???: Thunder Clan! Rise!

The Clan members of Thunder all stood together in a giant throne room, summoning their weapons and standing firm within the king's presence.

King: As a clan, we stand prideful and triumph through the strongest of trials! We strike like a storm, bringing down lightning, and never hesitate to destroy anything in our path!

Just then, the doors to the throne room opened up, and a hybrid girl, along with a hybrid boy, walked down the lane of the throne room. The girl was wearing a nice dress and couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed from everyone around her. The girl's name was Charlotte, the Princess and daughter to the king. She had long yellow tentacles that faded into white while having orange eyes.

Her face seemed red from her nervousness, but when she turned her head, she saw the hybrid boy next to her, which soothed her as he walked with her. The boy's name was Knight. He had long green tentacles that faded into white as well, and had cyan colored eyes. Knight and Charlotte walked up to the throne, and Charlotte stood next to her father while Knight kneeled down in front of him.

King: Charlotte....If you may...

Charlotte nodded and walked over to the throne itself, grabbing a box from off of the seat and walking over to Knight, shaking just a little, and when she looked back at her father, she saw him give her a gentle nod, which made her nod back while letting out a tiny sigh.

Charlotte: K-Knight!.....In honor of your dedication to this clan.....m-me and my father have bestowed to you an advancement and sign of our gratitude.

Charlotte opened the box and pulled out two golden rings, placing down the box and moving closer to him.

Charlotte: y-you are now a noble warrior.....these rings were made from my mother....they represent honor, courage, and commitment.....and as a blessing....you have the right to wear one to.....*blush*.....sync your soul to mine....

Knight: I am grateful.....

Knight stood up and Charlotte grabbed his hand and slid the ring into his finger, then Knight grabbed Charlotte's ring and slid it onto her finger next.

King: Knight, you have impressed me with your strength and breaking through your limitations, and as an extra show of respect from me, I am giving you my daughter's hand in marriage as well.

Knight's eyes widened slightly, and he looked over at Charlotte to see her face as red as a tomato, but saw her nod a little to confirm her father's statement.

Knight:......My King....are you positive on this claim?

King: I am. I will step down from my throne once you are married, and you will become the next King of Thunder.

Knight:.......I see....I will make sure to live up to your expectations.

Everyone clapped for Knight just as the king walked over to him and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

King: you are a prodigy.....I already know you'll live up to my expectations....Thunder Clan!! You're dismissed!!

Everyone within the throne room began to leave, and Knight nodded to the king in respect before turning around and walking away, then Charlotte began to walk with him, gently grabbing onto his sleeve from his warrior uniform. The two left the throne room and Knight looked over at Charlotte to see her scared and thinking deeply to herself.

Knight: is something on your mind?

Charlotte:.........I-I......I don't know...if I can......lead this clan.....I don't think I'm ready......this is happening so fast......

Knight: I understand that. I will lend as much support to you as I can....

Charlotte: *looks away*....w-well you're gonna.....be my husband soon......we're engaged.....so I already....know...

Knight: I'll be sharing the role with you.....but I believe this was an appropriate time because of the discrepancy that the King was speaking to me about.

Charlotte: what was it?

Knight:....Luna's daughter has perished....and now Yufine is on a hunt to find one of the other demons to gain more strength.

Charlotte:...the....young girl....

Knight: Yes. I'll be heading off to Flower Clan soon to discuss the matter with them and how we should properly deal with it. Considering that us and the stone clan are the only clans that know the whereabouts of Flower Clan, we shouldn't be disturbed.

With Thunder clan being a very valuable and loyal clan, almost every single clan around is associated with them in any way, shape, or form, and having a very minimum span of enemies to worry for.

Knight, a nineteen year old hybrid boy was blessed ever since he was young. He's known as a prodigy to Thunder clan, and everyone believes that he is the true god that everyone was looking for and thriving to become.

Almost every clan has an academy associated with them, which is where cephalopods would go to hone their skills and become a powerful stream. The school is three years long, and the minimum age you have to be is twelve to enroll, yet, that's not how it went for Knight.

When he was only nine years old, knight was accepted and enrolled into the academy by the king's orders after seeing his growth and potential. Knight aced everything that came his way, and because of this, he graduated from the stream academy at only the age of eleven, skipping an entire year.

After witnessing his mother getting killed in front of his eyes by a masked cephalopod, Knight unlocked his Kilu and Sumi weapon that day, but when he did, the Kilu put too much strain on his body and he passed out, but woke up a day later next to his mother's rotting corpse.....and ever since that day, he dedicated himself to find that masked cephalopod and avenge his mother.

Knight:.....everything is getting worse within these regions.....with the rise of Neon clan....even Thunder members have abandoned us for them.....

Charlotte: t-that's because they were fakers!

Knight looked out of a window within the long hallway to see the setting sun, letting out a tiny sigh.

Knight: indeed....their clan will fall one day.....and I'll make sure of it....

~~~~

Clover: Shit, Shit!

Clover quickly hopped from out of the cart of apples just as she saw Jenny's metallic tentacle shoot towards her and pierce the cart, destroying it with the apples.

Jenny: so now you wish to run after everything you said, child?.......

Just then, from the screams and wails of the cephalopods alone, it was enough to catch Angelica's attention and made her open the door to the shop, looking outside to see Gear Clan civilian squid and octos run away from the same location.

Angelica: what's going on?

Angelica walked out of the shop and turned her head to see Jenny boosting in the air while using her metallic tentacles to stab into the ground and cause chaos, which only made her heart sink in her chest, making her stumble back before she quickly ran back inside, barging through Heather's door, seeing the Inkling girl hard on work to forge Clover's weapon.

Angelica: Heather! We gotta evacuate!! A Clan Battle is happening!!

Heather: just a few more minutes! Almost done!

Angelica: No! We have to go now!

Heather: go without me! I'll be alright!

Angelica stuttered from a loss of words, but after she saw the pure determination from Heather, she turned around and have her one last look of concern.

Angelica: you better not die...

Heather: *nods*

Angelica dashed out of the shop, then waved her hands at all of the passing clan members, gesturing them to come to her.

Angelica: let's go!! Out the gates, now!!!

Clover: (dammit! Her tentacles!)

Clover ran in between buildings as fast as she could, barely managing to dodge the nonstop onslaught of tentacles heading in her direction. She looked up at the sky and saw the sky slowly turn black from the setting sun, but then she realized the Ink Tank on her back with the golden ink inside of it, but then shook her head at it.

Clover:....no....I need to find Sho first.

Jenny: resistance is futile.....

Clover saw Jenny launch one tentacle even faster than before, catching her off guard, but Clover barely managed to dodge, with the metal skimming the side of her face, and she dived behind a pile of barrels.

Jenny dashed up to the barrels and moved all of them with her tentacles, but Clover was nowhere to be found, which made Jenny analyze the area around her.

Jenny: don't hide now.....I'll make sure to find you and make you suffer.
~~~

Gage:......come....

Shadow took in a deep breath before dashing straight at Gage, who threw a punch at her, barely missing her head and shooting a shockwave from his punch.

Gage threw another punch, but Shadow used her forearm to push away his gauntlet from hitting her, but within a blink of an eye, Gage quickly kneed Shadow right in her stomach, making her grunt in horrible pain.

Shadow regained herself and swung her axe at Gage, and saw that he noticed her swing, getting ready to stop it, but before he touched her blade, she quickly shifted her axe and swung her body in the opposite side of Gage to fake him out by swinging at him from behind.

Gage:...a fake out.....not bad....do you mind if I try that as well?...

Gage, within the speed of light, dodged the incoming swing by ducking under it, then thrusted his fist forward to shadow's torso, making Shadow shift her axe to hopefully block the attack, but Gage easily faked her from the clash, aggressively using his other gauntlet and grabbing Shadow's face, throwing her hard and brutally into the wall and made her crash through it, falling on the trail of stairs that lead up to the resistance.

The stairs added more pain onto Shadow from their pointy metal edges, and she held onto her forehead that was dripping with blood. She looked in the distance to see Jenny flying around and shooting down her tentacles.

Shadow: dammit Clov-

Just then, without even having the time to finish her statement, Gage jumped out from the residence and brutally stomped on Shadow's face, cracking the stairs below them and dragging Shadow's body all the way down the stairs with massive force until they reached the bottom.

Gage took his boot off of Shadow's face to see a bloody nose and forehead, then grabbed her by the tentacles, pulling her up and glaring straight at her slightly unconscious body.

Gage: out of strength already? I expected more from a scar member......I'm highly disappointed.

Shadow:....I.....Y-You......

Gage saw Shadow choke on her own blood and cough in front of him, getting some of her blood on his face, making him wince in disgust.

Gage:....disgusting....

Shadow: burn....in hell....

Gage:....I believe we both know who will die within this duel......

Gage lifted Shadow by her hair, then aggressively slammed her down onto the steel surface, breaking it beneath her and making her yell in pain. Gage picked her back up and threw her straight into a building, slamming her straight into it and indenting the wall.

Gage rushed towards her and kicked her straight in her stomach, making her cough up even more blood than before, leaving her body limp and head hanging low.

Shadow:......(This guy.....)

Shadow barely lifted her head to see Gage's face, noticing a razor blade Kilu around his left eye, glowing and rotating within the battle as he stared at her in pure disappointment...emitting a radiant glow from his golden yellow eyes as he wiped her blood from his face.

Shadow:.....(he already has a Kilu...he outclasses me in everything.......)

Shadow could feel her vision fading from her blood loss, knowing that she was going to pass out soon, but instead of fighting through it, she willingly started to accept her fate...allowing her head to hang low in front of the Core.

Shadow:....(I can't........I.....)

Gage: *tsk*.....a sense of doubt.....you have no pride.....giving you an honorable death is a waste of time.....

Just then, an apple flew straight at Gage and hit him straight on his cheek, bouncing off of him without even making him blink, flinch, or move his body at all. Gage looked over and saw Clover standing in the distance with veins popping out of her head, but instead of looking back at him, he noticed her looking over at Shadow.

Clover: YOU BETTER WIPE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE RIGHT NOW, SHADOW!!!

Shadow's eyes shot open and she looked over and saw Clover glaring straight at her, locking her own eyes with hers.

Clover: I HATE THAT FACE!! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GONNA LET HIM WALK ALL OVER YOU!!?

Shadow:...........

Clover: GRIP YOUR WEAPON AND GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT!!

Gage:......you really are annoying......

Gage dashed at Clover and she didn't even get to react in time, because the second Clover looked over to her side, Gage instantly punched her stomach with one of his gauntlets, ripping her outer layer of her skin and making the girl let out a scream, but her scream barely made any noise because of the vomiting blood pouring from her mouth. Clover was sent flying by the punch far from the area, then crashed straight into a building, falling on the floor and trying to clench her chest, but her body was shaking too violently to even move a finger.

Clover: (...m-my stomach.....I can't move........come on...)

Gage stood silent and stared off in the distance where Clover flew away through just as Jenny walked up to him and stood by his side.

Gage: how did she get out of your sight?

Jenny:......I...

Gage:......I will not intervene again......make sure everyone within the empire is safe and out of the walls......then....come back and finish her off....

Jenny:.......

Clover gritted her teeth and tried to sooth her muscles from shaking due to the aftershock of the punch, and she managed to lift her hand slightly, which made her grunt in pain.

Clover:...(get up......I.....)

Just then, Clover's hand fell back down onto the ground and her vision became blurry and dizzy as a trail of blood ran down her cheek.

Clover: (don't....I.....I can't pass out....I still have to.....)

Her weakness gave in and Clover's eyes completely shut, leaving her unconscious above the rubble from a building. Her body laid limp and she let out a breath of air as her head fell to the side, but little did she know, the Ink tank on her back shattered entirely, allowing the glowing gold ink to seep from it and move around, molding into a figure in front of her.

~~~

Sho ran through the streets of the empire, then she jumped up onto a nearby building to get a better view of the surrounding area, seeing the residence of Gage far away from her.

Sho: woah.....how did I get so far away!? Heheh! I have to get back so I can sneak more food out of Gage's fridge!

Sho jumped from building, to building, but then felt a large pulsation coming from her heart, which made her stop for a second, confused.

Sho:...mm......weird.....

Sho's smile grew even wider as she poked on her stomach while looking down at it, snickering to herself.

Sho: do you wanna tell me something, Mr. Body?

Just then, Sho felt a hand grab onto her shoulder from behind; a delicate touch....a touch that seemed protective....something that made her body completely stop.

???: do not misguide yourself.....you know what you truly must do.....

Sho's head quickly looked behind her, but when she did, nobody was there, and even though nobody was visible to her eye, she felt on her own shoulder and still felt the essence of the hand that touched her from before.

Sho:.......did the boogie squid touch me?.....

Sho shook off the thought quickly though and looked ahead to once again see the resistance, then let out a "hmph" of determination just as she patted her stomach.

Sho: I suppose leftovers can wait!

~~~

*flashback*

Shadow sat at the roof of the scar base all by herself, hugging her knees to her chest as she stared at the setting sun alone. She let out a tiny sigh as the gentle breeze flew by her tentacles, making a leaf soar straight up go her and land on her knee, directly in front of her eyes.

She stared at the leaf, but then saw the wind blow it away almost instantly, and all she could do was watch it drift away too far for her to reach and catch it once more. She heard footsteps behind her, but she ignored them, hoping that the sound of them would become more distant rather than close.

???: up here again?....

Shadow turned her head slightly and saw Citrus looking down on her, but she didn't respond to her and simply just looked back over at the sun as Citrus took a seat down next to her.

The two sat in silence for a little while, and Citrus looked over at Shadow to see her knees closer to her chest than before, hugging herself more tighter by the second.

Citrus:.......Shadow.....

Shadow:.......

Citrus: I want you to tell me something.....What....do you want from this?......

Shadow:....why do you care?.....

Citrus smiled gently and Shadow's insult didn't even faze her in the slightest. She instead scooted closer to the inkling and gently put her soft hand on her shoulder.

Citrus: because you're my ally....my player one....my friend.....

Shadow felt Citrus' smile hit her deeply from the side even though she wasn't looking at her. She saw a Dove soaring through the sky and gracefully allowing the wind to guide it, and instead of feeling the wind hit her....she felt the wind flow through her, feeling the weird sensational chill from it.....

Citrus:.....what is it that you're truly fighting for?......

Shadow:.............them........

Citrus:.......*tiny smile*.....your family I'm guessing?

Shadow:.........

Citrus: I'm guessing they.....

Shadow:......my mother and father....but......my older sister....was nowhere to be found.......

Citrus:.....

Shadow:.......my clan never even tried to help me find her........they pushed me away.....It shows how selfish people can be.....

Citrus:.......you believe that she's out there somewhere?

Shadow: I know she's out there......I just know it........

Citrus saw Shadow sigh in annoyance and clench onto her legs aggressively, to which she gently moved her hand from her shoulder to Shadow's hand to sooth her, but she wasn't successful.

Citrus: I'll.......make sure to help you as much as I can.....

Shadow: just shut up.....

Citrus saw Shadow glare at her in annoyance, aggressively snatching her hand away from her own.

Shadow: how the hell would you know? you don't know how it feels to lose everything important to you. You're just trying to understand me, but I know you'll never get it. Just go back inside and hang out with someone else....

Shadow saw Citrus' smile fade slightly, and it made her roll her eyes, knowing that Citrus was going to break and leave her alone in defeat, but instead....she simply saw the smile on her face return and her gaze felt more.....gentle than before, which shocked Shadow greatly.

Citrus: you're right....Back then, I wouldn't have known what it felt like to lose everything.......just because I had nothing to begin with.

Shadow:......

Citrus: for as long as I could remember, I was simply a child who roamed around the wastelands alone. I had no parents, and I didn't even know what clan I belonged to.....I was lost. The wastelands are dangerous.....and I was almost killed out there, but Zero came and saved me.......

Shadow:......

Citrus: he introduced me to the scars, and made a path for me towards my goal in life.......my goal is....them.........the scars are my family.....the base is my true home.....I made it my goal to support you all as much as I could.....and I made sure that everything I did for the clan would benefit us in the future.......even in death, I'll try my hardest to help you all.....

Citrus gently placed her hand on her own chest, feeling her own Sumi rush through her body as she let out a nice breath of fresh air.

Citrus: even though I don't have a Sumi weapon or a Kilu....I will still run head first into battle without hesitation.

Shadow:......why?......

Citrus: because everyone has a goal....a goal is a tree that sprouts within your heart. Your determination and courage are the water that hydrates that tree to stay alive and push on. Even if someone covers up your sun and makes your sky cloudy, allow those clouds to rain apon you, because that same rain is what drives your tree to continue to grow and become stronger.

Citrus leaned over and gently poked Shadow's forehead, giggling a little while leaving Shadow speechless.

Citrus: always remember your reason to keep going, Shadow. Find your sister.....she's the tree within your heart....and your determination is what drove you to make the tree grow.....don't forget this feeling.....

Shadow:.........

Citrus: it truly pains me when I see a face of doubt.....hopelessness...regret...so please.......keep pushing forward.

~~~

Shadow's eyes opened and she noticed her surroundings, but right in front of her was Gage, who was walking towards her, but then stopped after noticing her awaken.

Gage: looks like you've regained consciousness......I'm impressed that you even wanted to.

Shadow pushed herself out of the building wall slowly, then landed on her feet while panting heavily, looking up at Gage and making eye contact directly with him.

Shadow: I'm....gonna make you regret ever putting your hands on her....

Gage: the fake?....why would you care? You hate her....am I wrong?

She let out a sigh as she thought of Clover, feeling the same delicate and calm Sumi that she gave of.....similar to Citrus....

Shadow summoned her axe back once more and clenched it so hard that veins began to enlarge throughout her hand just as her Sumi began to flow throughout her at a rapid rate and seep out of her body to create an inky aura.

Gage:.......( even though her Sumi is flowing at such speeds.....it's not just because of her anger.....it has the flow of pride.......)..........just who exactly are you?.......

Shadow's face glowed a little on her left eye, and Gage saw her own blood seep from her face and form an "X" under her eye, flow and erupt as if it was a flame.

The "X" finished it's quick transformation process and Shadow gritted her teeth at Gage, taking a stance and staring deep into the boy's soul.

Shadow: Shadow....A dedicated Scar member....

Gage:......I Kilu......hm......it looks like you actually have motivation this time.....

Gage shifted his feet and got into a battle stance of his own with Shadow standing across from him, not changing his sense of expression at all.

Gage: it looks like you are actually coming at me with an effort this time.....

Shadow:.......

Gage: well then.........I'm waiting.

~~~~

*chapterly art*

Selena, which I'll eventually add some touches on.