as Judd the judge. The two were greeting their all too happy fans which mostly consisted of spectators and other competitors. They approached the back of the crowd, seeing Myrtle standing there. She seemed more intent on watching the announcement from the Squid Sisters for the opening ceremony.
"We have a lot of entries this year for the annual Turf War competition! A new record, nearly 100 teams have entered!" Callie began. Her microphone echoed her words throughout the air. She was joyful to be doing this commentary for the competition.
"And by the end of today alone, this number will drop by half! The rules are simple; if you lose, your team shall be removed! There are so many gathered here! We have new and old teams…" Marie continued. The two loved doing this tandem announcement. Continuing each other's sentences gave a small bit of pleasure between them both. Aureolin and her team listened carefully with the rest of the audience.
"Teams made from families, and teams made from friends, no matter who or what you are, you shall be given a fair chance here. I hope you all know that the rules will change later on in the competition, but as for now…" Callie exclaimed as she and her sister both put on their big grins.
"We officially announce the third annual Turf War begins now!" they shouted in unison, gaining the roars of the crowds and a very annoyed expression from the already tired looking judge.
"This is giving me a headache," Folly commented. Aureolin nodded in agreement, sticking close to Linen, mostly because she was not able to handle crowds too well. She was paranoid of being in such a massive group of people. They saw the huge display screen light up, showing all sorts of team names and logos.
"Wow… one hundred teams," Aureolin could only say in awe, imagining it.
"We're only fighting one. Don't be so amazed. A lot the teams that will be eliminated today are probably first time teams," Myrtle reassured that the number didn't mean anything, no matter how intimidating it was, though the way she said it, it was like she forgot her own team was also in this for the first time.
"Sorry, I just am so excited! When are we up to fight?" Aureolin excitedly requested. That look in her eyes practically gleamed with joy. Linen chuckled, insisting for her to try and calm down. He loved seeing his best friend this happy. The others welcomed the huge amount of enthusiasm.
"We're the fourth match. The enemy team we're fighting are called the Splotches. I don't know much about them, but they appear to be aggressive players, so we just need to be calm and smart about this," Folly elaborated, ready to discuss a plan with them about how to handle the aggressive style play of the enemy team they were going to fight. They all agreed and listened to every word their leader said, though simultaneously, Aureolin watched the huge display screen that showed every fight between the teams playing before them. Each match seemed so beautiful to watch, the paint flying and coating areas. All they could do was wait and watch, though it only took maybe about an hour and a half for the first three fights to already be done.
"Wow. We're barely getting started and already things are getting pretty intense!" Callie said into her microphone, seeing Marie pull out a small reference note. She had a bunch written down to use to announce which team was fighting which.
"Next up! Give a round of applause for our next teams! Both new to the Turf War tourney scene! The Ink Jets and the Splotches!" Marie announced. Aureolin got a nervous smile, hearing the crowd cheering at the announcements. Both teams gathered up at the entrance of the Inktopolis Plaza Tower. The enemy team all seemed to consist of Inkling boys that almost looked exactly alike to one another.
"Whoa…" Folly was caught in surprise, seeing how similar all four of the enemy looked.
"Are you bunch quadruplets?" Linen tilted his head. The enemy leader nodded in response, his spiky blue tentacles for hair sticking straight up in the air like a poorly done mohawk.
"Well… good luck and have fun," Aureolin bid them good luck as both sides entered into the tower. When both sides got on their platforms, there was an awkward silence. Myrtle and Folly were focusing on the game plan, and the yellow inkling herself was mostly trying to keep herself calm. Linen seemed to be the most relaxed out of all of them as the glass encased their platforms. Their pink tentacle haired leader only had one thing to say to his team.
"This is our debut. Let's make sure it's good!"