Miles: Move!!

Miles and Amira jumped out of the way from a large OctoStomp that erupted through the area. The entire room was giant, with the walls being made of complete glass, showing how high they were in the tower.

Miles and Amira panted heavily as they stood side by side....Amira looked over and saw blood trailing from Miles's mouth as well as his shirt, which began to get slightly damp.

Miles: just a bit more.....w-where's the launch pad?......

Amira:.........on it's back.......we need to catch it's attention and react quickly to it's attacks....

Miles:....got it.....

Just then, a burst bomb flew at the speed of light towards Amira. She tried to react in time, but was simply too slow to notice before. Miles jumped In front of her and took the burst bomb on himself, letting out a tiny grunt. Amira stood stunned before looking past Miles to see Yuka glaring directly at the two.

Yuka: when will you two die and give up?.......

Miles:....c'mon Amira....

Amira:.......

Miles: *smile*....let's do it.

Amira nodded at Miles, and the two immediately dashed towards Yuka to fight. OctoStomp glared at the cephalopods below, then roared before it was stabbed in the side by a splattershot.

The beast shifted its eyes to See Lux swinging on her chains through the air over OctoStomp with a Prideful glare on her face.

Lux: Trust me! You got more trouble coming, big guy!!

Lux swung her body as Monarch and Chase dashed inside of the room, hearing the loud roar from the OctoStomp.

Miles dodged a swift burst bomb thrown by Yuka, and without wasting a single second, Amira charged up her E-Liter and immediately shot at Yuka, aiming for her head.

The Octoling moved her head and felt the stream of ink cut the side of her face. She glared at the two before using her Suction bomb rush, immediately throwing many Suction bombs towards the two squids.

Miles and Amira dodged the many bombs, but at a sudden moment, Miles felt the deep pain surge through his body from the poison, making him grunt in pain. He saw a suction bomb heading directly towards him, and when he tried, he lost his balance instead, stumbling just as Amira averted her eyes towards him.

She quickly ran towards Miles, and within the process, kicked away the suction bomb that almost made contact with him. Miles grunted louder just as Amira slid to his side, supporting him and allowing him to rest slightly.

Yuka glared deeply at the two, then began to throw more and more bombs over and over once again at the two. Amira began to huff from the severe pressure from the bombs, pushing her back more and more, her head pulsated and she grunted loudly from her pain. Yuka threw one last Suction bomb, and as it flew faster than the ones prior, Miles saw it hit Amira's E-Liter one last time, knocking her back and making Amira hit the glass window, Shattering it and sending her outside of the tower.

Miles: AMIRA!!

Amira reached out to the building, but she was too far away....she looked down, noticing a deep fall that would definitely lead to her death......she knew her fate....but wasn't willing to accept it....and before she fell to her demise, she stopped within her fall.

Before she could go too far, she looked up and noticed Miles grabbing her by the wrist while holding both of them up with his other hand on the ledge of the destroyed glass window.....Miles panted and Amira saw the poison seep through his body..........she was lost for words....the two were stuck.......and from her eyes......Amira saw Yuka walk up to the two of them, looking down at them both.......

Her stare alone was enough to speak many words......she lifted her foot, then aggressively stomped on Miles' hand, making the Inkling yelp in pain.....and many, including the cephalopods from Inkopolis, watched the entire scene go down before them.....

~~~~~~~

Nova stood within her living room while looking straight at her Tv....Guppy sat by her side....concerned just like her.........

Guppy: t-that's.....that's not f-fair.......she's playing dirty! Why isn't anyone stopping her!!!?

Nova:.....Miles..........

Nova looked directly at Miles from the screen......she automatically noticed his concern, yet dedication to save Amira......looking at his other hand...he refused to let her go........holding her tighter the more Yuka stomped onto him.....

She began to remember back to BlueFin Depot...........that day......that exact day when everything changed for the two of them........the day when she super jumped away, but felt him grab onto her ankle from behind........

Even though she kicked him many times........forcing him to get off of her......he didn't budge.....and instead held onto her tighter and refused to let her go the higher they flew.........

She grabbed onto her own heart......feeling a sense of guilt....rush through her......and Guppy looked towards her during this moment.......seeing her stare downwards at her lap......and her eyes slightly begin to water up........

Nova:......Miles.....

~~~~~~~~~

Miles panted heavier than before, only for Yuka to stomp down on his hand again......Harlow watched in horror from the scenery, and she wanted to speak......but her own fear stopped her from doing so.....she saw the reactions from everyone........similar reactions to her own.....

Yuka:.....accept your fate....and let go.....

Miles:......*glares*.....Make me......

Yuka raised her foot once again, stomping onto him and making him scream, but from her surprise, she saw Miles' hand clench the ledge harder as it shook from the pain. She was provoked by his determination, and for one last time, she lifted her foot, slamming her heel onto his hand. The last stomp was enough to make Miles slip from the ledge, but not because he gave up....only simply because the blood from his hand loosened his grip......

Miles and Amira fell together farther and farther, and Yuka watched the two......only before shaking her head in annoyance and turning around to join the others within their battle with OctoStomp.

Lux swung around and shot at the beast, only for it to charge at her with its loud roar. The Octo stomp slammed on the ground, and with a smirk. The two boys from the Nebula squad, Monarch and Chase ran towards Octostomp, planning on Inking and climbing above him to use the jump pad, but before they got far, an Octarian emerged from the monster, then without hesitation, shot at the two immediately, which made them abandon their plan and jump away instead.

A bunch of shots still followed the two regardless, and Chase stood close to Monarch as he used his Bubble blower to block the shots. Yuka darted past the two boys and straight at the Octarian. It shot a barrage of ink at Yuka, but the Octoling evaded every shot and jumped up towards the Octarian, immediately kicking it and mercilessly splatting it.

As everyone stood in shock, and Yuka ran towards the jump pad to use it, OctoStomp stood up and knocked Yuka from off of its back. From the top of its head, another Octarian emerged and began shooting at them all, only annoying Yuka further.

Lux used her chains to elevate herself on top of Octostomp from behind, letting out a chant of pride as she held one of her Splattershots in her hand, shooting at the Octarian and splatting it. Before Lux could continue, OctoStomp swung their body and pulled Lux with it, making Lux spin around uncontrollably and yelp while beginning to feel dizzy.

Lux: UAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

Her body was dragged away by the force of her speed, making her spin in mid air before slamming into the wall and slapping it like a pancake. Yuka jumped up against the wall and turned into her octopus form, shooting her ink and darting herself forward like a bullet.

The Octo brutally kicked Octo stomp from behind, and from her strength alone, the monster yelled before falling down and slamming onto its face once again. Before OctoStomp could react properly, Yuka quickly used the jump pad and launched herself away from the rest of the cephalopods, proceeding to the next floor just as he stood back up and Lux slid off the wall and laid on the floor.....holding her head from dizziness while Monarch cursed under his breath towards Yuka.

They were all left behind to deal with the giant machine on their own.....but meanwhile.....outside of the building...the purity of determination is what kept the two squids within the game....Amira began to once again notice her surroundings, seeing their stable state on the tower, somehow stopping their fall.

Amira looked up and saw Miles, holding onto a sprinkler that he used for support. When she realized the situation, she was amazed by Miles' reaction timing....stopping their fall by using his sprinkler sub and pressing it firmly against the wall, using its suction underside to hold them in place......she began to get more concerned for Miles.....seeing his grip on her not waver in the slightest, even though she saw the poison coursing through his veins.......

Amira:.....Miles........y-you.....

Miles: I'm okay....just a bit...more.....we're almost........t-there........

Miles looked down at Amira, then gave her a tiny smile as blood trailed down his other arm from Yuka........

Miles: I need you.....t-to hold on tight......okay?....

Amira wanted to tend to Miles' pain and help, but she stopped herself before she could speak.....remembering the bigger picture.......she looked away and nodded......then she hooked her E-Liter onto her back for a simple second....pulling herself up Miles' body until her whole body was symmetrical to his from behind. She wrapped her arms Around Miles, then heard him let out a little huff before pressing his feet against the wall......

Miles:....alright...........I need you to use your E-Liter when I say so.......

Amira:.....u-understood.....

Miles took one last deep breath, then nodded to himself.....with all of his might, Miles pulled himself up with the sprinkler, then began to push himself up the wall with his feet to gain elevation.

Miles left his sprinkler behind and began to use both of his hands and feet to aggressively pull himself up the wall, letting out large huffs in the process......he began to get faster and faster....and soon began to slightly lift his body, removing his hands from the wall.

No time later, Miles began to run up the wall with every last ounce of his speed and strength to support himself. He pushed himself up more and swung his arms back and forth as Amira hugged him from behind. He pressed his feet against the glass and made sure not to step too hard on it, running more and more.

His tentacles flowed alongside Amira's as Miles then began to sprint up the wall, using his legs alone. From within the tower, Yuka heard the footsteps from inside, looking over to the window from the next floor and seeing Miles and Amira bolt up past her floor.

The Octoling stood in disbelief, but gritted her teeth and ran towards the glass window, aggressively kicking it and looking up to see the two squids get smaller and smaller as they furthered the distance. Yuka flipped herself out of the tower, then began to run up the wall as well.

The Glass was soon coming to a stopping point on the tower, and soon showed the pure concrete above them. Amira turned her head and saw Yuka running behind them, which only made her worried, but Miles then snapped her back into the conversation at hand.

Miles: okay! Shoot your E-Liter! Now!!

Amira pulled her E-Liter from off of her back and aimed upwards, charging up a shot, then shot it up to emit a loud eruption from the blast. Amira's Ink splattered on the concrete wall, and Miles then looked back at her as they reached the end of the glass.

Miles: don't let go!

Without hesitation, Miles turned into his squid form and dove into the ink on the wall. Amira lost her grip for a slight second, but quickly grabbed onto his tentacle from his little squid body. Her hand was pulled into the ink and they began to move way faster than before. Amira was pulled up farther and farther while watching Yuka below. The fast Octoling darted up towards them rapidly, and with one hand, Amira charged her E-Liter and shot towards Yuka, only for her to dodge and close the distance between them.

Amira: Miles! She's catching up to us!!

Miles: just a little farther!!

Amira slowly watched Yuka approach more and more towards them. She looked at Miles, seeing him turn back into his human form....she looked lower....seeing his bloody and bruised hand.....but a small glow pulsed from within his palm..........a glow that she already recognized.......

Lux, Monarch, and Chase bolted up the normal route of the tower and noticed Miles, Amira, and Yuka on the outside.....an Octoling boy that trailed far behind.....Sho.....simply looked up to see how far Yuka has traveled..........he saw the many beaten and wounded cephalopods that Yuka has destroyed in her path.......and from the simple sight.....he stopped.......catching the attention of Ami and Charlotte.....

Ami: S-Sho! Dude, what are you-

Charlotte gently rested her hand on Ami's shoulder after witnessing Sho helping the cephalopods who were too wounded to even move......Ami looked at Charlotte and already knew her next flow of words before they were even spoken.

He looked away.....Charlotte looked at Yuka on the big screen, seeing corrupted and black ink seep from her eyes.........

Charlotte:..............(she is acting....so......robotic...........as if she doesn't have her own will to fight......)

Charlotte looked around from the many cephalopods around her that were at the very top of the tower.....she looked directly at Yumi.......seeing her look at the screen to witness her sister's actions as well.......

She hesitated, but then slowly walked over to Yumi, making her way past the many cephalopods as the ground began to shake below her.

Charlotte:....Yumi-

Just then, a hard rumble threw everyone off their balance. Every cephalopod looked towards the middle of the tower and saw a Large Energy Core emerge and blast it's way into the sky, floating high and brightly above many.

Coraline: the Energy Core..........

Yumi: Miles....Amira......they're almost......

Miles saw the top of the Tower within his grasp, and so did Lux, Monarch, Chase, and Yuka. Lux emerged from the Tower, Monarch and Chase jumped sky high alongside the Inkling.

Miles ran and finally reached the top of the tower, but instead of jumping to the energy core like everyone else, Miles stopped himself and landed on the top in the Tower and stumbled for a second. Amira let go of him as Yumi and Coraline ran over towards him.

Coraline: Miles! Are yo-

Miles: wait......j-just..........for a little....bit........

Amira began to get too concerned for Miles, but she him look back and notice Yuka jumping up towards the energy core as well high in the sky. She looked back at Miles' hand and saw it glow a bit more than before. Yumi and Coraline both began to notice as well, and watched Miles grit his teeth as he looked straight up at the energy core.

Miles: Yumi.......

Yumi saw Miles grin and watched as more blood seeped from his mouth.......he panted deeply.....but his breaths got slower and slower.....

Miles: you better.....win this......

Miles let out a roar as the threw his freshly developed booyah bomb. It coursed through the sky, it completely flashed past the contending cephalopods and pierced directly into the energy core.

The baby Zapfish looked at the booyah bomb confused, but opened its mouth and stupidly ate the sphere of ink. Amira and Yumi stood confused and simply saw the little fish munch on the ink, then let out a very loud burp, a burp that erupted greatly and shocked the cephalopods in the sky, sending Lux, Monarch, Chase, and Yuka into a static shock state.

Amira:....what....what did you?.....

Miles: *shrugs* living with Lola is truly a blessing sometimes....for learning purposes of course....

Yumi:.......

Amira:...........w-wha-

Miles: don't think too hard on it.

Yumi:.....uh

Miles: go, Yumi!!

Yumi:....But-

Coraline: let's go!!

Coraline grabbed Yumi by the wrist and ran with her, catching the attention of the many cephalopods in the area. Yumi and Coraline blasted off into the sky, and from within the ending static, Yumi grabbed the energy core. Making everything shift from the ground below.

The two looked down and saw the back edge of the tower, emitting a large slope of endless neutral Ink, and at the very very bottom, stood a pillar that was identical to a rainmaker pedestal.

Yumi looked at the baby Zapfish, and saw it smile at her, then noticed the many squids and octos jump up towards her as well to start the second trial of Tower Takeover.....her eyes shifted 2 more times....a singular glance at Coraline.....seeing her determined, yet concerned glare back at her.....but the other.....was behind her....

Yuka floated within the air as the electric static still surged throughout her body......she looked at her older sister....straight in her singular eye....seeing her eye flash from black to red...........and with that....a tear trailed down the two Octoling's faces......for Yumi....and as well for Yuka......

Coraline: Yumi!!?....we have to go!!!

She looked back at Coraline, then noticed an Inkling below her, reaching out to grab the core from her. Yumi quickly twisted her body and kicked the Inkling, dashing back down to the back edge of the tower.

Knowing to hold onto the core tightly, Yumi focused on dodging the many shots from the trailing cephalopods behind her. Coraline gritted her teeth and pulled out her N-Zap, shooting the many cephalopods around her.

The Inkling twisted and turned herself while coasting down. She looked back and noticed a charger aiming directly at her head, with only a slight moment to react, she moved her head just in time, only feeling a slight sting from the acidic enemy ink course the side of her head.

She grunted before throwing a suction bomb straight at the charger, only for them to knock the bomb away and make it explode behind them. She looked down to see Yumi looking back at her, concerned, but before Yumi could move to help, Coraline held out her hand towards Yumi, gesturing for her to stop.

Coraline: DON'T!! I'M OKAY!! FOCUS ON THE OBJECTIVE!!

Yumi saw Coraline's glare, and she simply allowed the Inkling to defend her. Coraline let out a breath and looked back at the many cephalopods above her, gripping her N-Zap harder.

Coraline: come at me....

Within the distance, a Dynamo inkling shot down towards Coraline and swung straight for her head. Coraline dodged the swing by leaning her body back, using her forearm to push the Dynamo away, then she let out a roar while hitting the Inkling in their stomach with her knee, knocking them away, but before she could let out another breath, a suction bomb hit Coraline straight on her head, and when she looked up once more, a Kensa Splattershot soared down towards her.

She grabbed the suction bomb and aggressively pulled it off of her head, dodging the shots in the process before throwing the bomb back at the kensa Splattershot, knocking them away and into the charger from earlier who was ready to shoot once more, only to get interrupted by the kensa shot, hitting them and making both of them get caught in the explosion.

~~~
"....you seem to be struggling quite a bit.....your heart rate is increasing"
~~~

Coraline shook away the voice and immediately dodged a swing from a carbon roller, shooting them afterwards and splatting them in front of her, only for a Octo brush to emerge and catch Coraline off guard, hitting her directly in the face with their brush.

Coraline quickly adjusted herself and saw the Brush throw a suction bomb at her. She pulled out her own bomb and made the two suction bombs stick together from their ends, then aggressively threw the bombs up at the cephalopods chasing her above, causing a huge explosion, but when the explosion settled, she only noticed that she splatted barely any cephalopods at all, making her curse under her breath.

~~~
".....close your eyes and look at me.....just once"....
~~~

Coraline shook her head once more, dodging constant Ink left and right. She evaded the shots from an Octoling wielding dapple dualies, but as they got closer, Coraline struggled more. She shot at the Dualie's only for them to dodge and land a mean kick straight in her stomach. Coraline held in her pain before shooting once again. The quick burst and aggression of the dualies was definitely throwing Coraline on the defensive end of their fight, but before she could continue, a singular Jet squelcher came from behind her while holding onto their glass bottle of toxic mist.

Before she could react, the bottle was slammed directly onto Coraline's head, making her vision slowly blur as mist erupted from the area. Yumi turned around in the air and noticed the mist within the conflict, along with a singular drop of blood that fell from the surrounding area.

Yumi: Coraline!!!

~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~

Within her mental state......her area of flowing thoughts and statements.....she found herself in a chained situation...Coraline rested on her knees.....her body was stiff almost as if she was lifeless........her body was slowly getting more and more dull.....feeling a deep emotion that she felt from the slow pacing from her heart.

???:.....finally finished?........

Coraline looked up......seeing an Octoling girl with long tentacles and orange eyes.....the exact same tone and shade as hers.....wearing the exact same clothes as her.....the exact skin tone as.......her.....everything......was as if she was looking in a mirror towards herself as another species.......

Coraline:.......you were the one.......the voice..........

???:......for many years......yes.......

Coraline:.........who.....are you?......

???:.............

The Octoling didn't respond for quite some time.......she looked away......Coraline noticed her voice......style......appearance and reflection....even though she looked exactly like her.....she didn't...feel like her......

???:.....a replacement.......

Coraline:......what?......

???: I've been stuck in your mind for a very long time.......waiting for you to break......

Coraline:........

???: when your mental state was at its weakest......I would take my chance....and it was when you decided to enroll into these exams.....

Coraline saw the Octoling look directly at her.....letting out a tiny nod in the process as she reached over and gently touched the Inkling's cheek....

???: I'll make Isabella proud.....for you.....or......should I say.....for us......

Her rough Octoling hand slowly slipped away from her cheek.....and she began to walk away from Coraline, just as a ray of light appeared before her....

Mellow:......I am Mellow......and don't worry.....you're not the first one to have a condition like this.............but you can rest now.......

Coraline:............r-rest?..........wait I.........W-Wait!!!.....WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!?

Mellow heard Coraline's screams and wails, but only ignored them as she proceeded forward.......and as Coraline's voice began to fade from the Octoling......her vision......and sense of the real world and atmosphere began to take over.......

~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~

Coraline's entire body flowed with her pink ink......and it coated her from head to toe.....the cephalopods watched in confusion as ink covered her head, then submerged to only reveal a shift of her appearance.....her pointed ears curved out and her tentacles began to thin themselves while suction cups submerged from the inside and spread on the outside instead.

Her black line connecting her eyes to represent her Inkling self slowly faded and left nothing but a gap......and soon afterwards....Mellow finally opened her eyes for the cephalopods in the mist to see........

Mellow, with no form of hesitation, quickly got to work and spun her body around, violently kicking the Jet Squelcher from behind her with her heel, easily knocking them away.

The Dapple Dualies reacted quickly to Mellow and immediately tried to shoot her, but the Octo was already many steps ahead of them, immediately shifting her body before the shots were fired, then, with a glare, Mellow delivered a mean punch to the dapple Dualies right in their stomach, making them cough and struggle to breath before her.

An Ink brush quickly swooped in behind Mellow, and she moved her head to dodge the strike. Mellow turned and grabbed onto the Ink brush, and when she saw the cephalopod try to pull the brush away from her tight grip, she pulled out a suction bomb and aggressively slammed it on their face, but from above, Mellow noticed more squids octos approaching, so she kicked the cephalopod up towards the hoard, allowing them to explore and catch them all in the blast.

With one final objective, Mellow quickly turned her body and used the Ink brush she stole to hit the Dapple Dualies straight in their face, launching them away.

Yumi approached the surface of the long slope downwards toward the pedestal, and while keeping her momentum, she flipped her body to land on her backside while holding tightly onto the energy core.

She drifted down on the neutral ink, and with her foot, Yumi firmly slammed down on the ink to get a better control over herself. Since she was holding the core, and was using only one of her two dualie squelchers, with the other attached to her waist.

With no form of hesitation, Mellow caught up to Yumi and grabbed the energy core directly from her hands. Yumi immediately aimed her single dualie over at Mellow, only to see her grab it firmly, then glared straight into her eyes.

Mellow:......I am your ally.........

Yumi:................where's Coraline?...

As Mellow let go of Yumi's weapon, she then used the same hand and point directly up to her own forehead.

Mellow:.....I am.......her replacement...

Mellow closed her eyes and Yumi noticed her tentacles glow slightly...and soon, the left side of Mellow's head began to shift and morph.....changing hall of her face and tentacles to represent Coraline, but the Inkling had her eye closed as if she was too deep within her own mind.....

Yumi:....Cora....line....

Mellow's face and tentacles changed back to her octoling appearance, and Yumi was still left in shock..........

Mellow:.....you have no choice but to accept me.........because.......I'm not going anywhere.........unless you want to truly abandon your friend......

Yumi:..........*glares*........I.....expect a proper explanation........when this is over.......

Mellow: based on your performance, that'll tell me if you are worthy to be gifted with an explanation..........so don't disappoint me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the distant static within the sky, it finally reached its endpoint....Lux, Monarch....and Chase all were blasted away at great speed, knocking all of them into the ground.

While the other cephalopods fell.....Yuka was the only one to have a late form of reaction.......the octoling dropped her splash.......and her body fell.......but her vision and mind began to flicker within the moment.....

She felt blood seep from her mouth slowly.......her eyes shifted to her hands.......noticing how her fingers.....and blood.......were completely black........corrupted.....

Yuka's eyepatch fell off......revealing her slashed eye that was dripping with blood as well......leaking and trailing down her face........for a moment.......she felt something....a hard pump.........a pump from her heart........

Yuka:............Yumi.......

She held her hand out to the sun.....and from her other eye, she saw a little girl gently wrap her small octoling hand around hers.........

She trailed up the hand and past the arm..........there she was.......a young.....beautiful.......and concerned Yumi...........she felt her eye seep with tears........but.......her tears felt more thick and dense......but after her constant flow.......she noticed that she was crying tears of blood..........

Yumi: Yuka!!!...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~