One sunny afternoon in the battle lobby of Inkopolis Plaza, the Tacklers had just wrapped up a long, hard day of battling in Turf War and were in the locker room getting ready to call it a night.
"Man, you guys", Tack said, "we sure had a great time today."
"I'll say we did", Moose said, "battling against all those other teams in Turf War was a blast and a half."
"You got that right", Uni said, "and you were amazing out there with your Heavy Edit Splatling, Moose."
"I could say the same about you and your Rapid Blaster Deco", Moose said, "especially when you had Inkjet activated."
"Oh", Uni said, "t-thank you."
She then went a little red in the face.
"Yeah, we won quite a few battles today", Bangs said, "but we also lost a few, too."
"You're right, we did", Tack said, "but that's okay, because we've got something better than a high win count."
"What's that", Moose asked.
"Each other", Tack said, "the four of us battling together as a team is the best kind of Turf War experience a guy like me could ever ask for."
"You mean it, Tack", Uni asked.
"Every word of it", Tack said.
"Thanks, man", Moose said, "and you know, you're not too bad yourself as a leader."
"Glad you think so", Tack said, "anywho, now that that's out of the way, I think we've all earned a little treat after all those hard-fought battles we fought in today."
"What kind of treat", Moose asked.
"I was thinking a nice, hot dinner over at Robo ROM-en", Tack said, "does that sound good to everyone?"
"I'm in", Bangs said.
"Me too", Uni said, "it's been a while since we've eaten there."
"Yeah", Moose said, "I've been wanting to try their spicy ramen."
"Alright, then", Tack said, "let's all finish getting our stuff together and head that way."
After the Tacklers finished getting some of their stuff out of their lockers, they made their way over to the train station, where after getting their rail passes scanned, they boarded a train to Splatsville, and upon arrival, they made their way over to Robo ROM-en and walked into the restaurant.
"I just love eating at this place, Uni said.
"Me too", Bangs said, "I've eaten at a lot of high-end restaurants in my time, but none of them even come close to this place."
"Not gonna lie, ramen isn't my favorite noodle-based dish", Moose said, "but even I can't say no to Robo ROM-en."
Tack walked over to the front counter, where a robot was standing.
"Dine in for four, please", Tack said.
"Name", the robot said.
"Tack", Tack said.
"Calculating for available seats", the robot said.
The robot made a bunch of beeping sounds for a few seconds until it finally responded.
"There is a table available for a party of FOUR*, TACK", the waiter said, "your table number is THREE."
"Thank you", Tack said, "let's go, guys."
The Tacklers walked into the main dining area and went over to table number three, and not long after they all took their seats, a robot waiter rolled over to them and handed them some menus.
"Thank you for choosing to dine at Robo ROM-en", the robot said, "please take a moment to look over our menu, and when you are ready to order, press the button under the table to call a waiter to come take your order."
The robot rolled away, and the Tacklers opened up their menus to see what looked good in them.
"So, Moose said he was interested in trying the spicy ramen", Tack said, "what about the rest of you?"
"I think I'm gonna go for the dipping ramen", Bangs said.
"I usually get the butter corn ramen, but I'm feeling a bit adventurous tonight", Uni said, "I'm ordering the brothless ramen."
"Those both sound delicious", Tack said.
After a while, Tack pressed the button under the table to summon a waiter robot who took his and his teammates' orders, and before long: all four of them were feasting on bowls of hot, delicious ramen, with Tack having a bowl of shoyu ramen, and the rest of the Tacklers eating the ramen they had decided they were ordering: Moose eating some spicy ramen, Bangs eating some tsukemen (dipping ramen), and Uni eating some mazemen (brothless ramen), and pretty soon, they had all finished up.
"Mmm, mmm", Bangs said, "that was good."
"And very filling, too", Uni said.
"No doubt about that", Moose said, "any more ramen, and I'd be fit to burst."
"Sounds like we're ready for the ticket", Tack said, "I'll call a waiter."
Tack pressed the button under his table, and a waiter robot rolled over to the table.
"We hope you enjoyed your meal", the waiter said, "now printing receipt."
The waiter printed the Tacklers' receipt through a printing slot on its chest, then handed it to Tack.
"Thank you for dining at Robo ROM-en", the waiter said, "we hope you have a wonderful EVENING."
"Thanks", Tack said.
The robot rolled away, and Tack got up from his seat.
"Come on, guys", Tack said, "let's pay and head on home."
The other Tacklers followed Tack towards the restaurant's counter, but as they walked along, Tack suddenly bumped into someone.
"Hey", a male voice said, "watch where you're going, will ya?"
"Sorry", Tack said, "I..."
Tack stopped when he saw who he had bumped into: a male orange Inkling with a Topknot hairstyle who was wearing the Backward Cap, Baseball Jersey, and Red Sea Slugs, who was accompanied by three other Inklings: a yellow female one with a Wave hairstyle who was wearing the King Flip Mesh, Toni K. Baseball Jersey, and Arrow Pull-Ons, a purple female one with a Haircut hairstyle who was wearing the Zekko Mesh, Zekko Baseball LS, and Pink Trainers, and a lime green male one with a Slick hairstyle who was wearing the Urchins Cap, Urchins Jersey, and Black Seahorses.
"Well, well, look what Judd dragged in", the orange Inkling said, "the Hack-lers."
Tack recognized the orange Inkling and his friends, as did Uni and Bangs, and they were all quite unhappy to see them, to say the least.
"Grand Slam", Tack said.
"Tack", Grand Slam (the orange Inkling) said.
"Flip", Bangs said.
"Bangs", Flip (the yellow Inkling) said.
"Zekka", Uni said.
"Uni", Zekka (the purple Inkling) said.
The lime green Inkling didn't say anything, and Moose just looked at him and the others confused.
"I'm sorry, who are you", Moose asked.
"That's Urch", Flip said, "he doesn't talk much."
"Okay", Moose said, "but I was also referring to the rest of you."
"You don't know who we are", Grand Slam asked.
"Well, I know your names, since the guys just said them", Moose said, "but I have no idea who the heck you guys are."
"Does the team name 'Home Run Homies' ring any bells", Grand Slam asked.
Moose thought to himself for a minute until he finally figured something out.
"Hold on a minute", Moose said, "weren't you guys part of the winning team in the last Splatfest?"
"We sure were", Grand Slam, "and the one before that one, and the one before that one..."
"Huh", Moose said, "it's funny you brought up those Splatfests, because we've actually lost them."
"Yeah, thanks for the reminder", Tack said.
"I take it from yours and the others' reactions that you all know each other", Moose asked.
"Unfortunately", Tack said, "Grand Slam and I were teammates once, until he decided to leave our team and start his own."
"That's right", Grand Slam said, "we used to be one of the best teams around, until we started losing battles thanks to Tack's shoddy leadership."
"We were going through a slump", Tack said, "we'd been through them before then."
"Yeah, but that was no slump", Grand Slam said, "we'd gone from winning up to ten battles in a row to just two if we were lucky."
"That was no reason to walk out on all your teammates like that", Uni said.
"I saw an opportunity to turn my luck around, so I seized it", Grand Slam said, "and boy, did it pay off."
"Yeah", Flip said, "we're the best there is."
"Well, we're not as bad a team as you're making us out to be", Tack said, "we had a pretty hot day in Turf War today."
"That's right", Bangs said, "our highest win streak today was 15 wins."
"Cute", Grand Slam said, "our highest streak in a day is 250."
"250 wins in a row", Moose asked, "that's actually pretty impressive."
"Don't tell him that", Uni said, "you'll only make things worse."
"Anyways, the point I'm trying to make here is if you're looking for wins, you won't get very many of them when your team leader is Tack Rossia", Grand Slam said.
At last, Tack lost patience with his rival.
"We're still as great a team as we ever were", Tack said, "maybe if you'd stuck around, you'd be able to see that."
"Really", Grand Slam asked, "because your recent Splatfest results suggest otherwise."
"So we've had a bit of bad luck in that department", Tack said, "but we're still a top tier team."
"Oh yeah", Grand Slam asked.
"Yeah", Tack said.
"Alright then, let's put your statement to the test", Grand Slam said, "my team and yours, noon tomorrow, Turf War free-for-all, whoever wins the most battles by the end of the rotation is the better team."
"You're on", Tack said, "and to make things more interesting, let's throw in bonus points for longest streak."
"Sure, why not", Grand Slam said, "won't need 'em though, because my team's gonna win way more battles than yours."
"We'll see about that", Tack said.
The two Inklings then shook hands, making their deal official.
"See you tomorrow, Hack", Grand Slam said.
"You too, Grand Sham", Tack said, "come on, guys."
Tack and the other Tacklers left the restaurant, and Grand Slam watched them leave with a smug look on his face.
"Smoking them is gonna be too easy", Grand Slam said.
Later, the Tacklers were riding the train back to Inkopolis, and as they rode along, they decided to talk about Tack and Grand Slam's little arrangement.
"So, we're going up against those Home Run Homies, are we", Moose asked, "not sure how I feel about that."
"Don't worry about them", Uni said, "those guys are just a bunch of braggarts."
"She's right", Bangs said, "they may have a lot of wins, but at the end of the day, they're just a team of show-offs."
"We can handle them no problem", Uni said.
"I sure hope so", Moose said.
"With Tack leading us, how can we fail", Uni said, "right, Tack?"
Tack didn't say anything and was just sitting in his seat looking out the window.
"Tack", Uni asked.
Tack still wasn't listening, as he was too busy remembering the days when he and Grand Slam were teammates.
Flashback
Tack, whose outfit was slightly different, with him wearing the Tentacles Helmet and Black Trainers while still retaining his Varsity Jacket, was fighting a Turf War battle on the Piranha Pit stage using his Splattershot, which looked different than it did in the present (for visual reference, kind of like it did in the first Splatoon game), to ink as much turf as he could, with his ink being a different shade of blue than his normal one because it was the color his team was assigned for the match, and also did so by throwing some Burst Bombs (also from the Splatoon 1 Splattershot), and as he was doing so, the clock was in the last minute of the match and was counting down fast.
"We're running out of time", Tack said, "I gotta hurry so me and the guys can win this thing."
Tack continued to ink the ground with his Splattershot until he heard a sound that was all too familiar to him and made his eyes widen.
"Oh no", Tack said.
An Inkling on the opposing team, which had lime-colored ink, had activated her Kraken special and was swimming towards Tack, prompting him to dive into his ink in squid form and swim away from her as fast as he could.
"Oh shrimp, oh shrimp, oh shrimp, oh shrimp, oh shrimp", Tack said.
Suddenly, the Inkling's special meter ran out, causing her to turn back to normal, and Tack quickly noticed this and began swimming towards her.
"Now's my chance", Tack said.
Tack emerged from his ink in humanoid form and ran towards the other Inkling, and upon noticing him, she began to charge up her Heavy Splatling Deco, but was too late to open fire on Tack because he quickly fired some shots at her with his Splattershot, resulting in her getting splatted.
"Whew, I'm glad that's over", Tack said, "now to go back to inking turf before..."
Before he could finish talking, Tack was hit by a shot that was fired by an Inkling wielding an Inkzooka, which splatted him, and a few seconds later, he respawned back at the spawning point.
"Okay, that one I did not see coming", Tack said, "no matter though, I better gat back out there before..."
Tack was interrupted by the sound of a whistle blowing, which meant the battle was over.
"Too late", Tack said.
A little while later, both teams awaited the results of the battle, and once the calculation for how much turf had been inked by both teams was complete, Judd held up a flag for the opposing team.
"Aw man", Tack said, "not again."
As the opposing team celebrated with their weapons, Tack watched him, and a familiar voice spoke to him.
"Lost again, have we", the voice said.
The voice belonged to none other than Grand Slam.
"That's the tenth one in a row", Grand Slam said, "we haven't won a single match today."
"I'm sorry, Slam", Tack said, "I don't know what the deal is."
"I know what the deal is", Grand Slam said, "you."
"Me", Tack asked.
"That's right", Grand Slam said, "you're the worst leader this team could ever ask for."
"Hey, I'm doing my best", Tack said.
"Yeah, well, your best clearly isn't enough", Grand Slam said, "I don't know what your deal is, but you better get your act together, because I'm starting to get fed up with us losing all the time."
Grand Slam then walked away, leaving Tack to think to himself about what the former had said.
"I'm trying my hardest to be a good leader, but for some reason, I just can't seem to lead us to victory too often", Tack said, "was I really the right choice to lead this team?"
Tack sat down on a bench nearby and began thinking to himself about his current dilemma.
End Flashback
Tack was still remembering what had happened with Grand Slam before, until Uni snapped her fingers.
"Tack", Uni said.
Tack quickly snapped out of it and looked at Uni.
"Huh", Tack asked, "oh, hey Uni, what's up?"
"What were you thinking about", Uni asked.
"Oh, nothing", Tack said, "just about how we're gonna mop the floor with those Home Run Hobos tomorrow."
He then turned turned to the window and looked back out it, feeling a little bit worried to himself.
"At least, I hope that's what's gonna happen", Tack said.
The next day, the Tacklers were making their way to the battle tower in Inkopolis Plaza, ready to take on the Home Run Homies.
"This is it, guys", Tack said, "are you ready to show those Home Wreckers who's boss?"
"We sure are", Uni said.
"I was born ready", Bangs said.
"Ditto", Moose said, "but are you sure we can do it?"
"As sure as I've ever been", Tack said, "just you wait and see."
The Tacklers entered the tower and went over to the lobby, where Grand Slam and the rest of the Home Run Homies were standing near the battle pod, waiting for them.
"Well, well, look who just showed up", Grand Slam said, "you know, for a little while, I thought you guys were gonna be too scared to even bother coming here to take us on."
"You wish", Tack said, "it'll take more than you guys bragging about how good you think you are to keep us away from battling you."
"Feeling confident, I see, I guess that's a good thing", Grand Slam said, "but we'll see if you're still feeling that way after we're done with you."
"Game on, Slammy", Tack said.
The members of the Tacklers and Home Run Homies each took turns going into the battle pod to get themselves signed in for regular battles, and after a few seconds of waiting, the spawners were flying over the Museum d'Alfonsino stage, and one one side of the stage, the Home Run Homies emerged from their spawners with orange ink like Grand Slam's, and on the other side, the Tacklers emerged from their spawners with blue ink like Tack's.
"Okay, guys", Tack said, "let's start this showdown with a bang!"
The team dove into their spawners, and after taking aim, they were shot out of them and onto the stage, after which the clock started.
"Alright, time to get down to business", Tack said, "everybody ink as much turf as you can, and if Home Run Homies show up, avoid getting splatted by them and do everything you can to try and splat them."
"Got it", Moose said.
The group split up and in different directions as they inked the ground with their weapons, and as Tack inked the ground with his Splattershot, he thought to himself about the possibility of winning against the Home Run Homies.
"Just you wait, Slam", Tack said, "I'm gonna show you that my team still is one of the best around."
Over on the highest part of the Tacklers' side of the stage, Moose had inked quite a bit of turf, and as he walked to his right, he noticed Flip inking some turf in one of the lower parts of the middle of the stage with her Carbon Roller Deco and got an idea.
"Looks like the perfect chance for a sneak attack", Moose said.
Moose jumped down and began charging his Heavy Edit Splatling, then proceeded to open fire on Flip, successfully splatting her after a few shots.
"Ha", Moose said, "booyah!"
Suddenly, he heard a whistle, and when he turned his head in the direction it came from, he saw a Splat Bomb flying towards him.
"Whoa", Moose said.
He quickly ran away from the Splat Bomb right as it hit the ground and managed to get away before it exploded, then heard some laughing and saw Zekka looking in his direction with a Slosher in her hands.
"So, you wanna dance, huh", Moose asked, "alright, let's dance!"
Zekka began splashing ink in Moose's direction with her Slosher, but Moose backed away while charging his Heavy Edit Splatling and then fired it at her, but she quickly ran out of its way and continued to run as Moose tried to hit her, but his firing period soon ended, so he began charging up his weapon to start firing again, but Zekka splashed some Ink at him, this time successfully hitting him, and he quickly swam away in some blue ink that was on the ground, but Zekka went after him, splashing more ink, and laughing like a maniac all the while.
"Man, is it just me, or is this chick completely nuts", Moose asked.
Zekka threw a Splat Bomb towards Moose, prompting him to swim away from it and jump into a lower part of the stage, but it proved to be a mistake, as he landed in a bunch of orange ink, which made it hard for him to move.
"Aw great", Moose said, "I should have known this might happen."
Zekka walked over and looked down at the stuck Moose, and smiled wickedly as she got ready to splash some ink on him and splat him, but before she could do so, she suddenly got hit with a thrown Ultra Stamp, resulting in her getting splatted, and then Bangs, the one who had thrown the Ultra Stamp, ran over to where Zekka had been standing and used her Inkbrush Nouveau to ink the ground around Moose, ending his struggles to move.
"Good timing, Bangs", Moose said.
"Glad I could help", Bangs said, "now I gotta go take care of some of the other Homies before..."
Bangs was suddenly cut off by a shot from a charger, which splatted her, much to Moose's shock.
"Bangs", Moose said.
He looked to see where the shot had come from and saw Urch standing on the upper part of the Home Run Homies' side of the stage holding an E-liter 4K Scope.
"Oh, you're gonna get it now", Moose said.
Moose charged up his Heavy Edit Splatling and fired it at Urch, but he quickly dove into his ink and swam away before Moose could hit him.
"Dang it", Moose said.
Moose began charging up again, but before he could fire, he was suddenly hit by a large shot of ink, which resulted in him getting splatted, and over on the Home Run Homies' side, Flip, who had fired at Moose with her newly-activated Trizooka, smiled smugly.
"That's for splatting me at the start of the battle", Flip said.
Unfortunately for Flip, she was too busy gloating to herself that she failed to notice a Torpedo flying towards her that hit her, but she managed to get away before the droplets from the Torpedo exploding hit the ground, and when she looked to see who had thrown the Torpedo, she saw Uni standing nearby with her Rapid Blaster Deco.
"You", Flip asked, "how'd you get here?"
"That doesn't matter", Uni said, "all that matters now is you're gonna pay for splatting Moose."
"Why", Flip asked, "is he your boyfriend, or something?"
"No, I just think he's really great, it all", Uni said, "and I'm not going to let you get away with what you did."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that", Flip said, "but go ahead, come on and try me."
Uni fired some shots at Flip, but she responded by firing her last two Trizooka shots at Uni, but she managed to avoid both shots and ran behind the rotating display next to her take cover, but Flip ran in that direction while rolling her Carbon Roller Deco on the ground, though when she went to where she thought Uni was, Uni was nowhere to be found.
"Huh", Flip asked, "where'd she go?"
Flip wasn't left wondering for much longer, because she was soon splatted by a shot of explosive ink, which was fired at her by Uni, who had managed to ink enough turf to fill her special meter, enabling her to activate her Inkjet.
"Ha", Uni said, "take that, Flip Flop!"
She then noticed Urch nearby getting ready to fire another shot at Tack, who was down in the center of the stage, but she fired a shot at him, missing him and alerting him of her presence, and he tried to get away from her, but it was all in vain, because another shot later, he ended up getting splatted by Uni.
"You just got jetted, Urchy", Uni said.
Suddenly, her Inkjet's time ended, causing her to super jump back to the spot where she had originally activated it.
"Man, I am on fire", Uni said, "nothing can stop me..."
Suddenly, a Toxic Mist was thrown where Uni was standing, and she found herself surrounded by orange fog that made it hard for her to move.
"What the", Uni asked.
Then, she was hit by a few shots of ink and subsequently splatted, and the one who had splatted her and also thrown the Toxic Mist, Grand Slam, held up his Custom Jet Squelcher and smiled.
"And another Tackler strikes out", Grand Slam said.
He then walked over to the edge of his team's side of the stage and looked down at Tack, who was trying to avoid getting hit by some Splat Bombs that Zekka was throwing.
"Yo, Hack, you teammates are starting to drop like flies out here", Grand Slam said, "I'd say you guys have just about lost this fight."
Tack jumped onto some higher ground and took cover from Zekka behind a wall, then called back up to Grand Slam.
"Don't count us out yet", Tack said, "there's still time for us to pull a win off."
Tack then jumped out of his hiding spot firing his Splattershot in Zekka's direction.
"Okay", Grand Slam said, "I mean, I doubt it, but whatever floats your boat."
And so, the battle went on, with the Tacklers doing everything they could to ensure that they won it, but the Home Run Homies proved themselves to be very formidable opponents, and pretty soon, a whistle was blown, which meant the battle had come to an end.
"And that's time", Tack said, "good job, Tacklers."
"Yes, good job", Grand Slam said, "but was it good enough?"
"We'll find out soon enough", Grand Slam said.
After getting picked up by their spawners and getting taken back to the lobby, the Tacklers and Home Run Homies watched the big screen for the final results, and once the results were calculated, Li'l Judd held up an orange flag, which meant that the Home Run Homies were the winners.
"Ha", Grand Slam said, "we win!"
The team then proceeded to perform their victory emotes, with Grand Slam's being a You're Welcome, Flip's being a No Chill, Zekka's being a Wave 'Em Off, and Urch's being a Who's Next?
"In your face, Hack-lers", Grand Slam said.
"Don't count your golden eggs before they hatch", Tack said, "this is only the first match."
"That's right", Bangs said, "the rotation is still young."
"We've got two whole hours to beat you guys", Moose said.
"You guys would need way more time than that if you wanted to beat us", Grand Slam said.
"But even then, your chances would still be slim", Flip said.
"Yeah", Zekka said, "we'd splat you, and then splat you again, and then splat you again, and then..."
"Splat us again", Uni asked.
"Hey, I was gonna say that", Zekka said.
Uni just rolled her eyes.
"We're not done yet, Slam", Tack said, "come the end of this battle, you're gonna be eating your words with a pair of chopsticks, just like at Robo ROM-en."
"Joke's on you", Grand Slam said, "I eat all my Asian food with a knife and fork."
"Huh, I thought I was the only person who did that", Moose said.
"Well, you're still gonna eat 'em, no matter what kind of utensil you use", Tack said.
"Fine by me", Grand Slam said, "but I should warn you: I'm not feeling very hungry."
Just then, the bell in the lobby rang.
"Are you two done trash talking yet", Bangs asked, "because it's time to go to battle now."
Tack and Grand Slam exchanged intimidating glares with each other, and a few minutes later, the spawners were flying over the Eeltail Alley stage, until they eventually stopped at each end of the stage, with the Home Run Homies emerging from theirs with lime green ink, and the Tacklers emerging from theirs with purple ink, and after taking aim, they all launched themselves out of the spawners and onto the stage, with the Tacklers wasting no time in inking the ground once they landed.
"Alright, guys", Tack said, "we may have lost that first battle, but I know we can win this one!"
"We're with you all the way, Tack", Moose said.
The Tacklers split up in different directions, inking as much turf as they could as they went along, and as Tack was inking some turf, he noticed Urch on the bridge part of the stage and got an idea.
"As the other team's sniper, Urch is a huge threat to me and my team", Tack said, "I better take him out now so he won't be a problem later."
Tack inked some ground with his Splattershot and tried to swim in it to sneak up on Urch, but after he swam up the wall and got onto the bridge, an Ink Mine went off, dealing a lot of damage to Tack and marking him, and Urch, who had originally placed down the Ink Mine, turned and looked in Tack's direction.
"Uh oh", Tack said.
Urch took aim with his E-liter 4K Scope, but Tack jumped out of the way and landed on the lower part of the stage, where he took cover, and not long afterwards, Moose showed up.
"You doing alright, Tack", Moose asked.
"I was", Tack said, "until I set off an ink mine and almost got splatted by Mr. Personality up there."
"Don't worry", Moose said, "I think I've got just the thing for you."
Moose then activated his Tacticooler and placed it down on the ground, and it dispensed some drinks for him and Tack.
"Bottoms up", Moose said.
Moose and Tack took some sips from their drinks, and they both found themselves feeling more full of energy than they were before.
"Oh, yeah", Tack said, "let's do this!"
Tack ran back towards the bridge and swam up the wall to it, then threw a Suction Bomb at Urch, causing him to run away upon seeing it, and once he got away from it before it exploded, he took aim with his E-liter 4K Scope and looked around for Tack, but couldn't see him anywhere, and then, from down below, Tack shot at him with his Splattershot and Splatted Urch.
"Ha", Tack said, "so much for the silent hunter."
Elsewhere, Bangs and Uni were trying to get into the Home Run Homies' side of the stage, but Zekka was slowing them down by throwing Splat Bombs and splashing ink in their direction with her Slosher.
"I don't know where Zekka's more annoying: on or off the battlefield", Uni said.
"You said it", Bangs said, "I just hope she doesn't activate her Tri-Strike."
Just then, Zekka's special meter filled up, and she activated her special: Triple Inkstrike, and as Uni and Bangs heard the sound of the missiles launching, the former gave the latter an annoyed glare.
"I know, I know", Bangs said, "I had to jinx it, didn't I?"
Zekka threw one of the Triple Inkstrike's beacons at Uni and Bangs, and the marker for where the missile would land appeared.
"Run", Bangs said.
Uni and Bangs narrowly escaped the missile right as it landed, and Zekka threw her remaining two beacons, with the missiles they signaled also almost hitting Uni and Bangs, but like before, they got away from them by the skin of their teeth.
"You can't run from me", Zekka said, "I'm gonna get you, and then I'm gonna splash you, and then splash you again, and then splash you so much ink that you're gonna..."
She was abruptly cut off by some shots from Moose's Heavy Edit Splatling, which all made contact with her and splatted her.
"Man, this girl's starting to tick me off", Moose said.
Uni and Bangs quickly came out from where they had been hiding and ran over to Moose.
"You couldn't come sooner", Bangs asked, "like, before she activated her special?"
"Sorry, I got a bit tied up", Moose said, "these guys are tough customers."
"Never mind that", Bangs said, "let's just hurry up and get in their base before any more Homies show up."
"Too late", Flip said.
The others turned around and saw Flip, whose ink was glowing, which could only mean one thing.
"It's 'Zooka time", Flip said.
Flip activated her Trizooka and fired it at the three Inklings, prompting them to quickly scatter, and she tried to fire her second shot at them, but to no avail.
"You won't get away that easily", Flip said, "you can't escape me or my Trizooka!"
Suddenly, she was splatted by a shot from another Trizooka, and the rest of the Tacklers looked to see Tack holding his Trizooka, having been the one to fire it at Flip.
"Sorry Flip, but you're not the only one here with that special", Tack said.
"Good timing, bro", Uni said.
"Thanks", Tack said, "now let's get over there and seal the deal on this battle."
Tack used his last two Trizooka shots to ink the turf ahead of him and the other Tacklers, and he and the others advanced on the Home Run Homies' side of the stage, but Grand Slam could see them coming and had a plan.
"So, the Tacklers think they've made it to our side, do they", Grand Slam asked, "well, they won't get very far."
Tack and the other Tacklers were all frantically inking as much turf as they could in an effort to gain the upper hand in the battle.
"That's it, guys", Tack said, "keep it coming!"
Just then, a large capsule was thrown on the ground near them, making a noise as it did so, which caught the Tacklers' attentions, and a lime green-colored cloud appeared in the sky and began raining ink of that same color down on the ground.
"Uh-oh", Tack said, "it's an Ink Storm!"
It was indeed an Ink Storm, which was Grand Slam's special weapon that he had thrown in an attempt to stop the Tacklers.
"Fall back", Tack said.
The Tacklers tried to escape the Ink Storm, but some of them still managed to get hit by the ink as it rained down on them, dealing a bit of damage to them.
"Keep running", Tack said, "we have to find a place to take cover until the Ink Storm ends."
Suddenly, a Wave Breaker was thrown down, courtesy of Urch, and it generated some shockwaves that both marked the Tacklers and did some damage to them, with Uni getting splatted due to her already taking a lot of damage from Grand Slam's Ink Storm.
"Oh no", Tack said.
Urch then proceeded to fire a shot at Moose and splat him, and Bangs got splatted by some splashes of ink from a respawned Zekka's Slosher, and Tack began to feel worried.
"Things aren't looking very hot right now", Tack said.
And to rub salt on the wound, Grand Slam fired at him with his Custom Jet Squelcher, splatting him too, and also wiping out the Tacklers.
"That was too easy", Grand Slam said, "come on Homies, let's wrap this up!"
Back on the Tacklers' side of the stage, all four of them managed to respawn and launched themselves back onto the stage.
"I guess we should have seen that coming, huh, guys", Uni said.
"Yeah", Moose said, "from now on, I'll be sure to think twice before I underestimate Ink Storm."
Tack looked in the distance and saw the Home Run Homies run into his team's side of the stage and start inking the ground, and upon seeing it, he grew very angry.
"Enough talk", Tack said, "come on, we've got to get those guys."
"I don't know, Tack", Bangs said, "rushing in without a plan doesn't seem like such a good idea to me."
"Fine then, here's the plan: splat those guys and get them out of our base", Tack said, "now let's go!"
Tack swam in squid form through the ink on the ground towards the Home Run Homies, and the other Tacklers, who were all feeling a bit concerned about their leader, followed him and tried to fight back against the Home Run Homies, and although they managed to get some splats, the Homies continued to put up a fight against the Tacklers, managed to splat them several times and even wiping them out once more, and pretty soon, the battle ended, with the spawners taking both teams back to the Lobby, and after the results of the battle were calculated, Li'l Judd held up his lime green flag, which meant that the Home Run Homies had won yet again.
"Oh yeah", Grand Slam said, "two in a row!"
The Home Run Homies celebrated with their emotes once again, and the Tacklers looked on in annoyance.
"Figures most of them would pick the most disrespectful emotes anyone could use", Moose said.
"Yeah, I know", Bangs said, "it's also kind of obnoxious."
Grand Slam walked over to Tack laughing.
"You know, you don't have to put yourself through this any longer if you don't want to", Grand Slam said, "you guys are free to quit any time you want."
"Oh please, we're just getting warmed up", Tack said, "in no time flat, you guys are gonna be tasting the bitter taste of defeat."
"You guys still don't have a chance of beating us, but it'll be fun to see you try", Grand Slam said, "cute even."
"We'll see just how fun it is after we've beaten you", Tack said.
So, the Tacklers and Home Run Homies resumed their battles, and although the former team gave it their all, the latter team continued to emerge victorious in each match, and in one battle, both teams were back on Museum d'Alfonsino, where the Tacklers' ink color was yellow and the Home Run Homies' ink color was blue, and the members of the former team were trying to avoid getting caught in Zekka's Triple Inkstrike while also staying out of the path of Grand Slam's Ink Storm.
"This is getting intense", Moose said.
"Keep going, guys", Tack said, "this is gonna be the one, I just know it!"
Once she had used all three of her Triple Inkstrike beacons, Zekka jumped down and began splashing ink around with her Slosher, but Moose managed to splat her with his Heavy Edit Splatling, which also filled his special meter.
"Alright", Moose said, "it's 'Cooler time!"
Moose activated his Tacticooler and threw it down on the ground.
"Come and get it, everyone", Moose said.
Moose grabbed his drink from the Tacticooler, and the others went and grabbed theirs as well, and after he drank his, Tack became more determined than ever to win the battle.
"Alright", Tack said, "time to show these bozos who the real hacks are."
Tack ran forward firing his Splattershot, but was suddenly splatted by Grand Slam and his Custom Jet Squelcher, who smiled at his rival's misfortune.
"When will he ever learn", Grand Slam asked.
Grand Slam jumped down and joined his teammates in inking the ground, but suddenly, a Suction Bomb was thrown near him and went off, and he looked up in surprise to see a respawned Tack.
"What", Grand Slam asked, "how..."
"Tacticooler drinks make you respawn almost instantly", Tack said, "also..."
Tack then activated his Trizooka.
"That was all I needed to fill my special meter", Tack said.
He then fired a shot at Grand Slam, splatting him as he attempted to flee, and then he fired another shot at a nearby Urch, missing him the first time, but successfully hitting him the second time, and the other Tacklers watched this happen with excitement.
"Way to go, Tack", Moose said.
Nearby, Flip was chasing Bangs while rolling her Carbon Roller Deco on the ground, but she accidentally stepped on an Ink Mine that Bangs had set previously, causing it to go off and damage her, and Bangs proceeded to splat her with her Inkbrush Nouveau, and on another part of the stage, Zekka was going after Uni, trying to splat her with her Slosher, but Uni was returning fire with her Rapid Blaster Deco, and after a few shots, she filled her special meter and activated her Inkjet, then splatted Zekka from up in the air, and as Tack watched this, he smiled.
"Oh, yeah", Tack said, "this battle is as good as won."
The Tacklers carried on with their advance until the end of the match, and back in the lobby, once the results were calculated, Judd held up a yellow flag, which meant that the Tacklers had won the battle.
"Yes", Tack said, "finally, we won!"
The Tacklers all celebrated with their Reppin' Inkopolis emotes, and once they finished, Tack walked over to an unamused Grand Slam.
"How do you like that, Bland Slam", Tack asked, "we just won a battle!"
"You're right, you did", Grand Slam said, "and it only took you an hour to finally do it."
"Yeah", Zekka said, "and there's still another hour before the stages rotate!"
"You guys will never top us", Flip said, "there's just no way."
"We're not giving up that easily", Tack said, "right, guys?"
"What", Moose asked, "oh, yeah, no way."
"Not a chance", Bangs said.
"You won't beat us", Uni said.
"That's the spirit, guys", Tack said, "now come on, let's show these guys who the real number one team is!"
Tack walked into the training area and began practicing with his Splattershot, and as the other Tacklers watched him, they began to express their concerns about their leader.
"Hey, guys", Moose said, "is it just me, or is Tack starting to get a bit too competitive?"
"It's not you", Bangs said, "I see it too."
"Me too", Uni said, "I'm kind of worried about him."
"Yeah, me too", Moose said, "I think he's letting that Grand Slam guy get really get to him."
"Slam's just some jerk who likes to brag about his achievements every chance he gets", Bangs said, "if only Tack would just ignore him like the rest of us do."
But Tack was still determined to prove how good he was to Grand Slam, and so, the battles continued, with the Tacklers winning several more, but the Home Run Homies still won a fair number of battles, and soon, the stage rotation ended, and the group gathered around to tally the final results.
"Okay", Flip said, "time to see who won it all."
Flip counted the number of wins each team got during the stage rotation, and soon had the results ready.
"And the final score is: Tacklers with 11 wins, plus five points for their five win streak, and Home Run Homies with 29 wins, plus 20 points for their 20 win streak", Flip said, "with a whopping total of 49 points, the Home Run Homies are the winners!"
She and the other Home Run Homies all celebrated together, while Tack looked at them with an angry look on his face.
"Oh well, win some, you lose some", Moose said, "don't feel too bad about it Tack, there's always other battles against other teams."
But Tack wasn't listening, because he was too busy having another flashback from when he and Grand Slam were teammates.
Flashback
Tack's team had come off of yet another loss, and as Grand Slam walked out of the battle tower, Tack called out to him.
"Hey, Grand Slam", Tack said.
Grand Slam didn't respond and just kept walking, so Tack called out to him again.
"Slam", Tack said.
Grand Slam turned around and looked at Tack with a very angry look on his face.
"What do you want", Grand Slam asked.
"Where are you going", Tack asked, "there are still battles to be fought."
"Not with this team, there aren't", Grand Slam said, "I'm done."
"What", Tack asked.
"You heard me", Grand Slam said, "I've had enough of you and your lousy leadership."
"Not this again", Tack said, "come on dude, it's not my fault we haven't been winning as much as we used to."
"Sure it is", Grand Slam said, "the team leader's supposed to do everything in his power to lead his team to victory."
"And I am", Tack said, "luck just hasn't been on our side very much is all."
"Yeah, well, I'm not gonna wait around with you guys for it to come back", Grand Slam said, "I'm done."
"What do you mean you're done", Tack asked.
"I mean I'm tired of being on a team that can't win worth a darn", Grand Slam said, "I'm gonna go and start my own turf war team."
"Come on man, you can't just walk out on us like this", Tack said.
"Sure I can", Grand Slam said, "in fact, that's what I'm doing right now."
"Please Slam, just stay with us a little while longer", Tack said, "maybe once we've moved to Inkopolis Square, our luck will finally turn around."
"That'll be the day", Grand Slam said, "but until it comes, I'll be seeing you."
Grand Slam turned around and went on his way, leaving behind a heartbroken Tack.
"I can't believe he's really doing it", Tack said, "Grand Slam..."
End Flashback
Tack was feeling even more livid after remembering that, and the Home Run Homies began to walk towards the exit.
"Well, it's been fun, but we've gotta go now", Grand Slam said, "we need to celebrate our triumph over you guys in the best way possible."
But before they could leave, Tack called out to them.
"Hey, Home Run Hummies", Tack shouted.
The team all looked back at Tack.
"You really think you've beaten us", Tack said, "this isn't over yet."
"Of course it is", Grand Slam said, "we won more Turf War battles than you."
"Maybe", Tack said, "but what about in Anarchy Battles?"
"Anarchy Battles, you say", Grand Slam asked.
"That's right", Tack said, "Turf War is one thing, but Anarchy Battles are a fish of a different color."
"What are you saying", Grand Slam asked.
"I'm saying I challenge you and your team to a few rounds of Anarchy Battles", Tack asked, "how does that sound?"
"Sounds good to me", Grand Slam said, "beating you in two different modes in the same day will give us even more reason to celebrate."
The other Tacklers could hardly believe their ears, and Bangs walked over to Tack.
"Could you excuse us for just a second", Bangs asked.
Bangs grabbed Tack by the facemask on his helmet and dragged him over to where the others were.
"Tack, what are you doing", Bangs asked.
"I'm showing Grand Spam that even though we lost his challenge, we're still a great team", Tack said.
"Dude, it's over", Moose said, "let it go."
"Yeah", Uni said, "who cares what he says about us?"
"I care", Tack said, "because no one insults me and my team and gets away with it."
"And you seriously want us to go up against his team again", Moose asked.
"Well, duh", Tack said.
"Dude, we literally just battled for two hours straight without a break", Bangs said, "we need time to rest after fighting all those battles."
"We can rest after we've beaten those baseball-loving braggarts", Tack said, "but until then, we're not stopping."
Tack walked away, leaving the other Tacklers more concerned than ever.
"It's official", Bangs said, "he's lost it."
Tack made his way back over to Grand Slam and spoke to him.
"Here are the rules: Open Anarchy Battles, best three out of five", Tack said, "first team to get three wins is the winner."
"Let's play ball", Grand Slam said.
The two Inklings shook hands, and the other Inklings watched them do so.
"I've got a bad feeling about this", Moose said.
"Welcome to the club", Bangs said.
After the teams signed in for Open Anarchy Battles in the battle pod, they were soon flying over the Mahi-Mahi Resort stage in its Rainmaker form in their spawners and emerged from them on each side of the stage, with the Home Run Homies having turquoise ink, and the Tacklers having red ink.
"Okay, you guys", Tack said, "let's get out there and give them shell!"
"Sure, Tack", Moose said, "whatever you say."
Both teams dove into their spawners and took aim, and after launching onto the stage, they began running towards the center of it.
"Let's go", Tack said, "we need to get the Rainmaker and at least go as far as we can with it so we can establish a good lead."
The Tacklers made their way over to where the Rainmaker was, inking the ground with their weapons as they did so, but by the time they had gotten there, the Home Run Homies had already beaten them to the Rainmaker and were inking its shield with their weapons, causing it to expand in their ink's color.
"Carp, they're already here", Tack said, "ink the shield, quick!"
The Tacklers attacked the Rainmaker shield with their weapons in an effort to make it burst in their ink color, but the Home Run Homies weren't going to let them get the Rainmaker so easily and attacked not only its shield, but also the Tacklers, managing to splat Moose, and soon enough, they managed to make the Rainmaker's shield burst, with turquoise ink splashing everywhere and splatting Uni and Bangs, who had both been within range of the shield's blast radius, and the Rainmaker was seized by Flip, who began to carry it towards her team's first checkpoint on the Tacklers' side of the stage.
"Oh no you don't", Tack said.
Flip fired the Rainmaker in the direction of the checkpoint to make a path to it and swam in the ink to get there, with Zekka also inking some ground with her Slosher to assist her, and Tack fired his Splattershot at them in an attempt to stop their advance, but Zekka returned his fire with her Slosher, forcing him to turn his attention to her, but right as he managed to splat her, Flip put the Rainmaker in the checkpoint, successfully breaking through it and also causing the water level on the stage to drop.
"Cod dang it", Tack said, "just what we needed."
Flip began inking the Rainmaker's shield with some Burst Bombs and her Carbon Roller Deco, but Tack managed to splat her before she could ink it too much and began inking it himself, and not long afterwards, the rest of the Tacklers showed up and began inking the shield as well.
"Took you guys long enough", Tack said.
"Sorry", Moose said, "respawn time, you know?"
"No excuses", Tack said, "give me a hand with this shield, will ya?"
"What do you think we're doing now", Moose asked.
At last, the Tacklers managed to make the shield burst, with red ink flying everywhere.
"I've got it", Uni said.
Uni grabbed the Rainmaker and swam away through some ink with it.
"Come on", Tack said, "we need to get that thing to the checkpoint now before the Homies get a chance to catch back up."
The rest of the Tacklers went with Uni towards the checkpoint, but before they could get very far, Grand Slam activated his Ink Storm and tossed it onto the stage, and turquoise ink began raining down on the ground and moving towards the Tacklers.
"Uh oh", Moose said, "Ink Storm at 12:00!"
"Fall back", Uni said.
"No, don't", Tack said, "we need to break through the checkpoint!"
"Yeah, but the Ink Storm will make it hard to advance on it", Bangs said.
"It'll be fine", Tack said, "now hurry, Uni!"
Uni fired the rainmaker forward and swam through its trail of ink and through the Ink Storm, successfully making it past it, but she took a lot of damage from it and rose up out of the ink.
"Oh, yeah", Uni said, "I'm feeling totally fine right now."
But as she ran forward with the Rainmaker, she stepped on an Ink Mine laid by Urch that exploded, and also splatted her, due to the damage she had already taken from the Ink Storm, and also caused her to drop the Rainmaker.
"We lost the Rainmaker", Moose said.
"Well, don't just stand there", Tack said, "let's get it back!"
The remaining Tacklers inked the Rainmaker's shield to try and make it burst, but the Home Run Homies were also inking it with the same goal in mind, and nearby, Zekka had a trick up her sleeve.
"It's time for me to strike", Zekka said.
Zekka activated her Triple Inkstrike, launching its three missiles, into the air, then threw one of her beacons at the Rainmaker's shield.
"Oh no", Moose said.
The missile then landed on the shield, its impact causing it to explode thanks to it already having been inked sufficiently enough by the rest of the Home Run Homies, and the impact of the shield exploding splatted Moose and Bangs, and Zekka threw her second beacon near Tack, prompting him to swim away right before the missile came down, but he ended up getting caught in the third missile, splatting him and also wiping out the Tacklers.
"Ha", Zekka said, "in your face."
"Good job, Zekka", Grand Slam said, "now let's wrap this up."
Grand Slam grabbed the Rainmaker, and back on the Tacklers' side of the stage, they all respawned, and Tack angrily looked at his teammates.
"What is wrong with you guys", Tack said, "you're letting these guys walk all over us!"
"You think we want them to do that", Bangs asked.
"We should be winning this thing, but instead, we're not", Tack said, "now let's get back out there and make sure that doesn't happen."
Tack ran forward with his teammates begrudgingly following him, and they saw the Home Run Homies running towards their goal spot, with Grand Slam still carrying the Rainmaker.
"Don't let them anywhere near that goal", Tack said.
Tack threw a Suction Bomb at the goal, and it exploded, getting his team's ink all over it, then fired his Splattershot towards Tack.
"This ought to slow him down", Tack said.
But not long after that happened, Flip activated her Trizooka and fired it at Tack, splatting him, and then fired a shot towards the goal, getting ink on it and also around it some, and although the other Tacklers tried to stop him, Grand Slam swam towards the goal and managed to put the Rainmaker in it, and upon doing so, the whistle blew, signaling the end of the match.
"Yes", Grand Slam said, "winner by a knockout!"
Back at the lobby, the two teams watched as the results were calculated, and Li'l Judd held up a turquoise flag, signaling that the Home Run Homies had indeed won the battle by a knockout like Grand Slam said.
"Alright", Grand Slam said, "we did it, guys!"
As the Home Run Homies celebrated with their emotes, Tack looked at his teammates.
"What was that", Tack asked, "were you guys even trying?"
"Give us a break man, we were doing out best", Moose said.
"Yeah", Uni said, "but Anarchy Battles are more grueling than Regular Battles."
"I don't want your excuses", Tack said, "I want results!"
"Dude, seriously, calm down", Bangs said.
"I am calm", Tack said, "I just need to beat Grand Slime and his slimeball buddies so I can finally stick it to them how great we are!"
Tack walked away, and his teammates all looked at each other.
"I think we're at the point of no return", Bangs said.
"There has to be a way to snap him out of it", Uni said.
"At this point, I think our only option is to defeat the Home Run Homies", Moose said.
"I'm afraid that might only fuel his madness", Bangs said, "but I can't think of any better ideas, so I guess we'll give it a shot."
Tack then walked back over to the trio.
"Battle time, team", Tack said, "let's get a move on!"
"Sure, Tack", Bangs said, "whatever you say."
So, the Tacklers continued their battle against the Home Run Homies in Open Anarchy Battles, and miraculously enough, the former team managed to win the next two battles, putting them ahead by two, and in the battle after those, which was on Sturgeon Shipyard, the clock was running out, and the Home Run Homies, whose ink was colored purple, had the lead, and Grand Slam, who had orange ink, along with his teammates, was carrying the Rainmaker past their checkpoint, but the Tacklers were doing everything they could to stop him from getting any farther.
"Show no mercy", Tack said, "slam the door shut on Grand Slam's advance!"
Grand Slam fired the Rainmaker at the Tacklers, and they quickly scrambled to avoid getting splatted by it, and as Tack fired his Splattershot, he thought to himself.
"Oh, I can see it now", Tack said, "it won't be long before Grand Slam experiences the feeling of losing to us."
He then looked at his watch to see how much time was left in the match, and saw that it was down to the final ten seconds.
"Shoot, we're running out of time", Tack said, "someone better splat him soon."
Tack's wish came true, because at that moment, Moose splatted Grand Slam with his Heavy Edit Splatling, causing him to drop the Rainmaker.
"And he's out", Moose said.
"Finally", Tack said, "I thought would never happen."
Just then, the clock went down to zero, and an alarm went off across the stage, which could only mean one thing:
"Overtime", Bangs said.
"No time to lose, people", Tack said, "grab the Rainmaker, and let's book it to the other side of the stage so we can take the lead and win this thing!"
"I'm all over it", Uni said.
Uni grabbed the Rainmaker and swam towards the Home Run Homies' side of the stage, with her teammates following her and inking as much turf as the could to make a path for her, but as they got to the middle of the stage, the Home Run Homies had been lying in wait for them and were finally ready to make their move.
"Alright, guys", Grand Slam said, "let's strike these guys out!"
Grand Slam began firing his weapon at the Tacklers, with the rest of the Homies joining in on the attack, and the Tacklers quickly moved around to avoid getting hit, also disorienting themselves in the process.
"Don't let them mess you up, guys", Tack said, "just stay focused and..."
Tack was interrupted by a shot from Urch's E-liter 4K Scope that splatted him, sending him back to his spawner, where he respawned feeling very angry.
"Stupid sniper", Tack said, "no matter, this is just a minor setback, and I have faith that my teammates will..."
But before he could finish, the whistle blew, which meant the battle was over, to his annoyance.
"Well, shrimp", Tack said.
Back at the lobby, the results were being calculated, and sure enough, Li'l Judd held up an orange flag, which meant that the Home Run Homies were the winner.
"Aw yeah", Grand Slam said, "that's more like it."
While the Home Run Homies performed their emotes, Tack got down on his knees with his left hand down and swung his Splattershot up and down in disappointment (kind of like the Splatoon 1 Shooter losing animation).
"We were so close", Tack said, "we almost had those guys beat!"
"I'm sorry, Tack", Uni said, "I tried to get past them, but..."
"Zip it", Tack said, "I don't want to hear a word from you guys."
Grand Slam then walked over to Tack chuckling.
"Talk about nostalgia", Grand Slam said, "I haven't seen anyone react to a loss like that in years."
"Oh yeah", Tack asked, "well, your reaction to your upcoming loss is going to be something no one's seen period."
"It probably will be", Grand Slam said, "but I doubt anyone gonna be seeing it any time soon."
"Oh, yes they will", Tack said, "and once we win this next battle, I'll make sure of it!"
Tack and Grand Slam once again began trading insults back and forth, and while that was going on, the rest of the Tacklers, who had decided they'd had enough of Tack and his overly-competitive attitude, spoke to one another.
"So, have you guys ever tried brownie pie before", Bangs asked.
"No, I don't think so", Uni said.
"Can't say that I have", Moose said, "why?"
"There's this bakery in town I went to a lot when I was little that served a mean brownie pie", Bangs said, "what do you say we swing by there and each get a slice?"
"Sounds good to me", Uni said.
"Me too", Moose said, "anything beats fighting another battle with the Mad Lineman over there."
"Amen", Bangs said.
And with that, the rest of the Tacklers quietly slipped away while Tack was trash talking Grand Slam.
"Face it, Slack", Grand Slam said, "we're just one win away from yet another triumph over your lame team."
"My team is anything but lame", Tack said, "and we're gonna make you regret ever insulting us last night, right, guys?"
But when Tack turned to look at his teammates, they were nowhere to be seen.
"Guys", Tack asked.
"Where's your team, buddy", Grand Slam asked.
"They were here earlier", Tack said, "guys?"
Tack looked around for his teammates, calling out their names, but he couldn't find them anywhere.
"I can't find them anywhere", Tack said, "where could they be?"
"Maybe they got tired and left you", Flip said.
"Yeah, just like Grand Slam did all those years ago", Zekka said.
"Yeah, right", Tack said, "my teammates would never do that."
"Then where are they", Grand Slam asked.
"I don't know, exactly", Tack said.
"Well, they're clearly not here", Grand Slam said.
"And without your team, you can't fight in the next battle, which I guess means that you forfeit", Flip said, "and that means..."
"We win", Zekka shouted.
"By default, mind you", Grand Slam said, "but either way, a win is a win."
The Home Run Homies all celebrated together while Tack went red in the face with anger.
"Well, I guess that's that", Grand Slam said, "see you around, Lack."
"As in 'lack of a team'", Zekka said.
Zekka laughed wildly as she walked away with the rest of the home run Homies, and Tack angrily made his way into the locker room and walked up to his locker, which was a blue locker, and punched it so hard that he left a dent in it.
"I'm never gonna forgive those guys for doing this to me", Tack said, "never!"
At last, Tack arrived back at his team's apartment at Flounder Heights, where he sat down on the couch.
"I was sure we had this challenge in the bag, but no, my teammates had to be bad today", Tack said, "they're usually way better than this."
He sighed and laid down on the couch.
"That I can forgive, but not deserting me when I needed them most", Tack said, "I don't think I'll ever be able to live this down."
"You're right", a male voice said, "you'll never live something like this down."
"Your friends leaving you, that is", a female voice said.
Tack sat up and looked around for the source of the voices.
"Who said that", Tack asked.
"Over here", the female voice said.
Tack turned his head in the direction the voice came from and saw a picture hung up of his and Uni's parents, which had somehow come to life.
"Hello, son", Mrs. Rossia said.
"Mom, Dad", Tack asked.
"Sort of", Mrs. Rossia said, "listen, Tack, we need to talk."
"Yes", Mr. Rossia said, "we're very disappointed in how you've been treating your friends."
"What about them", Tack asked.
"Like I said, they're your friends", Mr. Rossia said, "and this is how you thank them for doing nothing but their best?"
"Their best wasn't enough to beat Grand Slam and his team", Tack said.
"That's no excuse for how you acted towards them", Mrs. Rossia said, "they really were trying their hardest to help you win against the Home Run Homies, and you treated them like they weren't any good."
"I mean, they weren't exactly at their best today", Tack said.
"Why did beating Grand Slam even matter so much", Mrs. Rossia asked, "you aren't usually like this with other teams."
"Ever since he left my team and started winning more than we do, he's had this idea that his team is better than ours", Tack said, "I just want to prove to him that we're still as good as we used to be."
"Who cares what a show-off like him thinks", Mr. Rossia asked.
"I care", Tack said, "because I know we're the best, and I want him to see that."
"That's just it", Mrs. Rossia said, "you don't need to make him see it."
"What do you mean", Tack asked.
"You said it yourself, you know you're the best", Mrs. Rossia said, "so why does it matter what anyone else tells you?"
"Your mother's right", Mr. Rossia said, "you shouldn't waste your time worrying about everything people say about you or your team."
At last, Tack began to see what his parents were getting at.
"As long as you know you're good, then that's all you need to worry about", Mr. Rossia said, "now what other people say about you."
"You're right", Tack said, "I guess somewhere in all those battles, I sort of forgot about that."
"I's alright, son", Mr. Rossia said.
"I'm sorry, you guys", Tack said.
"We appreciate your apology, but it's not us you need to say that to", Mr. Rossia said.
"Correct", Mrs. Rossia said, "that apology should go to your sister and friends."
"I don't know, you guys were right about how I treated them", Tack said, "I can't see them forgiving me after that."
"You definitely won't if you don't at least try", Mrs. Rossia said.
"But I don't know how", Tack said.
"You'll come up with something", Mrs. Rossia said, "we just know it."
"Because you're the best friend and leader they could ever ask for", Mr. Rossia said.
And with that, the picture of the Rossia parents went back to being just a picture, and Tack was now determined to make it up to his friends.
"I know what I have to do", Tack said, "I have to make things right and get the Tacklers back together again."
He got up from the couch and began walking towards the apartment door.
"And I think I know just how I'm gonna do it", Tack said.
Later that evening, Moose, Uni, and Bangs were all walking down the hall to their apartment, all three of them chatting about their earlier treat.
"Man, that brownie pie was good", Uni said.
"I'll say it was", Moose said, "I should have asked that baker for his recipe so I can make it sometime."
"Good luck with that", Bangs said, "he doesn't let anyone touch his secret recipes."
"Oh", Moose said, "well, maybe I can find a copycat recipe online."
The trio went inside the apartment, and upon noticing Tack standing in the kitchen, their moods suddenly changed.
"Oh", Bangs said, "look who's here."
"Hey, guys", Tack said.
"Here, we've got something for you", Moose said.
Moose handed Tack a piece of paper.
"What's this", Tack asked.
"The receipt from the bakery we went to for some pie", Moose said.
"We thought you'd like that instead of an excuse", Uni said.
"Okay, I deserve that", Tack said, "but now it's my turn to give you guys something."
Tack walked into the kitchen and came back carrying an item under a towel, then removed the towel to reveal something that made the others' eyes go wide in surprise.
"I don't believe this", Moose said.
It was a Rainmaker trophy, the reward for reaching the top 500 in X Battle, with the words "For the Best Teammates in the World" written on it with a marker.
"Listen guys, I'm really sorry about how I acted towards you today", Tack said, "I let Grand Slam's words get to me so much that I lost track of what was really important: us."
"Don't sweat it, man", Bangs said.
"I realize now that we really are a good team", Tack said, "we don't need to prove it by beating some jerk who's too full of himself to see it."
"Well put", Moose said.
"It's like I said before", Tack said, "battling with you guys is the best Turf War experience I could ask for."
"Aww, thanks, Tack", Uni said.
"Come on you guys, bring it in", Moose said.
With that, the Tacklers all got together in a group hug, happy that the whole ordeal from before was over.
"So, now that that's done, what do you guys say to some dinner", Tack asked.
"I'm all for it", Moose said, "Bangs said that bakery we went to earlier also serves some good sandwiches and salads, and stuff like that."
"I like the sound of that", Tack said, "let's all get ready to go."
The Tacklers all got ready to go out to dinner, and as they did so, Bangs decided to ask Tack a question that had come to her mind.
"By the way, how did you manage to get a Rainmaker trophy", Bangs asked, "last I checked, you weren't S+ Rank."
"Let's just say I know a guy", Tack said.
Meanwhile, at Grand Slam's house, he was on the phone with someone over Rainmaker trophy, which had gone missing from its case.
"What do you mean you can't just give me a replacement trophy", Grand Slam asked, "I worked really hard to earn that thing, and now someone's stolen it, so I should be entitled to a replacement after something like that."
But little did Grand Slam know that his trophy was in the possession of a better group of individuals: the teammates of Tack Rossia, who he couldn't be happier to have with him on the Tacklers.
*The words in the robots' dialogue in CAPS are meant to represent words that were generated to fill in blanks in pre-recorded messages that the robots were programmed to say.