Within the main base in Octo canyon, a young Charlotte was standing in front of DJ Octavio, holding an H-3 Nozzle nose D and looking down the simulated training grounds.

Targets began to pop up everywhere in front of her, then Charlotte dashed towards the targets, who were shooting fake ink at her. Charlotte quickly shot one target, then jumped over the ink shots, shooting another dummy.

The targets began to rotate and move up and down, but that didn't stop Charlotte from hitting all of her shots. Charlotte hasn't missed a single shot of her H-3 ever since she started to move her body. Her strikes and shots linked into each other, moving in such grace, leaving no opening in her form.

Charlotte's tentacles glowed and she summoned her Inkzooka, instantly shooting tornadoes of Ink at targets left and right, not letting her guard down for a second, dodging the targets shooting ink. Charlotte saw 10 targets flip up all around her, then they all shot at her. Charlotte jumped up in the air, then pointed her Inkzooka down at the ground, diving back down and slamming it on the ground. Charlotte shot her Inkzooka on the ground, making a big shockwave of Ink splatting the 10 targets around her.

Charlotte:.....*pant*.....*pant*....father..

Charlotte looked over at Octavio with a tiny smile on her face as her Inkzooka evaporated in ink, but Charlotte saw no change in his face whatsoever, and he instead turned away from her, disappointed.

Octavio: it needs more work...

Charlotte:.......

As Octavio left, Charlotte looked down at her H-3...thinking to herself while feeling something climbing up her leg, seeing Cecelia hanging onto her and looking up at her.

Cecelia: you alright, kid?

Charlotte:....*tiny nod*.....

Cecelia:....*sigh*....you don't look ok....

Charlotte:.......it's....moments....like this..when I...want to talk to my mother.

Cecelia:....kid...I know she'd be very proud of you right now.

Charlotte continued to stare at her weapon, that is until she heard the door to the training room open up, then she heard footsteps inside. Charlotte looked up and saw an Octoling girl that looked slightly younger than her. The Octoling girl had tan skin, and cyan tentacles, her eyes were dull and lifeless, giving off a tint of golden yellow, and the girl clenched her Octo shot as the room began to start up again.

Speaker: beginning simulation.

Charlotte saw the Octoling's eyes flow and change to a blue tint as waves of blue ink seeped from her eyes.

Charlotte:....w-who......

The targets Shot at the Octoling, but she easily dodged them and shot at the targets, not missing a single shot as well, but unlike Charlotte, the Octoling girl hit straight bullseyes on her targets, completely destroying them.

Charlotte watched in disbelief as the Octoling's body shifted and turned to dodge the Ink; her movements looked precise and chiseled to perfection, it was as if the Octoling knew exactly when to move, how to move, and where to move to obtain the perfect execution for defense, like if she was predicting their movements.

Charlotte:...(amazing.....)....

The Octoling summoned an Inkzooka of her own and shot at the targets, splatting one after another, the Octoling held her Inkzooka with one hand, then used her other hand to pull out a suction bomb. The Octoling shot her Inkzooka, then threw her suction bomb into the tornado of Ink, causing the tornado to explode and splat the surrounding targets.

Speaker: simulation test over.

Charlotte: (t-that quick?!)....

Charlotte looked at the Octoling and saw her eyes revert back to normal, then she began to walk away.

Charlotte: w-wait!

The Octoling girl stopped, then turned her head a little to see Charlotte behind her. Charlotte clenched her H-3 a little harder in fear, but managed to open her mouth to the girl.

Charlotte:....what was that just now?....how did you....do that?...you were so fast...

???:.......

Charlotte waited for the response from the girl, and she eventually saw her open her mouth, but before the Octoling could speak, everything faded to white.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Cecelia: kid?....kid!

Charlotte's eyes slowly opened up and the felt scrubbing on her head. Charlotte was sitting in a bathtub, sinking deep with the water going up to her neck while Cecelia was on the edge of the tub, stretching her nubs and scrubbing the Octoling's tentacles.

Cecelia: you need to stop falling asleep.

Charlotte didn't respond to Cecelia with anything, but instead looked down and observed the foamy soap floating on the surface of the water. Cecelia hopped off of the bathtub and stuck herself to the wall, then her nub reached up and grabbed the shower head. Cecelia pointed the shower head at Charlotte, then sprayed her tentacles to rinse the soap out.

Cecelia: you didn't eat lunch yet, so after you're done and situated, let's go get something. We might as well ask Ami and Sho if they want to come as well.

Charlotte gave Cecelia a nod, then when all of the soap was rinsed off of her body, she grabbed a nearby towel, stepping out of the tub and wrapping it around her body. She unplugged the drain to the tub, then walked out of the bathroom, making her way to her room, entering and closing the door behind herself.

Charlotte dried herself off while Cecelia was laying on her bed and reading a magazine.

Cecelia:....huh.....it seems Isabella hasn't really been around ever since her fight with Calvin.

Charlotte:....

Cecelia: so it seems the phantoms will have to fight without her.

Charlotte:.....I've noticed....

Cecelia: I guess that's why Amira was there, she's most likely her replacement.

Charlotte:....*tsk*...

After putting on her bra and panties, Charlotte grabbed a pair of pants and put them on while Cecelia flipped through more of the magazine pages.

Cecelia: oooh, there's gonna be a barbecue at glow show stage soon, maybe we can plan sometime to go out there, I know Ami loves barbecue.

Charlotte:...mhm...

Cecelia:.....you alright, kid?....ever since we got off the train earlier, you've been a little more....cold.

Charlotte:....it's nothing.

Charlotte slid on a shirt and a pair of socks, then grabbed her shoes, but then she heard a knock at her door, stopping her from grabbing her hoodie. Charlotte stood up and walked up to the door, opening it up to see Ami and Sho in front of her, with Ami holding a piece of paper with a very excited smirk.

Cecelia: what's gotten you in a good mood?

Ami: *hmph* well, look at what I found.

Sho:...*shakes his head*

Ami handed Charlotte the piece of paper while Cecilia hopped up on Charlotte's leg, crawling up her body until she was on her shoulder, then began to read the paper with her.

Cecelia: "Wanna get early points for your squad to put you ahead of the competition? Sign up yourself up to battle at the Centerline tomorrow?"

Ami: yup! This is a 1v1 type of fighting mode, and it's a good way to get some extra points! But there's only 1 flaw.

Cecelia:....and that is?

Ami: well, every squad right now has 0 points, and if you lose in the Centerline, you'll be -5 points behind everyone else.

Cecelia: oh...

Ami: the squads can choose their best squadmate to participate in the battle, so I vote for Char.

Charlotte:.....

Ami: c'mon Char! The Centerline battles will start later today, and I know you'll dominate them this year!

Charlotte looked at the paper once more, then let out a tiny sigh, folding up the paper and putting it in her pocket.

Charlotte:....I already signed up for this...

Ami: please Char! Please sign u-...wait, you did?

Charlotte: before we came here, yes.

Ami: Booyah! *Stomach grumbles*....

Cecelia:.....I think you join us to go get some lunch...

Ami:...*chuckles* yeah...I definitely should. Oh! And we should also check out the schedule!

Cecelia: the schedule?

Ami: yeah, they posted the schedule of events that'll take place throughout the exams, and it's in the cafeteria, and I can't wait to see what they have planned for this year. I hated that steelhead strike mode they had last year.....ugh....

Cecelia: they always switch it up every year....so yeah, I'm pretty curious as well, but you three have to eat first, you only ate candy on that damn train.

Charlotte: *tiny sigh*

Charlotte, Sho, and Ami walked over to the door, opening it and heading out of their room to head down for breakfast together.

-------------------------------------------------------------

*The Reef*
*Clam blitz*

Cynthia ran through the map with 3 clams trailing behind her. Cynthia shot her sploosh at an enemy squid while dodging his dynamo flings in the progress. Cynthia easily splatted the Inkling boy, without breaking a sweat, then saw him drop 3 more clams.

Cynthia: *smirks* hello little clams.

Cynthia was about to kneel down and pick up the extra 3 clams, but then she heard the sound of someone running up behind her. Cynthia turned around and saw a soda slosher dashing up to her getting ready to slosh at her, but when Cynthia was about to get splatted, she was splatted from distant shots, surprising Cynthia.

Cynthia looked over and saw Yasu holding his jet squelcher and smiling at her, causing her to let out a chuckle.

Cynthia: thanks man.

Yasu: don't mention it.

Aryll: Cynthia! I have 9 clams!

Cynthia looked over and saw Aryll running in the distance towards the enemies basket, so she picked up one of her own clams to throw.

Cynthia: go long, kid!

Cynthia threw the clam in the air, and Aryll jumped up to grab the clam, but before she could, she saw an enemy Luna blaster jump up with her and aim straight at her.

Luna: oh no you don't!

Just as the Luna was going to fire their blast, Gabby jumped up and kicked the Luna's weapon out of their hand, then proceeded to splat the Luna by sloshing her explosher straight in their face. Aryll let out a little smile, then caught the clam mid air, forming a power clam.

Aryll landed back on her feet, only to be met with a L-3 Nozzle nose D, who activated their inkjet, but Gabby, Cynthia, and Yasu moved in front of Aryll to protect her as she held the giant football.

Yasu: *smirks* just keep running towards that basket.

Cynthia: we'll defend ya.

Aryll let out an adorable nod, then saw Cynthia's tentacles start to glow. The enemy Dynamo roller and the Soda slosher stood near their inkjet squadmate, glaring back at them.

Gabby: 15 seconds...we just need to score this one power clam and we win.

Cynthia:....well then

Cynthia activated her Ultra Stamp and then saw the Dynamo begin to hover in the air to charge their booyah bomb. The 4 dashed towards the clam basket, and the soda slosher began sloshing their bucket of Ink at them.

Gabby sloshed her explosher at the slosher, but the slosher dodged her ink explosions, jumping in the air and sloshing down at her. Gabby was hit by the gigantic spill of Ink, causing her to grunt a little, but quickly recover.

Cynthia looked over and saw the Ink jet aiming straight at Aryll, shooting a powerful shot at her. Cynthia readied her Ultra Stamp like a bat, then swung it at the blast, hitting the inkjet shot and knocking it back, hitting the Inkjet in the face, knocking her back and making her jet malfunction.

The Inkjet crashed into the bridge, then fell onto the floor as Cynthia and Aryll continued on with Yasu, but then saw the kensa Dynamo roller throw it's booyah bomb straight at Aryll.

The bomb landed right at Arylls feet, and just as it exploded, Yasu grabbed her and jumped away, and when Yasu pulled Aryll away, she accidentally dropped the power clam straight in the explosion, feeling her heart drop into her stomach.

Aryll: No! The power clam!

The explosion disappeared and the power clam sat on the floor, slowly flashing, indicating that it was going to explode soon.

Aryll: I-I'm sorry....I....lost my grip....an-

Yasu: everyone makes mistakes, it's alright.

Cynthia: well...how are we gonna get it?

Just then, a loud splat noise was heard in the distance, catching everyone off guard. Cynthia looked over and saw Gabby dashing towards the flashing clam, covered in enemy ink, gritting her teeth in anger as her tentacles began to glow.

Gabby: I have to do everything around here, don't I?!

Gabby locked eyes with the Dynamo who noticed her, and saw the Dynamo lift up their roller, getting ready to swing more ink at her. Gabby dived straight at the power clam and hugged it on the ground, activating her baller, protecting herself and the clam.

The Dynamo swung at her baller and hit her with a lot of force, knocking her baller back far and making Gabby spin out of control inside of the ball, holding in her urge to throw up from the dizziness.

Gabby:....*covers her mouth*...f-fuck...

Cynthia: sorry about this, Gabs!

Gabby: sorry about what?!

Cynthia readied her Ultra Stamp once again, then swung it straight at Gabby's Baller, hitting the ball straight back at the enemies, and making Gabby spin around even faster.

Gabby: C-C-Cynthia!!...y-you....

Perfectly on time, Gabby's Baller exploded and splatted the Dynamo roller, but also launched the power clam high in the sky.

Yasu super jumped in the sky and used his leg to kick the power clam back down near the basket, just as the clam was going to break the enemies basket, a splat bomb came out of nowhere and hit the power clam, knocking it out of the way of the basket before it could touch the barrier.

Aryll: no!

Just then, Cynthia held her Ultra Stamp back, then threw it as hard as she could, hitting the power clam mid air and knocking it back over to the basket with the stamp's explosion.

Aryll jumped up in the air and grabbed the power clam herself, then slammed it straight onto the basket barrier and breaking it, putting Cynthia's team ahead and ending the game.

Soda slosher: NO!

*Game! Stop battling!*

Yasu: haha! Victory!!

Aryll: yes! We won!

Cynthia: damn right, good idea with the Baller, Gabs.

Cynthia turned around and heard a bunch of hurling and gags from Gabby, seeing her head buried in a nearby trash can. Cynthia couldn't help but chuckle a little and rub the back of her head in embarrassment.

Cynthia: yeah....my bad...

Gabby:....*cough*....I fucking...hate you.

After Cynthia was strangled by Gabby, the 4 of them walked out of Deca tower, returning back to Inkopolis, with Aryll jumping in joy from the battle, making Cynthia give her a little smile.

Aryll: that was so much fun! I've never played clam blitz before!

Gabby: *rolls her eyes* I hate playing clam blitz.

Yasu: clam blitz is pretty fun, Gabriella.

Gabby: hell no!

Cynthia: psssh, what? would you rather play rainmaker?

Gabby: I hate every mode with a passion.

Yasu: well, I looked you up on the leaderboards and apparently your highest rank right now is clam blitz with a S+7.

Gabby:....

Cynthia: *smirks* care to explain?

Gabby: *crosses her arms* look, I'm a busy squid and I always leave work a little stressed out, so I take my anger out by splatting others in ranked.

Aryll: but wouldn't the losses in ranked make you even more stressed?

Gabby: no. I don't care if I win or lose. I'm just very unlucky because every time I get off work, clam blitz is in rotation....*shakes her head*...it's annoying.

Yasu: I guess that explains why you have an A+ in Tower control.....

Gabby: we don't talk about that.

Aryll: it's okay Gabby *smiles* my highest rank is only B+.

Gabby: I......*sigh* whatever. Also, where the fuck is Otto? He said he'd be waiting for us here.

Yasu: he recently texted me. He said he has some business to take care of, so we should go without him.

Cynthia: *shrugs* his loss, I was planning on getting ice cream too.

Aryll: wait! For eel?!

Gabby:...I could go for some ice cream...

Yasu: after that victory, I believe we all deserve one.

Just as everyone started walking off, Lola popped out of Yasu's pocket and looked up at him, catching his attention and making him smile.

Yasu: and yes, an ice cream for you too.

Lola: *cute whimpers*

-------------------------------------------------------------

Otto walked inside of a building with his hands in his pockets, looking past all of the doors while following an Inkling woman down the hallway until they stood face to face with double doors that were secured by a pin code. The woman put in a code, then the doors unlocked, and she turned around, giving Otto a concerned look.

Inkling: *sigh*....alright...here.

The woman reached into her pocket and handed Otto a tiny black square made of metal. The square had a button on it with the number "521" causing Otto to look back up at the woman, slightly confused.

Otto: what's this?

Inkling: just in case if things....get out of control...

The woman walked past Otto, giving him a tiny wave, making her way back down the hallway as Otto stared at the button, then shrugged and put it in his pocket. Otto slowly reached over to the door and gently pushed it open to see a bunch of Octolings....mainly Octolings...within the room.

The Octolings looked as if they had seen something tragic...they walked around as like they were in slow motion, looking at their hands thinking and trying to figure out who they were.

Otto:......*sigh*....here we go....

Otto walked all the way in the room, closing the door behind him and he saw the Octolings just...stare at him....making him super uncomfortable. Otto walked past the cephalopods and continued his search, which didn't take long....because he instantly found her.....an Inkling girl wearing a fully white button up long sleeve shirt and pants....sitting at a table all by herself.

Otto:.....

Otto walked over to the girl...looking to see another chair across from her, completely empty....he took a deep breath, then sat down in front of the girl..... seeing a metal collar around her neck with the number "521" on it.

Otto:....Willow.

Willow looked straight at Otto, confused for a second, but then she let out a tiny smile at him.

Willow: long time, no see.

Otto:...I.....suppose.

Willow: care to play some chess?...

Otto looked down and saw a chess board on the table, seeing that Willow had already made the first move, and Otto was more confused than concerned at this point, but he decided to play along with her game by moving a piece of his own.

Otto:.......

Willow: what brings you here, friend?

Otto:.........Willow....I want to tell you something important.

Willow: *tilts her head* yes?.....

Otto was trying to get the words out...but it was as if the presence of death was grabbing his shoulder from behind, making him rethink his words entirely. He slowly opened his mouth while looking down at the chess board, seeing Willow also pick up another piece.

Otto: look....I....want you to leave Miles alone.

Willow stopped in her tracks just as she was about to place down her chess piece, pure silence filled the room, and Otto could see Willow's hand slightly shaking, but when he looked up at her face, he saw her smile still on her face.

Willow: what made you assume that I wanted anything to do with him?

Otto: you're out for his blood....I can definitely tell....the therapy barely did anything to you, huh?

Willow: *giggles* c'mon Otto, that therapy changed my life for the better.

Otto looked down and saw Willow's chess piece start to crack in her hand from how hard she was squeezing it; he saw veins popping out of her forehead, making him a little cautious.

Willow: I'm different....can't you tell? I'm new....improved...better in everyway.

Otto:....

Willow: they took care of me...changed me...now I finally understa-

Otto: CUT THE SHIT, WILL YA?!

Otto slammed his hands on the table, knocking over the chess pieces and gritting his teeth in anger, but he didn't see no change in Willow's facial expression whatsoever.

Otto: I'm serious, Willow! You're already going to hell, why would you make it worse for yourself?!

Willow:.....going to hell?.....*Snickers*

Otto saw Willow start to laugh uncontrollably, catching the attention of all the other cephalopods in the room. Otto saw blood flow from Willow's ears, but it wasn't any normal type of inky blood.....it looked....corrupted....

Willow: let me give you a little news flash, leader......

Willow gritted her teeth so hard that blood began to flow from her mouth a little as she scratched the table fiercely.

Willow: if I'm going to hell....you're coming with me...

Otto:.....

Willow: do you honestly believe you've been forgiven for the things you've done?! The day I burn within the depths, you'll be right by my side!! You're just as guilty!!

Otto:....

Willow:......soon.......my little game of hide and seek will finally begin.

Otto saw Willow stop gritting, then her smile formed right back on her face, placing down the cracked chess piece on the board in front of all of the knocked over chess pieces as Otto already had his finger hovering over the button, keeping it hidden and under the table.

Willow: But it's alright...I already made a promise to him.

Otto: a promise?

Willow folded her hands on the table and continued to stare straight into Otto's eyes, which Otto became much more cautious of, twitching her finger fiercely under the table above the button.

Willow: since you decided to intervene, I'll just simply....kill you as well.

Otto: *glares* I doubt that'll happen

Willow:....hm.....

Otto felt Willow's murderous aura grow stronger, flowing through her body and seeping towards him, and all Willow did was breath near him, but it felt as if he couldn't move...not even touch the button.

Willow:...we'll see about that.

-------------------------------------------------------------

The claw of an Octoling girl tapped on a lunch tray slowly, and the girl looked over to her side to see her friend who was walking beside her while chuckling.

Ami: thank cod we got some grub, I was starving.

Cecilia: yeah, next time you're hungry, don't ask girls to cut by them in line like a baby.

Ami: I was hungry! And I wasn't acting like a baby!

Cecilia: you definitely were.

Ami: Sho! Was I?!

The Octoling boy that Ami turned towards didn't respond whatsoever, but just simply continued to walk as his mask covered his whole entire face to hide himself. Ami groaned at Sho, then looked back at the Cucumber on Charlotte's shoulder.

Ami: he said yeah.

Cecelia: *sigh*....let's just sit down and eat

The three sat down at a table together, and Ami looked at an empty chair beside Charlotte, meant for their fourth squad member.

Ami: where's Yuka?

Cecelia: she said she had better things to do. *Looks at Charlotte* do you truly believe that allowing that girl to join our team was a good idea, kid?

Charlotte looked down at her tray to see a little apple she grabbed from the line. She pulled down her facemask, showing Ami and Sho her green X scar on her cheek, similar to Octavio. She slowly opened her mouth as she grabbed her apple while her friends waited for her to speak.

Charlotte: a temporary alliance....we both have a slightly similar goal...

Charlotte took a bite out of her apple while Cecelia let out a little sigh.

Cecilia: I still have a bad feeling about her....like...she might get us into trouble.

Charlotte:...I'll keep her in check...

Ami: see? Char has it under control.

Cecelia: uh-huh. Also, did you look at the schedule for the exams?

Ami: I took a nice peek at it. Starting tomorrow, the first thing up is Clam raid!

Cecelia:....excuse me?

Ami: *shrugs* I don't know what it is either, but it sounds cool!

Charlotte looked away from her friends for a second, averting her eyes to the side and seeing a similar looking Inkling girl in the distance who was sitting next to Yumi and Miles. The Inkling girl looked away from her, and just as Charlotte was going to get up to see the girl, a loud voice caught her attention along with every other squid in the cafeteria.

???: CHARLOTTE!!

Charlotte remembered that voice faintly, and she slowly looked over in the distance and saw an Inkling girl with dark skin and red tentacles. The girl was wearing a backwards cap, a Takaroka Nylon Vintage jacket, and Mint Dakroniks along with a pair of shorts.

The girl looked fairly similar to Isabella, but instead of White eyes, the girl had beautiful orange eyes, which caught Miles' attention in a bad way. Miles almost spit out his food when he saw the girl, but he held it in and looked away from her, catching Amira's attention and concerning her a little.

Charlotte:.....Lux.

Lux, the upbeat Inkling girl with a purpose of motivation, smirked at Charlotte and pointed to herself in pride.

Lux: theeee one and only!

Ami: oh shit...it's her.

Sho: *looks*

Ami: the girl from last year, Remember?

Cecilia:...that girl....I can tell she's gotten stronger....this might be bad news.

Ami: *whispers* wait, for eel?

Cecelia: she's giving off a different vibe...I can tell she's been working hard.

Ami: fuck....d-didn't she-

Ami felt a hand grab onto his shoulder, making him look over and see Sho looking at him, and all Sho did was shake his head a little, making Ami sit there, but let out a tiny sigh.

Ami: yeah....this year will be different.

Charlotte:.....what do you want?

Lux: *giggles* well let me start off by saying, it's nice to see you again.

Charlotte:....

Lux: I was just relaxing in here, but then I felt a strong fighting spirit, and I instantly knew it was you. I bet you've gotten way stronger ever since our last fight!

Charlotte simply gave Lux a blank face, then she began walking away while Lux was talking more, but 1 thing she said made Charlotte stop in her tracks, completely frozen.

Lux: I unlocked High Tide! I pushed myself so hard, but I managed to do it, so now I can go toe to toe with you! I even achieved an especial stream too!

Charlotte:.....you...unlocked your Tidal shift and especial stream?

Lux: hell yeah! That's another reason why I wanted to see you.

Lux chuckled and pulled out a slip of paper with her name signed on it, showing Charlotte while everyone in the cafeteria was staring at her.

Lux: I challenge you to be my opponent in the centerline today!

Charlotte simply stood there....silent, remembering what happened last year when she fought the girl. Last year, Lux didn't achieve her especial stream or High Tide, putting her at a disadvantage against Charlotte...but...Lux still kept up and managed to actually give Charlotte a good challenge....too good of a challenge.

*Flashback*
*Last year entrance exams*

Charlotte's eyes glowed violently with blue ink, symbolizing her Low-tide activation. Across from her stood Lux, holding her regular splattershot, giving Charlotte a smile as blood was leaking from her forehead.

Charlotte:...(why...won't she stay down?)

Lux: *grins* get ready Char...because here I come!

Charlotte fought through her body pain and quickly readied herself for lux's attack, but quickly saw the Inkling dash with rapid speed, stunning her that the Inkling was still able to move and fight as if she wasn't tired or injured whatsoever.

Charlotte:.(.....it's been an hour of back and forth combat..my Low tide has been...active for too long...it.....hurts...)

Charlotte's chest rapidly moved in and out, making her body shake just a little, but she maintained herself, gritting her teeth as blood ran from her head as well.

Charlotte: (...it feels like my lungs are about to explode.....but...I must....keep going....)

Charlotte quickly placed down her splashwall, watching Lux quickly shoot her splattershot and destroy it. Charlotte swiftly aimed her H-3 at Lux, but before she could even pull the trigger, Lux dashed around Charlotte, just as her tentacles began to glow, so Charlotte summoned her bubble blower, turning around and seeing Lux behind her.

Charlotte: especial strea-

Lux: made ya look!

Charlotte stood there in pure shock, seeing the Lux in front of her....basically vanish in front of her eyes....Charlotte felt Lux's splattershot press right on the back of her head, knowing it was too late for her.....she won....fair and square.

Charlotte: (an....afterimage.........her speed......no....)

Charlotte began to hear ringing as her vision became blurry, she felt her body go a little limp and numb; so numb that she couldn't feel her Cherry H-3 in her hand at all.

Charlotte: (It's over......she's going to splat me.....I can't.....feel....anything)

Lux: *chuckles* looks like I win this on-

Charlotte heard Lux cut off mid sentence, then....Charlotte felt Lux's splattershot fiercely begin to shake on the back of her head. Charlotte heard murmurs and stuttering from the girl, then.....after a long struggle....felt her splattershot slowly move away from her head.

Out of nowhere, Charlotte saw Lux's body fall past her, straight onto the ground. Throughout the whole fight, Charlotte was never able to get a good look at Lux because of her speed, but now....she had a full view of the Inkling.

Lux had bags under her eyes...and her body looked pretty skinny, as if she drained her own body ink from exerting herself too hard.....Charlotte saw the girl's finger slowly twitch, as if she was trying to grab her splattershot and continue to fight.....but then...Lux's body went completely limp...passing out due to exhaustion.

Announcer: AND CHARLOTTE WINS THE MATCH!!

The crowd roared and cheered, all of them except for Ami, Sho, and a similar looking Inkling girl who sat next to them, holding her kensa splat charger and looking down at Charlotte, as if she was disappointed.

Ami:...no way...

Cecelia:....kid....

Ami could see Charlotte struggling to even move her body, and looked over towards Cecelia with a slightly concerned look on his face.

Ami: Char is gonna be alright...right, Cece?

Cecelia:.......Ami......pack your things...we're going home this year.

The second Cecelia said that, Sho looked over at the Inkling girl, seeing a vein pop out of her forehead, and when he looked down, he saw a tiny pocket knife poking out of her pants pocket. Sho saw the girl reach for it, so he grabbed her wrist and saw her look straight at him with a murderous intent.

Willow: you three promised....

Ami: yo..Willow.....you alright?

Willow: you all promised to bring him to me once more.....if I helped you all.

Cecelia: you've been helping us a lot, and we appreciate it, but we have to call it quits this year.....with the way how the match went....Charlotte and Lux pushed themselves too hard....Charlotte needs a lot of rest.

Willow: I've dealt with you all...for too long....

Willow stood up, aggressively pulling her wrist out from Sho's grip, looking over in the distance to see an Inkling boy with dark skin sitting next to his two other teammates.

Willow:....I'll just ask someone else....

*End*

Charlotte saw Lux smiling at her while waiting for her answer, then out of nowhere, Charlotte saw an Octoling girl with red tentacles pop up from behind Lux in an adorable way, along with an Inkling boy and Octoling boy.

Octoling girl: y-you better accept Lux's request!!

Octoling boy: yeah! This time, she's gonna win fair and square!

Inkling boy: nobody is stronger than our Leader, Lux!!

Ami: and they're just as annoying and clingy as last year....

Cecelia: yup.

Charlotte glared at the three, and her glare alone was enough to scare the Octoling girl, making her hide back behind Lux, clenching on the back of her jacket. Lux looked to her sides and saw the Inkling boy and Octoling boy holding their ground against Charlotte, but still shaking in fear from her, causing Lux to giggle a little and gesture them to calm themselves down.

Lux: it's cool, guys.....*looks over* hm?

Lux looked over in the distance and saw a....familiar looking boy.....making her stop completely after seeing his amethyst eyes.....after seeing those eyes alone....she saw the boy quickly look away from her again....

Lux:....*mumbles* blue?...

Charlotte: Lux.

Lux snapped out of her little thought process and looked back over at Charlotte, seeing her crossing her arms in annoyance.

Charlotte: did you not hear a single thing I said?

Lux: 0-0h......uh....*chuckles* my bad.

Octoling boy: Lux, Charlotte sai-

Charlotte: shut it....I can say it myself.

Octoling boy:........

Charlotte:....*sigh*....I said I accept your challenge.

Lux: *gasp* You do?!

Charlotte: I'm not repeating myself for a third time.

Lux simply smirked at Charlotte, then placed her hands on her hips, standing firm and proud as her teammates stood beside her.

Lux: HAHA! Tomorrow, Charlotte! I'll show you how much I improved!

Charlotte: -_-....

Lux: let's both try our very best in the centerline, because I'm not holding back, and I hope you don't either!

The positivity from Lux was almost enough to make Charlotte puke, but she just stared at the prideful, supportive Inkling as if she was delusional.

Charlotte:......yeah....I won't...

In the distance, Miles was looking away from the drama and simply covering his face from Lux, but when he thought the conflict settled down, he removed his hands from his face, then looked over at the Inkling to see if she was still there...but from being a very unlucky guy, Miles looked dead at her the second she looked at him, with the two making eye contact.

Miles let out embarrassed Inkling boy noises and quickly looked away from her once more, but Lux continued to look at him, letting out a tiny smile and raising her eyebrow at him.

Lux:......(I knew it was you.....blue)

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We back! Chapterly art:

Charlotte stuff from ShoblobXD