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"So... hot..." Akikta groaned, trudging through the sandy dunes of a vast desert.

The damp black and blue-colored scuba suit protected a majority of his light brown skin from the harsh rays of the sun.

The only positive thing the burning heat brought was helping Akikta dry off. At first, the feeling was pleasant, especially after he crawled out of the frigid cold waters that poured on him upon escaping Alterna. But the more he walked, the hotter it became.

The cool breeze of air was the only solace Akikta had against the blistering heat. When they blew over him, they caused his eight-long braids to sway gently. Similar to a cape in the wind.

The sand brought a comfortable warmth to Akikta's bare feet with each step he took. But the comfort it brought was minuscule compared to the landscape before him. Everywhere Akikta turned, his gaze met with a sandy hill or valley. Aside from the body of water he crawled out from, there was nothing else—just sand.

"This isn't the world Father Axe described..." He said, a little disappointed.

His grandfather told of a world where green forests stretched for miles and delivered delicious bounties called fruit to those who lived within. Icy winter wonderlands, which mimicked the various sites of Alterna, should've dotted the lands. And amongst it all, a plethora of diverse and unique creatures should be visible from miles away, living their best life.

But no. All Akikta saw were millions of tiny pebbles as he simmered in furnace-type heat.

The desert's conditions were intense; he found it hard to believe anyone or thing could survive out here. But he knew he wasn't alone.

Wrapped around Akikta's waist was a silver-colored utility belt. Secured on it were his two treasured items. A blank white mask and a handheld radio, the latter of which he unhooked.

As he turned the radio on, the screen lit up to show he had arrived at the destination given to him by his mysterious benefactor.

His eyebrows raised before he took a few seconds to survey his surroundings. "Uh, Sal? I think I'm at the place you told me to go to. But all I see is sand." Akikta grew a little concerned. Had the water from earlier messed up the radio after all?

"Oh, wow!" The radio buzzed as a f amiliar voice boomed through. Usually, the radio gave off static whenever communication was attempted. But not this time. Akikta could hear Sal crystal clear, that slight gurgle in his voice being even more prominent than before.

"You look absolutely delicious!" Sal exclaimed, his mouth audibly full of what Akikta assumed was food.

He's eating again. Akikta shook his head. "Uh, thanks?" He said unsurely. Sal's tone suggested his phrase was meant to be a compliment—a rather odd one.

The word choice perturbed Akikta, but only for a moment. "Hold on, you can see me?"

"Of course I can. That radio has a built-in camera. Though, now that the connection is better, it actually works." Akikta would've never guessed such a feature could be put on a radio, of all things.

"How can I see you?" He asked excitedly.

Sal's noisy chewing ceased abruptly. "Sorry... It's a one-way feature. Didn't really think to make it a two-way."

Akikta frowned. He desperately wanted to see the face of something that wasn't trying to kill him for once, especially one that belonged to a human.

"Anyway, to answer you properly, yes. You're in the right place, just in time too! Look up; you should see someone." Akikta turned to face the sky. Sal was right!

In the air was a small circular object, and underneath it was a spinning propeller. Had Sal not brought it to his attention, he would've missed it. "Yeah! I see them!" He said loudly, mainly so whoever was up there could hear him, which they certainly did.

The circular object lowered. As it came closer to the ground, Akikta could gradually make out the features of the person inside the closer it got.

When the person inside was at eye level with Akikta, he didn't know what to make of it.

First of all, the circular object wasn't actually circular but instead spherical. It was more like a pot, with the propellers helping it hover along the sand.

Second, the person inside wasn't actually a person. At least, it wasn't human. It more closely resembled a fish. A very... weird-looking fish.

Its skin was white on the front and grayish on the back, the grayish parts becoming a spotted pattern closer to the top. Unlike the rest of their body, their snout was reddish.

Their hair was purplish and curved like a spartan mohawk. At least, Akikta assumed it was hair. It wasn't hairy like his, but smooth.

Suddenly, the fish thing opened its mouth, prompting Akikta to jump back a bit.

Underneath its two cartoonishly large bulging eyes was a maw filled with jagged white teeth. They weren't sharp, but there were so many of them. Enough to make Akikta feel uneasy.

"What is that thing?!" He yelled with fright.

"Hey hey, hey! Calm down. That, my friend, is a snatcher. Don't worry. It won't eat you. Can't. In fact, it's there to give you a little gift from yours truly." Akikta watched as what Sal called a Snatcher raised its fins to hand him a few items.

In one fin were two small black spherical objects with a blue outline, accompanied by a more curved cylinder black object that was slightly larger than the spherical orbs. In the other fin was a flat circular device with a green button on top.

"What are they?"

"You see those black beads? Put them in your ears."

Akikta found the request odd, but he did as told. While he adjusted the earpieces to a more comfortable position, he noticed the snatcher's fins were shaking. He looked up at its bluish eyes; it stared back into his brown eyes.

It was far from cold out here, so it wasn't shivering due to low temperatures. Akikta figured the snatcher was nervous, just like him.

"Ok, they're in."

"Do I sound any better?" Sal asked, his voice sounding drastically different from before.

His tone was slightly raspy, but he sounded somewhat young. With the gurgles in his tone disappearing, Akikta could clearly hear the voice of an early middle-aged man.

"Wow! No offense, but you sound so much better than you did a few moments ago."

"Good, then the translators are working as intended."

"Translators?"

"Yes, translators. Admittedly, my..." Sal trailed off as if trying to find the correct words.

Considering they were talking about translators, Akikta assumed he knew the word he was looking for. "English?"

"Yes, right! English. My English is a little tedious. I can understand it fine. With concentration, I can speak it fine too. But I think it's better if we both spoke naturally with no restrictions, so I'm speaking to you in my native tongue. As long as you have those earpieces in, they'll translate my words into something you can understand."

Akikta muttered an audible "wow," amazed at the technology Sal was willing to give him.

"The translators work universally as well, not just with my language. The cylinder-shaped object is also a translator, except it goes on your mouth and does the reverse." Sal informed as Akikta picked up the cylinder mouthpiece, electing to put it on now rather than later.

"If only the others could see this," Akikta said absentmindedly. His whole family were scientists and inventors; They'd be thrilled at such a marvel of technology and engineering.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, his eyes widened.

"S-Sal!" He stammered loudly, spooking the snatcher who pulled away from Akikta a short distance, only to reel itself back in.

"What's the matter? Are the translators not to your liking? I could've sworn I heard you say wow a few seconds ago..."

"I-I've been meaning to tell you! I wasn't alone! My brother, he... he..."

The thought of what happened to his beloved older brother caused tears to swell up in Akikta's eyes, but he forced himself not to cry.

"He needs help! He isn't... himself right now, but I know he's still in there. We can still help him!" He pleaded with Sal. If the man has access to technology on par with the translators, he could surely help his brother.

"I know we haven't gotten to know each other all that well, but please. If you do this for me, I'll be in your debt forever! I'll do whatever you want for the rest of my life!" Sal stopped chewing, causing an uncomfortable silence to form. Akikta fiddled with his utility belt; his toes dug further into the sand.

"Ok, I'll help you." Sal agreed.

"Really?!"

"Yes, really. But before I do, I... I need you to do me a favor."

Tears of joy streamed out of Akikta's eyes. He wiped them away as he responded. "Sure! I'll do whatever you ask! Just say the word!"

His enthusiasm and complete willingness earned a chuckle from Sal. "You're really something special, Akikta." Sal swallowed whatever he was eating and cleared his throat before continuing.

"I need you to abduct someone."

Akikta sniffled a little as he wiped away the last of his tears. "What?" He was convinced he had misheard Sal.

"I said I need you to abduct someone," Sal repeated.

Akikta definitely didn't mishear him the first time.

"I know I said I'd do whatever you asked. But kidnapping someone...?"

"You're not kidnapping just anyone. You're abducting a vile criminal who has done atrocious things to our kind and bringing them to justice!"

Akikta furrowed his brows and thought about the situation for a short moment. "Why ask specifically me to do this favor? Can't you send one of your, uh, snatchers?"

"Oh, no, no. Snatchers are basically smallfries. It'd take hundreds, maybe even thousands, of them. You, on the other hand... well, like I said. You're something special. This criminal may be dangerous to us, but I guarantee they will prove harmless to you."

Akikta tilted his head as he stared at the radio.

"Akikta, I would not put you in a situation I wasn't sure you could handle. Besides, I gave you a tool to help. Did you see that flat circle with the green button on top?"

Sal mentioned, which reminded Akikta of the other device in the snatcher's fin. "Yeah? What about it?"

"That's an immobilizer. Press the button and then have the other side face the criminal. It'll automatically stick to them and do the hard part of restraining them. All you'll have to do is carry the fiend to your soon-to-be new home. Though make sure not to put it on yourself once you activate it."

This criminal sounded dangerous, especially if the immobilizer device was needed. But Sal swore Akikta wouldn't be in any danger. The confidence in his voice was undeniable.

Had he planned for this?

"Bringing this criminal to justice would mean a lot to my clan, Akikta. And if you do, I'll gladly help your brother in any way I can." It was hard to say no after hearing that last sentence. Besides, Sal had yet to do anything that would warrant Akikta not to trust him.

"Alright, I guess I'll nab this criminal for you. So, who are they?"

"A vile, emotionless, crude, abominable-"

"I meant what's their name..."

Sal scoffed. "Name, heh. The only fitting name for them would be Ikayaki. But their people call them Marie."

"Marie? That's a girl's name, isn't it?"

"Yes, they are of the female sex."

Akikta felt a little uncomfortable knowing his target was a woman. His brother would chastise him a hundred times over if he heard this conversation, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Before he continued, Akikta went to get one thing clarified. "Hold up, rewind. What do you mean her people call her that?" He asked, noting Sal spoke as if she were not the same species as them.

Sal sighed. "Right. You wouldn't know. You see, she isn't like you or me."

"Then what is she?"

A groan came from the radio. "Let's see, what's the easiest way to explain this... oh! She's a squid, more or less."

"A... squid?"

"More or less. We call their kind inklings. But feel free to call them whatever you'd prefer, like say... lunch?" Sal's attempt at a light joke wasn't very funny, assuming it was supposed to be a joke.

And what in the hell was an inkling anyway? From the way Sal spoke, they were squid people. That would imply squids evolved to be sentient... but surely that wouldn't be possible in just twelve thousand years. Right?

Akikta wouldn't even try to wrap his head around that one. "So... do you know where Marie is?"

"We have her general location. Look at the radio real quick." Akikta tilted the radio to have a better view of the screen.

A small circle showing the radio's position appeared. It zoomed out to reveal a rough but large sketch of the surrounding areas. "You are currently in the Splatlands. This criminal is all the way over in a different region known as Inkadia. Follow the coordinates, and you should find yourself in a city called Inkopolis."

"Alright, can I get a description of this criminal?"

"I would if I had any images to send."

Akikta frowned at such a lame excuse. "Just describe what she looks like."

"I'd tell you what she looks like, but we'd save more time for you to just go to the city." Akikta frowned harder at the radio. "Trust me, A, she's quite popular amongst her people. She'll be pretty hard to miss," Sal claimed.

Akikta decided to let him off the hook for now, especially since he gave him a short and sweet nickname.

A loud clang echoed through the radio from wherever Sal was. "Oh! I gotta go. I'll check up on you every now and then. Be careful. There are creatures out here who'll eat you alive," Sal warned. He didn't stop there. "Oh, two more things. This probably goes without saying, but be discreet with your abduction. Those inklings will surely retaliate if you do it in broad daylight."

"And the other thing?"

"Conceal your head."

The radio cut out. At least this time, the connection didn't drop.

Akikta sighed before finally taking the flat device from the snatcher's fin and securing it on his belt.

The snatcher was already back in the air when he looked up again.

"What- hey!" He called out. "You don't expect me to walk all the way there, do you?! Let me hitch a ride, man!" Akikta dreaded walking any longer through the Splatlands' intense heat. But the snatcher either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him as it didn't react and continued to fly off into the distance.

Akikta gave chase, but after a minute of sprinting at top speed, the snatcher was little more than a dot in the distance.

Eventually, he tripped and gave up on getting that ride. "This. Sucks."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Why... is it so... damn... hot..." Akikta panted as sweat beads dripped down his forehead. He tried drinking his saliva a few times, desperate for some form of liquid.     From his current position, all Akikta had to do was walk in a straight line, and he'd eventually find himself in Inkadia. But at this rate, he feared the heat would cook him alive before he even got halfway there.     Akikta thought about the translators Sal gave him, a hopeless attempt to take his mind off the blistering heat.     Something about them confused him. The technology and engineering design were a little ahead of anything Alterna could've offered, but they were clearly of human origin.     Sal and his clan were definitely descendants of whoever managed to escape Alterna all those years ago.     Going on that fact, Akikta now knew why their native languages differed, despite being of the same species. It made sense that the language of humans evolved beyond anything he was familiar with.     What didn't make sense was how quickly Sal had a pair of translators ready for Akikta's use.Not to mention that weird fish thing he saw earlier. Was that a pet of some kind? The thought alone gave him goosebumps.     A low and distant rumble broke the calm noise of wind and Akikta's train of thought.     He perked up, looking over his shoulder to see... a large ship? It was distant, but the silhouette was unmistakable. The wavy lines of a black ship rode across the sea of sand.     Akikta sighed and faced forward again. He lightly knocked on his head with both hands. "Not now, brain, please. It's bad enough I have to deal with this heat. Don't start making me hallucinate, too."     He had seen these types of things in movies. After spending ample time in the dunes with no one but themselves, the protagonist starts seeing things that aren't actually there.     Usually, the hallucination is an oasis, but Akikta knew the same principle applied here.     He continued forward, though he didn't get very far without hearing the rumble again. It sounded a little louder, but still faint. Akikta ignored the noise, only acknowledging it by knocking on his head with both hands again.     A minute of silence passed. Akikta breathed out a sigh of relief, thankful the auditory hallucinations had stopped. Or so he thought.     The rumble came back, this time nearly bursting his eardrums. The noise shook the ground and Akikta's very soul.     He fell and quickly looked over to see the ship was right on top of him, glistening a frightening brown color with a large steel crab-like claw as the figurehead. Shockingly, this was no hallucination.     Akikta scrambled to his feet and ran. His exhaustion from earlier suddenly vanished. All he could think about was getting to safety, away from whatever the hell that ship was. Was it even a ship? It couldn't be. They were nowhere near an ocean, yet the vessel sailed as if at sea.     Akikta wasn't given a chance to think, as he didn't make it far from the ship. It sailed right next to him, allowing a visual on its side.     Lined on the side of the ship were rows of small panels. One of these panels opened. Akikta expected to see a cannon slide out and take aim at him, but instead, a large grappling hook shot out. It grappled onto Akikta's body, making him tumble with a slight roll.     Somehow, the grappling hook began dispensing rope around his body with a loud mechanical whirring sound. When the noise stopped, so did the rope. But by then, Akikta was all wrapped up like a Christmas present.     He was given no time to process what had happened to him as the grappling hook reeled itself in. It shot up back to the panel, but before going in, it released its grip on Akikta. He flew past the panel the hook returned to, landing hard on the ship's top deck with a loud thud. Akikta shut his eyes and groaned in pain.     "Haha! Caught another bandit!" A strange, slightly high-pitched voice announced.     Akikta opened his eyes and got startled. Towering over him at eight feet in height was a large purple jellyfish.     The jellyfish stood on two long tendrils while its other two tendrils raised in the air, acting as arms. On top of its mushroom-shaped head was a half-torn pirate hat. It appeared to be fluorescent as it pulsated pink occasionally.     "Hey, hey, nice work Styg." A deep-pitched and laid-back tone congratulated.     Akikta's head shot over to a smaller but bulkier figure. They were about the same height as Akikta, six feet. Their arms and legs were muscular, but their torso was flabby. Their feet were flippers, and their hands only had three fingers.     And their head... it was an angler fish! The iconic white-tipped angler-fin hung from the fish's large head, shining down on its black eyes, brown skin, and sharp jagged teeth, which were more disproportionate than that snatcher's teeth.     Unlike the jellyfish-looking creature, the anglerfish beast wore torn, baggy clothing.     Akikta blinked a few times, not believing what he was seeing. Had it not been for the pain from earlier, he would've thought he passed out in the heat and was dreaming.     He looked away, not wanting to stare at those off-putting creatures any longer. Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones here.     Akikta noticed various other sea creatures; all were familiar, but at the same time, not so much.There were eels, cookie-cutter sharks, blobfishes, and many more. All of them had something that made them a little humanoid, but they also retained a feature that allowed Akikta to guess what species they were part of.     Some wore torn clothes, others wore intact but dirty clothes. Some just flat-out wore nothing. Not like they had anything to cover up, evidently.     The only thing they had in common was that they all were creatures that should be in the ocean, not on a ship sailing through the desert.     Akikta could never dream of something this wild.     Aside from the purple jellyfish and anglerfish standing before him, no one noticed his arrival. Most were dancing to a lovely shanty that played loudly or chatting.     It reeked of sea life. The heavy smell made Akikta scrunch his nose and turn his attention back to Styg and the anglerfish.     "Today just isn't your day." Styg, who sounded like he should have an over-exaggerated twirled mustache, stated.     He lacked eyes, but Akikta could sense Styg staring directly at him. He sucked in his lips, or at least he tried to. The translator had prevented him from doing so; simultaneously, it reminded him he could communicate.     "W-w-who are you?!" Akikta stammered.     Styg responded by standing up straight and placing a tendril on his lean torso, which Akikta first thought was another tendril, giving a proud salute. "Aha! Tremble at my form and despair, bandit, for you have been captured by Sargent Styg! Proud member of the Wild Claws!" Styg exclaimed while posing dramatically.     Akikta wanted to ask more specific questions, like what Styg was and who the Wild Claws were, but he became overwhelmed.     Instead, he went to defend himself from false accusations. "I'm not a bandit!"     "That's what they all say. But who else would wander around here other than those looking to dig up and steal treasure? Too bad for you though! All treasure in the Splatlands belongs to the Wild Claws!"     Before Akikta could protest against Styg's claims, the anglerfish poked his cheek with a slimy finger, making him shiver in disgust. "Ay, Styg? What kinda mollusk you think this bandit be? Don't think I've seen one of his people before."     "What do you mean? He's clearly an inkling... I think?"     "Nah, can't be. Look at his eyes."     "Ah, you're right. He appears to lack the membrane. But look! His ears are round. He could be one of Nakji's people."     "Yeah, you might be onto somethin'! Call her over."     "Nakji! Be a dear and come over here for a sec!" Styg called.     Akikta expected to see yet another horrid sea creature. But to his surprise, emerging from the crowd was... a human!     No, wait. That wasn't a human. Was it?     Compared to everyone else aboard the ship, Nakji closely matched Akikta's appearance, being only a foot shorter and having a lighter skin tone. But she looked... off.     The two locked eyes; Akikta noticed her purple-colored irises immediately. That, and the black markings around each eyelid with a small curved line jutting from their outer edges.     "No, wait. He's also missing her people's membrane." Styg pointed out.     "I hear them octos can be born with marks so slim it's barely visible. Maybe he be one of them?"     "Maybe, but look at the top of his head." Styg pointed to Akikta's head. "Now look at hers." He pointed to Nakji's head.     Akikta noticed what Styg was talking about. Nakji's purple hair was incredibly smooth, and so were her eyebrows. They weren't hairy like his.     He also noticed suckers on the bigger, smooth, quiff-shaped appendage at the center of her head. It was like a large tentacle had been placed on her head horizontally.     "Huh, maybe he not one of them then..." The anglerfish scratched the bottom of his chin, clearly stumped.     These people acted like they'd never seen a human before. Then again, Akikta has never seen creatures like them before either.     "Gah! Who cares what he is? Let's just strip him of his valuables and be done with it!" Styg sounded frustrated.     "Wh- I don't have any valuables!" Akikta exclaimed.     "Lying again? That thing on your mouth looks valuable to me. And how about-" Styg stopped abruptly, spotting something poking in between the rope Akikta was tied in. "Oh? What's this?"     One of Styg's tendrils extended towards Akikta. His eyes trailed to where the appendage was going—his mask.     "DON'T TOUCH MY MASK!" Akikta shouted with ferocity, causing Styg and even the bulky anglerfish to flinch.     He'd soon come to regret his shout, as right after, the musical shanty stopped along with the chatter. Everyone on the deck was now aware of Akikta's presence.     He nervously swallowed. "P-please... the mask is all I have left of my family..." Silence filled the air.     Akikta turned to look around as the sea creatures simply stared at him. A few, like Nakji, squinted their eyes, as if somehow recognizing him.     Styg stood there with his arms at his sides.     When the anglerfish realized Styg wouldn't respond, he stepped forward with an open maw, about to say something.     Before any words left the angler's mouth, a door slammed open, violently breaking the silence.     "Aye, what be with the sudden silence?" A new, hefty, slightly deep, and crackly voice asked.     Everyone turned to where the voice came from. Akikta followed the crew's gaze. His eyes widened as he felt his muscles tense with fear. What the hell is that thing?! screamed his inner voice.     Scuttling through the crowd on eight large legs was a massive crustacean. Each time one leg thumped against the wooden deck, it groaned with a loud creak as the wood struggled to keep itself from caving under the weight of the monster.     Styg already dwarfed Akikta, but this crab monster made him look like an ant in comparison. When it stopped a short distance away from him, Akikta got a full look at the crab.     His neck nearly broke just looking up at the giant, who towered over him at fifteen feet and had a bulky humanoid torso with a triangular-shaped head. The carapace had a white color on the front and a red color on the back. Smaller spikes jutted out the carapace from various angles, more noticeably the back.     Aside from its lack of clothes, the crab's disproportionate claws were its most noticeable feature. Both were white with black tips, but only the right claw matched the appropriate size, contrary to its body. The left claw was enormous, practically bigger than the rest of its body. Akikta couldn't understand how the crab could move with such a large appendage.     The crab's black beading eyes darted from Akikta, then to the anglerfish and Nakji, and finally to Styg. "When the captain asks a question, his crew is expected to answer." The crab scowled with a soft crackle, which Akikta now realized was the sound of his mandibles clicking together.     Styg shuddered in response. "Aye, Captain Claw! I- we meant no disrespect! We were just trying to figure out what kind of bandit we caught when-"     "For the last time, I'm not a bandit!" Akikta shouted, immediately forgetting what kind of situation he was in.     Styg snapped towards him. "Silence, bandit! I've heard enough out of you!" He raised a tendril, aimed to smack Akikta across the cheek.     Before he could, Captain Claw raised his smaller claw. "Hold." He ordered, and luckily for Akikta, Styg backed down obediently. "Funny voice ye got there, sandlubber. Not one I'd expect to hear from an inkling."     Sandlubber? Doesn't he mean landlubber? Anyway... "I'm- uh... not an inkling..." Akikta corrected, which caused Captain Claw to narrow his eyelids.     "Blade Master. Cut 'em loose."     The captain ordered. Akikta looked around to see who the alias referred to, only to see Nakji unsheathe a hidden cutlass and step forward.     Akikta got spooked and tried to wiggle away from her, but she was right on top of him in mere moments. She raised the blade, and he closed his eyes, bracing for pain and death.     All he heard was a quick swoosh, and his body felt less restricted.     He opened his eyes to see the ropes were severed in one clean, precise slash. His scuba suit wasn't even skimmed.     "Stand." The captain demanded, causing Akikta's head to jolt up at the behemoth. When he realized that the captain's order was for him, he quickly shot to his feet, standing to attention.     Captain Claw maneuvered over to Akikta. The crab used his smaller pincher to grab Akikta's arm. One squeeze would be enough to break every bone, but the captain was, surprisingly, incredibly gentle. He raised Akikta's arm, doing the same with the other as he circled him a few times.     Was the captain examining him? That's the only explanation Akikta could think of, as even the other crew didn't seem to know what was going on.     "By the seven seas!" Captain Claw backed away from Akikta. "He's not an inkling, sea anemone, or urchin!"     "Uh... then what he be?" The anglerfish asked.     "Lads! We caught ourselves a human!" Captain Claw raised both pinchers into the air, snapping them excitedly.     The crew had a mixture of reactions. Some, like Nakji, were shocked. Others, like the anglerfish, were confused. Then there were those whose reactions couldn't be determined, like Styg.     Akikta was puzzled at the crab's reaction. Captain Claw acted as though he were a mythical creature. Before he could ask any questions, the anglerfish spoke again.     "But uh, cap'n? Ain't them things been extinct for..." The anglerfish raised his fingers one at a time. "A long time?"     Akikta raised a brow at what he said. Extinct? Humans? Sal warned him that there were creatures out here who would eat him alive. Perhaps this is what he was talking about. And perhaps the remaining humans kept themselves hidden to avoid these semi-intelligent animals. That would explain a lot of things.     "There be one right in front of us, so clearly, they aren't all extinct!" Captain Claw pointed out.     "So... does that mean we'll get to eat him or..." The anglerfish trailed off in his sentence when the captain gave him an annoyed look.     "No, ye squid for brains! He be our ticket to infinite riches!"     "Uh... h-how?"     "Think about it! A living, breathing human here on our ship? Those fancy bigshots in Inkadia will be linin' up with whatever they've got to offer just to get a minute with him! Hell, not just them. The whole world will want a piece of em! We'll be swimmin' in a sea of gold!" Captain Claw explained to his subordinate as he crackled happily, showing more excitement than the rest of the crew at the prospect of Akikta being their cash cow.     "Aye, I'll finally replenish the bounty that accursed eel tamer robbed me of, and then some!"     Akikta's head tilted. Did he just say eel tamer? He thought as he looked around at all the eel-like creatures aboard the ship. "Eel tamer...?" He finally spoke up.     "Aye! That blasted eel tamer! Plundering a small settlement, we were. Then out she and her scurvy crew came. Argh! Gets me blood boilin' every time I remember the scuffle." Captain Claw ranted about a scenario Akikta couldn't imagine.     At first, he thought they had a former tamer who helped gain the current eels who were part of the crew. But from the sounds of it, this eel tamer was never on Captain Claw's side to begin with.     "The horrid melody of her flute summoned hundreds of those damned eels. Ate up half me crew, they did!" Eels being summoned from the simple melody of a flute? That was absurd. After all, they weren't snakes. But even if exaggerated, something happened between this eel tamer and the crab captain.     He snapped his pinchers angrily, only to make a low clicking noise before turning to Akikta. "Enough about those bandits. I'll get them one day. But as for now, fortune is smiling down on the Wild Claws once again!" The captain was dead-set on using Akikta for his own gain.     Honestly, it was still hard for Akikta to process that he was talking to a bunch of sea animals. But he knew now wasn't a good time to get wrapped up in their mess. "As much as I would like to help, I kinda have my own things going on right now..."     A low crackle emitted from Captain Claw. "Aye? I don't remember ye having a say in the matter."     Akikta figured they wouldn't let him roam out of this situation scot-free. "So, that's how it's gonna be." He murmured. In response, he heard a few shuffles behind him. His eyes darted from left to right. They were surrounding him.     The anglerfish had his hands raised as if he were going to pounce.     Styg lowered himself, ready to strike with his limbs that Akikta assumed would sting like hell if they touched him.     Nakji was the only one who didn't look as battle ready as the rest of the crew, but she still held her cutlass.     It was quiet. The light breeze of the wind whistled throughout the standstill as the scent of the sea continued to bombard Akikta's nose uncomfortably.     Then, a move was made.     Akikta dashed towards the center mast, which was wrapped in rope. He jumped, latched onto the mast, and immediately began climbing to the top at speeds akin to an ape.     Captain Claw tried to grab Akikta before he went out of reach, but the captain narrowly missed his feet. "Get that human!" shouted the captain.     The rest of the crew mobilized in response. Those who were able followed Akikta up the mast. Albeit at a much slower pace, as their bodies weren't meant for climbing.     Akikta spotted a loose rope that had not been tied down and leaped off the mast, grabbing hold of it and swinging around the ship like a monkey on a vine.     He yelped in fear when the rope momentarily brought him over to the ship's side, exposing Akikta to the sight of the hot sand the ship traveled on.     Not wanting to go through that scare again, he let go of the rope when he came back around, unintentionally drop-kicking a small cookie-cutter shark off the ship.     Suddenly, the ship lurched to the side, causing everyone onboard to stagger. Akikta turned around to see a steering wheel behind him spinning uncontrollably. His eyes widened after realizing he just threw the driver overboard.     He ran up and grabbed the ship's wheel, about to adjust the ship's trajectory, only to see Captain Claw about to topple over.     Unlike most of the crew, Captain Claw could not keep his balance when the ship suddenly changed direction. As a result, he fell with a loud crash. His weight made the entire ship abruptly lean on the side he fell on.     Those not prepared for the lean were tossed off the ship completely, along with barrels and crates. Akikta would've joined them had he not grabbed onto the ship's wheel.     Those that were not tossed off the ship slid off it. The crew's slick and slimy bodies prevented them from latching onto any solid surface, or if they managed to grab onto something, they quickly lost their grip.     "Captain!" Styg shouted as he, along with many others and the anglerfish, tumbled right off the ship and into the sea of sand.     Captain Claw saved himself by smashing both pinchers into the ship's deck.     Nakji landed securely on Captain Claw's back and was caught between the carapace's spikes. Through the grace of some higher power, they did not impale her.     "No! Me crew!" Captain Claw yelled, watching as his crewmates tumbled off the ship. By the time the ship straightened itself out, most of the crew had been thrown overboard.     Akikta realigned the ship before the crab stood up again. Even though Akikta was on the stern deck, he was still at chest height to Captain Claw, who remained on the main deck.     "First that eel bandit, and now a human! Always goin' after me crew! Ye are gonna pay dearly for that." Captain Claw threatened and threw a strike at Akikta.     Akikta rolled out the way, narrowly dodging his claw. "Don't blame me! Blame your weight!" He accidentally mocked, further fueling the captain's anger.     When he rolled, he felt the items on his belt brush against him. Suddenly, he remembered one such item that could be useful right about now. At the same time, Captain Claw seemed to realize Nakji was on his back as she attempted to get down.     Akikta used the distraction to unhook the immobilizer from his belt. He pressed the green button and then lobbed the device at Captain Claw.     The immobilizer latched right onto his chest when the captain returned his attention to Akikta after helping Nakji get down. "What the?"     Right after it landed, electric shocks coursed through Captain Claw. He let out a painful crackly roar, swinging his claws about wildly and accidentally hitting Nakji. Her body flung across the ship's main deck. When she landed on the other side, she didn't move.     Captain Claw continued to flail about, trying to grab Akikta one last time. "Argh!" He crackled in pain again. The device had put more oomph into its next shock, causing Captain Claw to tumble down onto the middle of the ship, immobilized.     Akikta was afraid to approach the crab, but something told him there was no way he was getting up from that.     Before he could go over to the captain's body, the ship bounced violently, as if it had rammed into something.     Akikta looked to see they were no longer in an endless sea of sand. Stone pillars surrounded the ship. They had just entered a forest made of stone.     He gritted his teeth and looked back at the captain, who was now near the ship's edge with his gigantic arm dangling over the side.     Not wanting to lose the immobilizer, Akikta scrambled to Captain Claw and walked along the crustacean's chest, being careful not to step on any of the smaller spikes.     At first, he wasn't sure how to get the device off. He tried prying at it, but it stuck to the captain like super glue. Only after pressing the green button again did it release itself from Captain Claw's carapace.     After he re-secured the immobilizer to his belt, Akikta made his way off the captain.     He didn't get far before he felt something catch him in a painful vise grip around the waist. "Where do ye think yer goin'?!" Captain Claw yelled.     Akikta was shocked. He didn't expect the effects of the immobilizer to wear off right after it was removed!     The captain attempted to get back up, but the ship bumped against another stone pillar, causing him to slip off the vessel even more.     Captain Claw barely caught himself as he dug into the ship's side with his giant claw. He still firmly held Akikta above the main deck, even though he could've easily sliced him in half.     "Damn ye, human! I was planning to sell ye off to the highest bidder once we rang out as much gold as we could from those gullible inkadians. But now... NOW I'LL HAVE YE SLAVE AWAY FOR THE REST OF Y-"     Captain Claw was cut off by a stone pillar close-lining him. The velocity was enough to separate the captain's arm entirely from the rest of his body.     Akikta was left in the clutches of a now ownerless claw. Everything happened so quickly, he stayed in place with a shocked face plastered on him.     Akikta snapped back to reality when the ship hit another stone pillar. After remembering where he was, he struggled to free himself from the claw, which still had a fierce grip on him.     After getting out, he ran back up to the ship's wheel and tried to steer the ship out of the valley of stone pillars. He had minor success, able to maneuver out of the field of stone, but not without hitting a few dozen on the way out.     The wood creaked and snapped as it broke off the ship chunk by chunk, piece by piece.     The damage suffered forced the ship to slow down to a glacier halt. Eventually, the ship came to a complete stop.     Akikta stayed there with the wheel in his sweaty hands. His heart pounded as he breathed almost violently. At least the brutal smell of the sea was gone.     He fell on his rear and calmed down. "Can't believe I got out of that in one piece." He said, relieved.     Akikta's successful escape was short-lived. His stomach churned and growled loudly. A painful sensation in his abdomen accompanied the growl.     "D-damn..." He held onto his stomach. The pain was horrible.     He was so caught up in escaping Alterna and doing Sal's favor that he completely forgot he had eaten nothing ever since waking from cryo-sleep. Shit, how long ago had it been since he ate before being frozen?     Well, it didn't matter now. All that moving around he just did probably drained more calories from him than when he was running around Alterna trying to escape.     "Why couldn't one of those bastards die here..." He questioned. The crew was basically a whole bunch of seafood. And at this point, he'd eat anything.     Akikta, still holding his stomach, walked down from the stern deck and back onto the main deck, only to see Nakji's body across the ship. Akikta stopped and stared for a few seconds. She wasn't moving. "Hmm..."     Ravenous thoughts took his mind. Sure, she looked human. But she wasn't. She was just another sea critter, wasn't she? Akikta walked over to her and got a closer look.     Using his foot, he flipped her over on her back. To his surprise, she was, unfortunately, still breathing.     Akikta grumbled. Damn, she's just unconscious. He was hungry, but not hungry enough to cook and eat someone alive. Only a creature of pure evil would do those two things together.     Besides, he didn't have the heart to eat someone who looked mildly innocent. Especially since she didn't really attack him like everyone else.     His stomach growled again, this time louder than before. Akikta had to replenish all that energy he burnt up asap, lest his body start to eat itself.     He weighed his options as he looked down at Nakji. Sunlight reflected off an object and into Akikta's eyes unexpectedly, momentarily blinding him.     He flinched and turned to see Captain Claw's severed arm gleaming under the sunlight. It hadn't fallen off the ship like Akikta thought. "Hmm..."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Akikta bit into the succulent and warm crab flesh he broke out of the shell. He nearly teared up at how good it was. Or maybe he was just so hungry that the crabmeat was the closest thing to heaven.     Of course, he had cooked it beforehand. He knew the dangers of eating raw shellfish.     At first, he was worried about how he would cook the meat. Luckily for him, the ship's cargo had everything he could've possibly asked for.     Akikta had found an oversized pot the crab claw could fit into. Getting it off the ship was difficult, but he managed.     Shortly after, he discovered sealed barrels of fresh water. After gulping down a few large sips, he rolled them off the ship and used the water inside to fill the pot.     Then, he made a makeshift campfire out of the destroyed chunks of the ship's wooden hull.     All of that proved to be a real workout, but getting the claw inside the pot was the worst part.     Multiple times, he feared the pot of boiling water would spill onto him, which made the task unnecessarily long. He cursed himself for not starting the fire after the claw was in the pot.     Either way, he eventually got the large claw inside without toppling the whole thing over.     While it cooked, Akikta rummaged through the ship's cargo further. He found various clothing that didn't quite match the attire the Wild Claws wore, like a black jacket with a hood, black sweatpants, and large black boots with a blue rim on their bottoms. Coincidentally, they were all his size.     He wore the jacket since he could use the hood to hide his hair. Paired with the mask, he'll be able to adhere to Sal's second warning, something he wished he listened to earlier.     The black boots would provide protection for his feet, so he took those as well.     As for the sweatpants, he didn't really need them. He just liked their style.     Clothing wasn't the only thing Akikta found.     There was an assortment of weapons. At least, they appeared to be weapons. Most were unlike anything he's ever seen before.     Still, he thought it best to protect himself with something, so he searched for an object that didn't look too lethal or unfamiliar.     The weapon of choice was a blunt object resembling a gray baseball bat. There were better options, but everything else was razor sharp, and he didn't trust himself with sharp objects.The baseball bat proved useful for more than just protecting.     He had returned to the boiling pot and blew out the fire before dumping the water out onto the sand.     Admittedly, this was his first time cooking crab himself. He had only ever seen his brother and grandfather make it. But it looked fully cooked.     Steam rose from the crab claw; the wind blew said steam into Akikta's nostrils. The delectable smell caused his mouth to water.     His dinner was ready. All he needed to do was crack the shell more than it already was. Cue the baseball bat.     It took a few strikes, but Akikta eventually split it open. He couldn't quite dig in though, as the meat was hard to separate from the carapace. He'd of eaten it straight off the claw had it not been for the fact that some pieces were teeth shattering hard. So much so, he had to grab a cutlass to cut the chewable chunks of meat off.     As Akikta ate, he found the meat less tender than usual. It was a bit chewy.     Dang, must've overcooked it. He thought, believing that's why some parts were hard to separate and the chewable bits had a rubbery texture.     But he figured it was better overcooked than undercooked. Besides, he hadn't eaten in twelve thousand years. He would not complain about overcooked but edible food. It was rather delicious anyway- if only a little weird tasting.     After finishing the last bit of meat could cut off, he looked over to his side.     Laid there in the sand, wrapped in the same rope they previously tied Akikta in, was the unconscious Nakji.     He had brought her off the ship prior to cooking his meal, hoping he could convince her he wasn't an enemy.     Akikta walked over to Nakji and crouched down next to her. Now that nothing else was actively trying to mess him up, he could get a better look at her.     Around her neck was a spiky collar of some sort. A type of accessory, maybe?     She wore a black sleeveless suit of light armor with a gray belt wrapped around her diagonally.     Below her waist were skin-tight short black leggings that left her ankles exposed.     Further below were Nakji's feet, which didn't have any shoes or armored boots to match her attire. Instead, purple and green toeless striped socks covered her feet. They appeared to be made of some cloth-like fabric.     Akikta found it hard to believe she wasn't human. After all, she had a similar build to him, only being a foot shorter, slightly more bottom-heavy, and lighter in skin tone. The markings around her eyes could be explained away as tattoos.     The only real dead giveaway was her smooth purple hair that had suction cups around the large horizontal tentacle in the middle. Even her eyebrows were smooth and purple.     What was she, exactly?     He stood up and placed a hand on his chin, closing his eyes as he became lost in thought.     Miraculously, an idea popped into his head.     Akikta unstrapped the radio from his belt and held it to his face. "Orca, you there?"     Static crackled through the radio before O.R.C.A's iconic symbol appeared on the radio's screen. "Yes. Is there anything you need?"     Akikta turned the radio to face Nakji. "Can you tell me what she is?"     There was a moment of silence. "Commencing biometric scan. Please hold." The sounds of a printer overtook the whistles of the wind. "Scan complete. It appears this specimen is of the Octarian species, part of the Octoling variant."     "Octarian? Octoling? Orca, have you forgotten how to speak English, bro?"     "Apologies, allow me to clarify. Octarians are the evolved descendants of octopodes. Octolings are a subspecies of Octarians." O.R.C.A explained.     Visuals appeared on the screen as the AI clarified his response, not that they helped Akikta understand any better.     Akikta was still unaware of what an Octarian was exactly, but he understood the gist of what O.R.C.A was saying: Nakji is an octopus.     Why she had a humanoid appearance continued to elude Akikta. But at least he knew what she was now. "Huh, I knew downloading you was a good idea." He said before reattaching the radio to his belt.     The clicking noise of him reattaching the radio must've alerted Nakji, for she started awakening from her unconscious state.     She softly groaned, which caused Akikta to jump. The sudden movement caught her attention, and she woke up faster.     Once fully awake, it took only a few moments for Nakji to register what was going on.     Before Akikta could say anything, Nakji transformed into what appeared to be an octopus, though it didn't look like any octopus he's ever seen.     The transformation not only caught Akikta off guard, but it also allowed her to slip out of her binds.     When she transformed back into her human form, she rushed Akikta, who was still processing what he just witnessed. She knocked him onto the sand as she rushed by.     Even though he braced himself, she was stronger than she looked. A lot stronger.     Akikta tumbled to the sand hard, unable to catch himself. He looked up to see Nakji didn't pin him like he thought she would. Instead, she swiftly grabbed the cutlass he had used to hack away at the crab meat.     Unfortunately, he had put his bat down next to the bladed weapon after using it to break the claw's shell. He was defenseless.     Before he could get up, Nakji charged at him with the cutlass raised. His heart rate skyrocketed as he instinctively raised his hands. "W-WAIT!" Akikta shouted as he squeezed his eyes closed, expecting her to go for the killing blow.     Nothing happened.     Hesitantly, he opened his eyes.     Nakji stood there with a confused expression on her face. Her hands gripped the cutlass tightly."Please, just hear me out!" He begged, which caused Nakji to tilt her head.     "What?" she voiced. She sounded confused.     It took Akikta a second to realize he didn't have the translator on his mouth. He had taken it off to eat the crab meat.     He used one hand to reach down into his sweatpants' pocket, where he had stuck the device. Nakji flinched, about to attack, but Akikta waved his other hand, gesturing for her to hold on.     She was about ready to pounce when he pulled his hand out of his pocket until she noticed he wasn't pulling out a weapon. Nakji must've recognized the device from earlier when Styg pointed it out.     He spoke again after putting on the translator. "I'm not here to hurt you!" He blurted.     Nakji furrowed her eyebrows and turned her head to the wrecked ship. She then gave him a doubtful look.     "L-look, your pals didn't give me a choice! I didn't want to hurt them- and honestly, I didn't mean to destroy your ship."     She gripped the cutlass in her hands tighter, clearly not believing him.     Akikta scooted back quickly with one hand. "Hey! Just- hold on! If I wanted to hurt you, I would've killed you while you were unconscious, wouldn't I?!"     Nakji stopped as her brows raised. There was another moment of silence.     "You... have a point." She responded before lowering her blade. Akikta breathed a sigh of relief. Her guard was still up, but he was just happy she no longer had the weapon raised.     "Look, uh, Nakji, was it?" She nodded. "I'm really sorry about your crew and your ship. I didn't want to hurt them, but I couldn't let them extort me for money. Not when I've got things to do." He said as he got up and dusted himself off.     Nakji tilted her head. "What things...?"     Akikta froze. "Well, uh... let's just say I've got someone I want to help. And to do that, I need to do this favor for a friend."     "What kind of favor?" She questioned.     "Why are you so pressed about it?"     "I'm sorry; who has the weapon again?"     This sassy little- Akikta calmed himself the moment his irritation rose. He didn't feel like getting sliced today. "I need to ab- er, find this person named Marie... do you know what she looks like, by chance?"     "Never heard of her," Nakji responded.     There was yet another moment of silence.     "Well, anyway. I'll just be on my way and-"     "You're leaving?"     Akikta fumbled at her words. "Am I not supposed to?"     She blinked at him a few times.     "Listen, I know I jacked up your crew, and you're probably mad about that. But-"     "I'm not mad," she interrupted.     "You're not?"     Nakji shook her head. "I was just another member, nothing special. The captain was... quite demanding at times." She explained. "Technically, you helped me. So..."     Akikta knew what she was getting at, or at least he thought he knew. "Alright? You're free then. So go on about your life or whatever it is you octo-people do."     A small glint gleamed in her eyes. Nakji looked surprised. "You're not gonna make me come with you?"     He raised a brow. "What? Why would I do that?"     "I... sorry. That's just... not what I expected."     "What? You thought I was gonna make help me in exchange for your freedom?" He said sarcastically.     She nodded.     Nakji's thought process baffled Akikta. "W- huh?! Why would I want to do that? You attacked me!" He reminded.     "Yes, but... that was before I knew you weren't trying to hurt me." She looked down, shame present in her eyes. Did she feel guilty about almost killing him?     Akikta eased up. "Well, hey. Don't worry about it. I mean, I kinda did tie you up, so I get why you'd think I was out to do something to you..."     Nakji looked back up at him. "Hmm..."     Her staring made him uneasy. "What?"     "Are humans always this friendly?" Her question reminded him of something.     "Speaking of humans, that anglerfish guy mentioned something about us being extinct. Is- is that true?"     "Well, I thought so until you showed up," she started. "There are bones of them everywhere. Especially here in this desert. You might find some if you look hard enough."     "Bones..." He mumbled to himself. Akikta didn't like the mention of bones, especially not after what he's seen back in Alterna.     Negative thoughts crept into his mind, until suddenly, Nakji started touching his hair. "What the- hey!"     He backed away, but that didn't deter her as she came close to him again and went right back to touching it. "Feels weird... and fluffy." She said absentmindedly.     "Quit it! My hair is messed up enough as is!" He grabbed her hand by the wrist and pulled it away.     She frowned. "Come on! It'll only be for a little bit."     "No! I've spent enough time with you as is. I've gotta get going."     Nakji frowned even more before abruptly smiling with an open mouth. The inside of it was purple, along with her tongue.     Akikta became weirded out at the placement of her canine teeth. One was on the left side at the top and the other on the right side at the bottom.     "I'll come with you."     Her words caught him off-guard. "What?"     "Yeah! I'll come with you and help you get this Marie person."     "Why would you do that?"     "Well, again, you helped me. That crew was pretty oppressive." She lightly bounced on her feet. "Consider this me returning the favor. Besides, you'll need me."     Akikta rubbed the back of his head, uncertain if it was a good idea for her to tag along.     He wasn't sure how Sal would feel working with one of these creatures of the sea. Nakji seemed far more intelligent than that pet of a snatcher, so she could plot against both of them.     And what if she was lying about her relationship with the Wild Claws? Styg seemed pretty friendly with her. If she were to learn about the location of Sal and his clan, she might expose them to the world. Then the humans really would go extinct...     Then again, Akikta knew little about the surface. Nakji could teach him about how things worked on their way to the criminal. Plus, she was skilled with a blade, so it would help to have a partner who could actually fight... and talk to.     Akikta weighed down his options once more.
     Well, maybe taking the risk would be better than letting her roam around freely. She knows I'm a human, so it could be bad if she went around telling whoever or whatever else roams around these lands.
     He looked up at Nakji, who was patiently waiting for Akikta's answer, a smile plastered on her face.
     She looks so giddy. I guess that's to be expected. To her, she's basically having a meaningful interaction with a prehistoric creature. Shoot, she might follow me anyway, even if I do say no.
     Eventually, Akikta reached a decision. "Alright, fine. If you insist, I guess I see no reason why you shouldn't come along."     Nakji's smile widened.     "Good! Before we go, I need to get my weapon."     "Don't you have it in your hand?"     "What? Oh, no. This isn't mine. I have a different weapon."     "Ok, I can wait."     "Oh, it's not here."     Akikta slowly blinked. "It's... not here...?" He repeated.     "No... I hid it somewhere else."     "Why wouldn't you keep it on the ship?"     "Because Captain Claw would've added it to his personal collection! He takes anything he likes and doesn't care how other people feel about it! And even if he didn't, I was afraid others would steal it." Nakji looked down again. "It's... it's important to me, alright!" She yelled and looked back up at Akikta.     Akikta's hand gently touched his mask in response to her yell. He understood that look in her eyes. How could he not?     He gazed up at the sky, which wasn't as bright as before. If the simulations in Alterna were accurate, it was close to evening. Even if you say that, that'll delay me for sure. He thought.     Akikta looked back at Nakji. She had a serious glare in her eyes. She wouldn't be coming with him without this weapon of hers.     "Ugh. Fine, let's just hurry, alright?" He caved, and Nakji smiled again.     "Don't worry; it's not far. Actually, those stone pillars mean we're close. Cmon!"     She tossed her cutlass and led the way, sounding a little too excited about this. Nakji's appearance and skills with a blade did not match her personality.     Akikta found it strange how she could easily slice him to bits and still be so... childlike. Then again, he couldn't talk. He wasn't much different from her in that regard.     Even at seventeen, he continued to do childish things. Or- he used to.     Maybe everything he's been through caused him to mature sooner. In which case, what has Nakji been through?     She didn't seem much older, assuming their two species aged the same, which was unlikely. Even then, he could tell they were both adolescents.     Going off that fact, he doubted a child would willingly join a band of pirates, and her easy shift in loyalty proved she wasn't born amongst them. So, what happened to her?
     ...Maybe I'll ask her another time.
     Akikta recovered his bat and wedged it in between his utility belt and hip before quickly following behind Nakji.     "Hey." She said.     "Yeah?"     "You never told me your name."     "Oh, it's Akikta. Akikta Miles."     Nakji groaned in response, as if she were uncomfortable.     "What?" He could tell something about his name bothered her.     She fidgeted before giving a response. "It's... too long."     "What? No, it isn't?"     "It is. I'm calling you Aki."     "Please don't call me that."     "Sorry, it's already been decided, Aki!" Nakji declared with a giggle.     Akikta was already regretting his decision.     He sighed before changing the subject. "So, where exactly are we headed, anyway?"     She looked over her shoulder at him. "Splatsville."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Nakji was right. The journey to Splatsville was short. Though he was surprised there was a city in the middle of the desert.     Well, surprise wouldn't be the right word to describe how Akikta felt toward the city. It'd be the right word to describe how he felt when he saw Splatsville's inhabitants.     As if the Wild Claws weren't enough to process, now Akikta was seeing jellyfish with actual eyes, fat goldfish who stood upright on their tail fins, and various other sea creatures that skittered about the ground and leaned out open windows.     And somehow, they weren't the oddest-looking residents. Ironically, the things that looked like people were the strangest occupants.     They wore clothes of varying fashion, had different skin tones, and possessed a human appearance. But the way they looked... The way they moved... It was all wrong.     Some resembled Nakji; round ears, with marks around their eyes and suckers on the outside of their smooth hair.     Oh god, the hair. They were all so colorful, not something you'd naturally see on a human.     Then there were some who didn't resemble Nakji.     Their ears were pointed, and a slim black line surrounded their eyes, making it appear like they were wearing eye masks.     Their hair was also smooth like Nakji's, but some had longer hair with suckers on the underside as opposed to the outside.     Akikta finally realized that their hair was actually tentacles.     "Your people are pretty weird looking." He whispered to Nakji, who frowned.     "But the inklings look fine?"     Akikta nearly questioned what she was talking about, but he realized the humanoids with pointed ears must've been the squid people Sal had mentioned.     Realization of how wrong his previous statement sounded hit him. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."     "It's fine; I know you didn't."     With the misunderstanding cleared up, Akikta returned his attention to the squid and octo people.     Every inkling and octoling he could see was only about five feet tall, so he hovered over them by a foot. Akikta would remind himself to thank the Great Spirit for the clothes and Father Axe for the mask later. Without them, he would've looked more out of place than he already did.     Though, regardless of his appearance, he still felt out of place.     When it was just Nakji aboard the ship, Akikta felt comfort since she was the only one who closely resembled himself. It was the like the two of them were the only human remnants amongst a crew of animals.     Back then, it was the Wild Claws who were out of place, not them.     But now, with so many humanoid cephalopods present, Akikta felt inhuman... like he didn't belong.     He grew uncomfortable.     Just as uneasiness crept onto him, he saw something massive out of the corner of his eyes. When he turned, he nearly jumped. "Whoa!"     A massive black fish with long yellow whiskers was wrapped around a tall building. It looked like a catfish, but it was far too big to be one, not to mention the zaps of electricity that occasionally emitted from the tips of its whiskers.     His words of surprise got Nakji to turn and look at him. When she noticed what caught his attention, she giggled.     "That's the Great Zapfish." She stated.     "The great zap what?"     "The Great Zapfish." She repeated. "It powers all of Splatsville. I heard it went missing once before, but it miraculously reappeared about a month ago." She explained.     Akikta glared at her. "You heard it went missing, or did you and Claws steal it?"     Nakji shook her head and waved her hands. "No, no, no. The captain wouldn't have any need for it. He's only interested in treasure anyway, and besides, we'd have nowhere to put it."     She made a valid point. The ship would've been flattened if they tried to haul that thing onboard.     "Right..." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, are we any closer to your weapon?"     Nakji nodded. "I was thinking about it on the way here, and I think it's better if you just wait for me."     "What? Why?"     "It'd be quicker. The place I hid it would be hard for two people to squeeze through."     Akikta frowned underneath his mask. He became a little skeptical, thinking Nakji planned something nefarious. But he reminded himself that if she wanted to do something to him, she would've done it when she had him on the ground.     "Alright, fine. Just don't take too long, please?"     She smiled. "I won't."     With that, she lightly jogged away.     Akikta hadn't noticed before now, but Nakji moved as if she had no structure. Like all the other octolings and inklings, she was wiggly with her movements. "I bet the scientists would've never predicted this," He murmured.     Akikta still couldn't believe sentient sea animals, who talked and interacted with each other like humans, existed.     The translators allowed Akikta to eavesdrop on various conversations, but all these cephalopods talked about was fashion and an activity called Turf War. That and an upcoming event.     He didn't fully understand what all the hype was about, but from what he could piece together, a festival would be in full swing a few days from now. That would explain all the makeshift floats and decorated t-shirt stands being set up.     Akikta didn't want to be rude and continue to eavesdrop on the conversations, but he also didn't want to stand around like an idiot.     He thought about setting foot into one of the many shops inklings and octolings hung around, but he didn't know what they were for.     Despite being able to hear and speak, Sal completely disregarded the fact that Akikta didn't understand the written language of today's era. The only reason he knew they were shops in the first place was thanks to his eavesdropping.     He sighed and walked up the stairs, thinking admiring the Great Zapfish would be a great way to pass the time.     His eyes drifted upward. It was dusk now. His first time seeing such a colorful and beautiful darkening of the sky came with mixed emotions.     Akikta teared up in both sadness and joy. Their manufactured home did not do the outside world any justice. Like his grandfather said, Alterna's simulated sky could not compare to the real thing. He was happy he got to experience that firsthand.     But at the same time, it was not right. Why was he the only one who got to see the real sky? Why was he the only one to enjoy the fresh, cool breeze? Why...
     Why did they leave me alone...
     Akikta bumped into something after his last thought. He looked down to see he was at the top of the stairs and had bumped into a blue-haired inkling.     The inkling turned around and looked Akikta up and down. He was about to apologize for walking into the guy, but the inkling responded with a smile and gestured at Akikta with finger guns. "Lookin' fresh big guy!"     Akitka was thankful he had his mask on since he was sure he just gave that inkling the strangest stare imaginable.     Not wanting to make the encounter any weirder, Akikta backed off from the inkling without saying a word, which probably made it weirder anyway.     Lookin' fresh? He repeated, trying to understand what the phrase meant. Judging by their facial expression, it was most likely a compliment. But he didn't feel fresh.     I want to take a shower... Akikta groaned, realizing how icky he felt.     "Listen up! It's going down..." A sudden voice announced from seemingly nowhere, catching Akikta off-guard. "Repping the Splatlands, we are DEEP CUT!"     There it is again... Akikta thought as the same feminine voice spoke. He looked around in search of the voice.     "Anarchy Splatcast! We're live!" A different voice declared, this one slightly higher pitched and more hyper.     "Here we go!" A masculine and deeper-toned voice said excitedly.     Akikta still couldn't tell where these voices were coming from and feared he was going insane.     "You lip-synch, we drip ink..." The first voice continued.     "Shiver, Frye, and Big Man!" The masculine voice said gleefully.     By the time Akikta pinpointed where the voices came from, all three became quieter.     He moved over to where he last heard them, and their voices gradually became clearer. They talked about stages, anarchy battles, and Salmon Runs. Whatever those were.     After following the direction of the voices, Akikta came across a large glass window that gave a view into a studio-like room. Upon peering inside, he saw two of the voices. Or rather, the figures the voices belonged to.     On the far left was a female octoling with pale skin, a broad oval-shaped face, and slender eyes under sharp blue triangular eyebrows. Her blue hair, which had suckers on the outside, covered her left eye, so he couldn't see her face that well. But she didn't appear to have a marking like a normal octoling. Or maybe it was just so thin he could barely see it.     What he could see was her red iris and the light red pupil in the shape of an infinity symbol, mimicking that of a real octopus.     She also wore Japanese-styled clothing, which surprised Akikta since he was told that culture had perished shortly before Alterna was made. She even had a traditional folding fan in her hands, the fingers of which were red, like she had dipped them in a jar of ketchup.     Next to her in the middle of the studio was the second voice from earlier, sitting on a pillow with their legs crossed.     This figure also had a feminine build with a medium brown skin tone, yellow hair, a round face, darker brown lips, and large eyes under yellow triangular eyebrows. Her irises were golden, with yellow pupils in the shape of a plus sign.     Akikta almost wasn't sure what she was, but her exaggerated eye mask indicated she was an inkling. At least, he assumed she was an inkling. Her ears were incredibly long compared to every other inkling and had an orange blush at their tips, the right of which had three piercings.     Not to mention the fivehead she had. Not even his neighbor, who was balding at an early age, had a forehead half as big as hers. Which, honestly, was astounding to see.     Her forehead and long upper canine teeth, which stuck out from her mouth like fangs, reminded Akikta of a vampire squid. Well, mainly just the forehead, since squids don't have those kinds of teeth.     The only unpleasant and uninteresting parts to look at were her fingers. They were all purple, as if they were dead. What was wrong with them?     Discolored fingers and large foreheads aside, the two figures looked familiar. Of course, they looked drastically different from all the other inklings and octolings Akikta's seen, but he was getting hit with major déjà vu. He's seen them before, but how and from where?     More importantly, the two figures did not look like they could produce such a masculine voice, even if they tried. So where was that third voice?     Then, Akikta noticed him.     The TV displayed whatever they were discussing as they went through their announcements. And behind that TV was a wide creature who looked as tall as Akikta. It was some goofy-looking manta ray...     When he laid eyes on that manta ray, he recalled something. The feeling of déjà vu made sense now. Akikta had seen these three figures before, in Alterna's security footage.     They were there in his home a month prior to his awakening from cryo-sleep. But why? And how did they get out? Seriously, how? It took him blood, sweat, and tears to get a functioning exit- minus the blood.     Akikta must've been eyeing them for a long time since they eventually noticed him.     The blue-haired octoling was the first to notice Akikta, giving him a slight wave of her fan and smiling. The other two gave their own unique waves.     After being acknowledged, they resumed their previous conversation.     Akikta was taken aback. He did not expect them to give him even a second of their time. After all, they appeared to be quite popular.     "A?" A voice called out, making Akikta fumble. "A, are you there?" It was Sal.     Akikta calmed down before unhooking the radio. "You really gotta warn me when you start talking, man. I nearly jumped out of my skin."     "Sorry, sorry. It's just... I expected you to be closer to Inkadia when I checked on you. But you're actually further now. So I thought something might've happened."     Akikta chuckled nervously. "Well, actually, something did happen."     "Hm?"     "Long story short, I got attacked by these pirates. Don't worry. I got out in one piece. But anyway, one of them thanked me for separating them from the rest of their crew 'cause, turns out, she didn't enjoy being with them in the first place."     "She?"     "Yea, I met an octoling. I think that's what they're called... Her name's Nakji and she decided to help me. We're just dropping by this place to get something of hers, and then we'll continue to Inkadia."     Sal grumbled on the other end.     "Is something wrong?" Akikta asked, concerned.     Sal remained quiet for a moment before speaking. "Y'know, those octolings are just as dangerous as inklings."     "Well... she did almost kill me. B-but it was a misunderstanding, and we settled that! So I don't think she'll try anything if that's what you're worried about."     It became quiet on the other end.     Akikta was about to say something before the radio crackled with life. "I once trusted an octoling too. But she couldn't see through to my way of thinking." Sal said, reminiscing about something.     Akikta wasn't sure how to respond, so he didn't.     Sal exhaled before obnoxious lip smacks came from the radio. Sal sure eats a lot...or maybe he's only eating when we talk? Akikta noted. Thankfully, Akikta ate earlier; otherwise, this would've been painful to listen to.     "All I'm saying is, be careful who you trust. You never know who really has your back and who is just using you..." Sal warned.     Wise words. Words Akikta would take to heart as he considers how he'll be venturing with Nakji.Before anything else was said, Sal broke into a coughing fit.     "Sal? Sal, you alright, man?" Akikta asked worriedly.     Sal composed himself before responding. "B-behind you!" He said in surprise.     Akikta whipped his head around, expecting to see someone rushing him. But nothing unusual was there—just inklings and octolings going about their day. "Uh, what am I looking for?"     "You don't see that smallfry?!"     "Smallfry?"     "The thing with the red hair!" Sal exclaimed in a baffled tone.     Akikta scanned through the small crowd of gathered inklings and octolings. A few passed to enter the building the Great Zapfish wrapped around, and that's when he noticed something.     A small legless creature panting like a dog was on top of a pole, watching the inklings and octolings pass by as no one seemed to notice it.     Akikta approached the smallfry; its bulging eyes with red pupils locked onto him as it lightly bounced around.     It had a tuff of smooth red hair and a single tooth on the bottom of its mouth. It had fins for hands, like that Snatcher, and wore green pants. Could the two be related somehow?     "You talking about this?" Akikta pointed the radio at the creature.     "Yes! Poor thing. Must've gotten separated. Don't know how it got all the way over there, though..." Sal said, talking to himself mostly.     Akikta figured this smallfry and the Snatcher were the same species, since Sal seemed to know what it was. He recalled how Sal referred to snatchers as 'basically smallfries.' And the more he looked at the smallfry, the more it looked like a baby snatcher.     "This one looks young. Welp, guess you'll have to do me another favor, if you don't mind."     "Another?"     "Yes. Please, bring back that young one with you, along with the criminal."     "Do I have to?"     "Since you asked, yes."     Akikta exhaled softly. He guessed it wouldn't hurt to have two travel buddies. The guilt would never leave him if he left a baby alone in such a chaotic-looking city anyway.     He hooked the radio onto his belt before picking up the light smallfry. It was no bigger than a foot, and aside from its slick gray skin, easy to hold. It didn't seem to mind being picked up, either.     Akikta stared down at the smallfry. He was also getting déjà vu with this creature, but had he seen it before? And if so, then from wh-     "Hey." A voice called out from behind him. It had an annoyed tone.     He turned to see a tannish-skinned inkling girl with yellow hair staring at him. One of her tentacles was untouched, while the other was braided.     Her shirt was torn slightly, revealing her stomach. She wore black sweatpants, the same as Akikta, and wore the same type of socks as Nakji.     She crossed her arms, both of which were wrapped in a purple and dark greenish cloth-like material that only covered her forearms.     A puffier white version of the cloth wrapped around her neck like a comfortable pillow.     The inkling stared at him with unwelcoming yellowish-green eyes; an orangish rim surrounded her irises.     Compared to everyone else in Splatsville, she looked the most unfriendly.     "Can I help you...?" Akikta asked as politely as he possibly could, a hint of confusion in his tone.     The inkling stopped crossing her arms and placed a hand on her hip, leaving the other to hang at her side. "Funny, I was gonna ask you the same thing." She tapped her foot impatiently.     Akikta was about to ignore her, not knowing what game she was playing. Then he abruptly recognized her.     She was also in the security footage with the manta ray, octoling, and the other three inklings.     And this smallfry had been there, following her like a pet. She wore a different outfit then, but he could tell she was the same person.     If Sal was anything to go by, he knew this smallfry didn't belong to her. Not initially.     "Oh, um... well, you see..." Akikta fumbled over his words, unsure how to tell this inkling that this smallfry wasn't hers. She probably felt like it was hers. Who knew how long she had been taking care of this thing?
     "What's going on here?" Asked Nakji before Akikta could come up with an excuse.
     She finally appeared after retrieving her precious weapon, which was sheathed and strapped to her back. "Who's this, Aki?"
     Nakji's question caused the inkling to lower her brows, the left of which was a split eyebrow.
     "Name's Metta. Now that we've got the pleasantries out the way, tell your boy over here to get his hands off Lil' Buddy."
     Nakji turned to see what Metta was talking about. "What's a salmonid doing here?" She sounded genuinely confused.
     Little Buddy? That's a horrible name. Actually, that isn't even a name. Was all Akikta could think about as Metta faced Nakji.
     "That's none of your business. Now will you tell your friend to take his hands off my companion, or will I have to make him take his hands off?"
     Akikta didn't like the sounds of that.
     Nakji narrowed her eyes. She didn't like that either. "You aren't gonna make him do anything."
     "Oh yeah?" Metta stepped up to Nakji. Now the two girls were right in each other's faces.
     Little Buddy watched quietly as he lightly bounced in Akikta's hands.
     Akikta was worried about getting into a fight. Partly because witnesses surrounded them and mainly because he had no idea what inklings were capable of. If they were anything like Nakji, he wanted no part of it.
     At the same time, he couldn't give up Little Buddy. He didn't- couldn't let Sal down by taking the cowardly way out.
     When it looked like Nakji was about to draw her weapon, Akikta spoke.
     "Ok! Ok." He started, causing Metta to turn and face him. "I apologize. I thought Lil' Buddy was alone..."
     Metta eyed Akikta for a moment before smiling. She held her hands out for the smallfry. "Glad we didn't have to settle this Splatlands-style."
     Akikta slowly extended the hand holding Little Buddy to her. "Yea. Glad we-" He suddenly pushed Metta down the stairs. Metta yelled as she fell down the many steps. The commotion got the attention of a nearby group of inklings and octolings.
     "Run!" Akikta shouted, grabbing Nakji by the arm and pulling her along momentarily before hauling ass through the city.
     He didn't get far before noticing Nakji was not keeping up half as well as he expected.
     "Come on! You can run faster than that, can't you??"
     "How can you run that fast?!" Nakji called back as she lagged behind a great deal.
     Orca did say Nakji was an evolved descendent of octopuses. Maybe she's better in water than on land? Akikta thought, which could explain why she couldn't keep up even if he jogged.
     He figured this would mean the same for Metta, but then they'd never be able to lose her. Well, Nakji wouldn't be able to lose her. But he had already made up his mind about her, so he wouldn't leave her for dead.
     He rushed back to Nakji. "Hold this." He hurriedly shoved Little Buddy into her hands before scooping her up by the back of the knees, causing her to yelp in surprise.
     He held her bridal style and found she wasn't all that heavy.
     Akikta looked ahead, only to see Metta charging at them. The way she ran was almost feral, and she looked pissed. The look in her eyes about scared him.
     Fortunately, despite her feral charge, she wasn't much faster than Nakji. Akikta could run laps around her.
     A taunting smirk came across his face, one he so dearly wished Metta could've seen. "Hope you like dust, sweetheart!" He said loud enough for Metta to hear before turning and blasting off through the crowds of inklings and octolings with Nakji in tow.
     He could almost hear the roar of frustration that Metta let out. It grew further and further away as he continued to speed off through Splatsville.
     "Man, that went better than expected."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"That went better than expected, I said. When will I learn to shut up!" Akikta cursed himself as he zigged and zagged through Splatsville with Nakji in his arms and the smallfry sitting comfortably on her stomach.     He thought escaping Metta would be a piece of cake since he was much faster than her. To his dismay, escaping a pursuer was not as simple as they make it seem in action movies.     For one, he neglected the fact that Splatsville was foreign territory; in turn, he underestimated how chaotic the city's layout was. There were too many twists and turns to navigate through. Not even Alterna, partially destroyed and covered in rubble, was half as unpredictable as the alleys and streets of Splatsville.     Secondly, Metta apparently knew the city better than Nakji, as even with the octoling's guidance, the inkling kept cutting Akikta off at intersections Nakji didn't even know about. There were quite a few times he nearly got caught.     Lastly, while his agility outmatched Metta's, he wasn't sure if the same could be said for his stamina. It'd be a matter of time before Metta matched his speed, or worse, caught up.     As that thought set in, Akikta turned a corner and saw the city's edge.     There was a road that connected to a parking lot. That road stretched out towards the sandy dunes. His eyes nearly sparkled at the sight. He sped up, only to come to a revelation.     Metta would surely catch up to him if he ran in the wide-open in a straight line. She wouldn't lose sight of him anytime soon, and at this point, he was certain Metta's stamina was greater than his.     He didn't want to fight the squid, so he racked his brain for ideas.     While he did, Nakji pointed to his left. "Motor!" she called out.     Akikta turned to see a blue and yellow pair of motorcycles in the parking lot. It surprised him to see vehicles that looked man-made. Then again, everything about Splatsville looked man-made aside from the written language.     He knew what Nakji was suggesting; while he wasn't opposed to stealing from some random stranger, given the circumstance, there was still one problem. "I don't know how to drive one of those." He regretfully informed.     Before leaving the parking lot, Nakji jumped out his hands and shoved Little Buddy back into his palms.     "What- what are you doing?" He stuttered, not sure what Nakji was doing.     He continued straight towards the road before hearing a vehicle's engine hum to life. Akikta looked over his shoulder to see Nakji had somehow gotten the blue motorcycle to start.     She drove right up next to him. "Get on!" She ordered.     Nakji scooted forward a little, and Akikta awkwardly hopped on. It was challenging to hold onto Little Buddy and her, so he stuck the smallfry into his jacket's pocket and grabbed onto Nakji before she abruptly sped off.     Akikta breathed a sigh of relief. Then, the rev of a different engine whirred. Soon after, Akikta heard the buzz of something coming up behind them.     He looked over his shoulder to see Metta on the yellow motorcycle, gradually coming up behind him and Nakji. "Looks like we're not out of the woods yet!" He warned.     Nakji already knew since she had sped up.     The dark orange sky hung above them like a massive canopy, and the sandy scenery was practically blurry as they zoomed down the partially broken and worn-down road.     Akikta looked back to see Metta lift something into her hands. It was a bow! A mechanical one at that. His eyes widened as she somehow managed to aim the bow at them while simultaneously keeping her motorcycle steady with no hands.     Where was she even keeping that?! Akikta wished his question was answered, but he feared death was on the horizon.     Metta pulled back the yellow string of the bow. Akikta never saw her insert any arrows, but when she released the string, something came out anyway. His arm raised out of reflex, and something mildly soft hit him.     Akikta lowered his arm to see three bright yellow darts had nailed him. The impact tickled, but they didn't hurt, even though they looked like they should've.     "What the?" He said in confusion. The darts glowed brightly for a second, and the next, they exploded into an inky yellow mess.     The ink splattered on Akikta's mask and clothes, but they still didn't cause him any pain. In fact, it felt like he got pelted with a puddle of water.     In contrast, Nakji suddenly let out a yelp. The explosion had also splattered her, but unlike Akikta, she seemed to suffer from it. Luckily, the splatter was minuscule.     Metta had a look of disbelief for a moment, probably because Akikta tanked a direct hit, plus the explosion that came after. But her shocked expression didn't stay on long as she quickly pulled back the yellow string again.     "She's firing again!" Akikta warned.     Nakji acknowledged his warning by swerving to the left, dodging the volley of ink arrows. Metta grunted in frustration before readying another volley.     Akikta shook himself from his surprised state. Now was not the time to be dazed. They needed to lose Metta and fast.     He looked ahead, noticing stone pillars in the distance. "There!" Akikta pointed.     "You want to go through Scorch Gorge? That's asking for a lot of maneuvering, you know!" Nakji protested.     "You got any better ideas?!" He said, reminding her of the predicament they were in.     Nakji responded with a soft grumble before shifting the motorcycle off-road. They headed towards Scorch Gorge, with Metta following close behind.     Metta tried hitting the duo numerous times with ink arrows. Each time, Akikta gave a call out and Nakji would swerve.     The shooting lasted until they entered the maze of stone pillars. That came with a positive and a negative.     On the bright side, Metta had to put away her bow and focus on driving to avoid the stone pillars. Unfortunately, Nakji and Akikta had to deal with the same issue.     Scorch Gorge, as Nakji called it, had large stone pillars in close proximity to one another. It was far more clustered here than it was in that other stone valley.     It didn't help that the road was incredibly bumpy. One wrong swerve or a miscalculated brake would result in them crashing.     Akikta looked back, and to his surprise, Metta kept up with them. He could see determination and anger in her eyes.     "You don't know when to quit, do you?" He commented to himself. Soon after, Nakji hit a rather mean bump. They bounced lightly, and he felt something hard poke his side when they dropped back down. It was the gray bat he had wedged in his utility belt.
     Oh, there's an idea.
     Akikta took the baseball bat and ever so gently pressed the tip against the sandy ground. A slew of tiny pebbles flew into the air, creating a large dust cloud.     He heard Metta gasping and choking as the cloud of dust hit her right in the face.     "Oh, ho! Now you're really eating dust!" Akikta taunted before Nakji made an unexpected swerve to the right.     He raised his bat off the sand and watched as Metta slammed right into the pillar Nakji had driven out the way of. "Ooh, that's gotta hurt..." He winced in pain for Metta. It was not his intention to make her faceplant into pounds of stone.     Nakji continued swerving through the pillars of Scorch Gorge until they were home-free, leaving Metta behind in the sand.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

With their pursuer gone, the rest of the ride was quite peaceful.     Though the scenery was barren, it contrasted beautifully with the sparkling night sky. "If you can ignore the heat, this place isn't all that bad," Akikta commented, but got no response from Nakji.     The sounds of crashing waves shattered the quiet atmosphere. "Oh wow." Akikta turned to see a greenish ocean stretching far out towards the horizon—the perfect conversation starter.     "Those waters look nice. Ooh, we should have a swimming contest! I know you're probably better than me, but it'd be fun."     "Pass."     "Why? Don't want to get your clothes wet?"     "I'm not sure how it works for your people, but if I got in there, I'd get splatted immediately."     Akikta raised a brow. "Splatted?"     "Yeah, splatted. Since there's no active spawn point out here, I'd die." Nakji explained.     Akikta's confusion only grew. He wouldn't bother asking what a spawn point was.     "So wait. Basically, you can't swim?"     "Yeah, basically."
     So she's terrible at running, and she can't swim? Evolution must've really screwed the cephalopods over...
     "Besides, you don't wanna swim in Anarchy Bay," she added.     Akikta looked at the calm ocean. "What makes you say that?"     "Well, the tidal patterns are unpredictable. They'll be low and close to the seabed one moment, and the next, you'll find your ship capsized. They don't call it anarchy bay for no reason, you know."     "Oh..."     "The water itself is the safest part about the bay. Don't even get me started on the salmonids dwelling within."     Akikta perked up at the mention of salmonids. "I remember you called Little Buddy a salmonid. Did you mean to say salmon?"     Nakji looked back at Akikta with a perplexed glare. "That's what they are, but they're called salmonids. They're terrifying beasts." She faced forward again. "They'll eat you alive if given the chance. Not that we'd be allowed near them."     "What do you mean?"     "Well, it's illegal to go near their waters without permission."     "Isn't stealing treasure and snatching people up illegal, too?"     "You could say that, but here in the Splatlands, there's no such thing as law." She stated.     "It looked pretty civil in Splatsville," Akikta recalled.     "That's because that whole city is controlled by one of the many clans. They're the ones who uphold any type of order. Though you've experienced firsthand that order is still a flimsy thing, even there." Nakji elaborated, reminding him they basically committed a crime by stealing Little Buddy.     "If they can't keep a firm hold over their own cities, why would they bother with the creatures in the ocean?"     "Your guess is as good as mine. All I know is keeping people away from salmonid swim zones is one of the few rules the clans enforce actively... and harshly."     Nakji sounded incredibly knowledgeable. More so than the other pirates. How'd she ever end up with the likes of them? "You sure know a lot about these lands."     "Not a lot. Just enough to survive." She responded sharply.     Akikta finally noticed they weren't heading back to the main road. "Why are we still riding off-road? We lost Metta, didn't we?"     "Yeah, but I doubt we'll be so lucky next time. If we go back to the road, she'll probably catch up to us again. I don't plan on driving the whole way anyhow, so we'll stop for the night. I have a place in mind."     Akikta wouldn't complain about getting a good's night rest. He hasn't slept voluntarily or comfortably in a while.     Half an hour passed before Nakji stopped the motorcycle. "We're here." She announced.     Akikta looked up at the towering structures before them. Most looked beaten and destroyed. Others reminded him of large pyramids. "What is this place?"     "Um'ami Ruins."     "That doesn't really tell me anything."     "Well, they're... ruins."     Awkward silence set in.     "You don't actually know what this place is, do you?" Akikta questioned.     "Oh, quit complaining! I only know about this place because some of it is used as a stage for turf wars. Don't worry; I heard they won't be using it for battles until tomorrow. We'll be gone by then."     "Turf wars... what is that exactly?"     "Just a popular sport. Doubt you'd be able to play it, though."     "A sport, huh? Eh, never really was into sports anyway." Akikta said before sitting next to a wall.     He looked up at the sky. The stars twinkled in the sea of darkness. "Such a beautiful sight." He praised randomly.     Nakji looked at the sky and then back at him. "You act like you've never seen stars."     Akikta turned towards Nakji as she sat beside him. "I haven't. Well... not like this." He looked back up at the stars. "I come from a place deep underground. We have a simulated sky that mimics the real one, but I never realized how lackluster it was until now."     Nakji made an 'o'-like shape with her mouth before staring at the sky with him. The wispy sounds of wind gently blew past them both.     Akikta eyed Nakji again. "So, about your weapon..."     She blinked at him. "Oh! Do you wanna see it?"     He nodded, and Nakji undid the strap that was on her. She dusted some sand specks off before unsheathing her blade.     What she pulled out was a katana slightly longer than her body. It had a pinkish handle, while the blade itself was purple.     "Whoa..." He said in awe. "I see why you hid that away." He stated and flipped his hood down so the wind could blow through his hair.     "You said that blade was important to you. Was that true?" Akikta asked, already knowing the answer. He wanted to hear it from her.     A soft smile spread across Nakji's. "Yes. This blade has been with me for as long as I can remember. I received it from a man. I... can't remember his name, but he was one of the few people who was nice to me." She explained, still looking down at the katana.     As Nakji gently rubbed the side of the blade, Akikta noticed an inscription carved on the weapon. It was partly scratched out, but even if it wasn't, he still couldn't understand what it said. "What's that?" He pointed.     "I assume it's a signature... I'm not sure."     "What's it say?"     "Koko..."     Maybe that was the man's name? Or part of it... Akikta thought. He couldn't understand why someone would give such a dangerous weapon to a young Nakji, but he figured they must've had a reason.     Nakji pointed to Akikta's face. "What about you? You were pretty aggressive to Styg when he tried to take that mask from you."     She reminded. Akikta gave an awkward chuckle before taking the mask off and facing it toward him. He expected it to be covered in ink, but to his surprise and relief, all the ink that covered him was gone. Same with Nakji, which he only now noticed.     "My grandfather gave this mask to me. It's an heirloom, so of course I was protective of it." Akikta raised the mask closer to him. "It's... all I have left of him..." His tone shifted to sorrow; he didn't break eye contact with the mask.     She gently touched his shoulder, snapping Akikta out of the trance that almost sucked him in. He blinked a few times and realized his eyes were watery.     Nakji stared at him. Almost as if she understood his pain.     Akikta wiped his tears away and felt a shuffle in his jacket pocket. He remembered he stuck Little Buddy inside and checked to see the smallfry was fast asleep.     "Well, I uh... guess we should go to sleep now. We've got a long journey ahead of us."     Nakji looked like she wanted to say something, but she sighed and sheathed her blade instead. "Right..." she responded and laid on the sand.     Akikta scooted away from Nakji to give her some space. He looked down at his mask one last time before putting it back on.     He briefly eyed the purple octoling, wondering if Sal's paranoia about octolings was truly justified or just bad luck for him.     Maybe it was best not to think about it tonight.     Akikta laid on his side in a certain way so the bat and radio didn't push into him or harm the smallfry. After, he attempted to sleep.     Nakji and Little Buddy fell asleep rather quickly. But Akikta had difficulty following suit, partly because this was his first time sleeping in the sand and mainly because a mildly painful sensation gradually grew in his stomach.     It felt like a stomachache, which he would typically deal with by twisting and turning to reduce the pain. But that wasn't an option this time, out of consideration for Little Buddy's comfort.     He would inevitably fall asleep.     Akikta was rudely awakened hours later by wet plopping sounds. They were soft, very faint. But they were there. He opened his eyes with a tired groan. His shuteye didn't last as long as he would've liked. The orange hue of the horizon overtook his vision for a moment. It was sunrise.     Akikta turned over to where Nakji last was, expecting to see her doing... something. But to his confusion, she was still asleep.     Then he heard the plops again, realizing the noise came from the other side.     Again, he turned. This time, his gaze landed on a tall figure who appeared to be making their way toward him with a slight limp. The plopping noise he heard was their footsteps.     His vision was still blurry, so he couldn't see who it was. At first, he thought Metta had somehow tracked them down and was right there. But the figure was taller than Metta. It also didn't run at them in a frantic charge. They walked like someone going over to say hi to a friend.     Was it another bandit trying to rob them? No, they would've tried to conceal their footsteps, or at least themselves.     Akikta slowly stood up, expecting whoever approached them to say something once they noticed he wasn't asleep. But they didn't. They didn't even stop their approach. They just kept walking. Drawing ever so closer.     Am I seeing things? Akikta thought. But the last time he believed he was seeing things, they were actually there. He slid his hand underneath his mask and lightly rubbed his eyes, finally clearing his blurred vision a little.      When he looked up at the approaching figure, he made out the appearance of a man. Not an inkling, or an octoling, or some humanoid fish. But an actual man.     His eyes widened. There was another person all the way out here?! He couldn't believe what he was seeing.     A huge smile spread across his face, and he dashed over to the man, wanting to greet him properly. He felt no need to flip his hood back up.     "Hey!" He called out, finally breaking the silence. But the man didn't respond. Regardless, Akikta's approach continued.     He blinked his eyes a few times once he got closer to the man. Then froze, coming to an immediate halt.     Akikta's muscles tightened. His heart rate elevated tremendously, and it became hard to breathe as fear practically grasped him by the throat.     That was no man.     Though in the shape of a person, the figure's skin was jet-black. It oozed off its body like ink. No, it was ink. The only other discernable feature was its pupilless white eyes.     He knew who it was—Subject 7.     Akikta let out a blood-curdling scream as he fell backward into the sand. He kicked his feet back as the ink creature continued to limp towards him.     How did he escape Alterna? It should've been impossible for him to get through the alternative exit- it flooded with water! How'd he even find me?! As all these thoughts ran through Akikta's mind, Subject 7 extended a hand out to grab him. He couldn't do anything other than stare. He felt paralyzed.     Suddenly, Subject 7's hand detached from his arm and fell to the ground with a muffled wet splash.     Nakji, who was now awake, stood beside Akikta with her katana drawn, the blade dripping with a tiny amount of black ink.     When the severed hand hit the ground, it turned into a small black puddle before converging back into the larger mass of Subject 7.     With focused eyes, Nakji swung her blade in four rapid swipes. Though none hit Subject 7, four horizontal purple ink slashes shot out to hit the ink creature.     They hit, but they didn't have the desired effect. Instead of injuring Subject 7, the purple ink turned black upon contact and added to his mass. As a result, he grew a few inches, and his limp disappeared.     "We have to go! Now!" Nakji yelled upon seeing her attacks strengthen Subject 7. But Akikta didn't budge. She huffed before sheathing her blade.     The mass of black ink continued to approach Akikta, completely ignoring Nakji.     She wouldn't let Subject 7 get Akikta so easily. She grabbed Akikta's arm and roughly pulled him, dragging his body along. She flipped his hood back on before forcing him on the motorcycle.     When Subject 7 realized what she was doing, a gaped mouth formed on him. He lunged at the duo; at the same time, Nakji accelerated. Subject 7 missed them by a hair.     Nakji continued to speed off with a frozen Akikta clinging to her. She looked back for a moment to see the ink creature. It didn't pursue them. It just stood there... Staring.     She shivered before facing forward to concentrate on the path ahead of them.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Akikta." A voice called, snapping Akikta out of his dazed trance. He stood in the middle of a tall wheat field under clear blue skies.     A gentle breeze washed over him as the sun's rays shined down on his skin, warming him up.     Akikta wasn't sure what happened or how he got here. All he remembered was sleeping next to Nakji, near some old ruins.     "Akikta." The same voice called out, this time grabbing Akikta's attention. He turned to see... his brother, Chaska. The man was blurry, barely recognizable, but that was Chaska, no doubt. "Akikta..." his voice trailed off.     Akikta approached him. "Chaska? Chaska!" he yelled, breaking into a sprint toward his brother.     How was he here? Why was he here? On second thought, none of that mattered. Akikta was just happy Chaska was here and well... or so he thought.     "A...kik...ta..." Chaska groaned, his voice distorting the closer Akikta got. The boy's pace slowed, and the blurry haze obscuring Chaska's body melted into a black mess of goopy ink. By now, Akikta came to a complete stop as Chaska morphed into Subject 7.     The cool breeze suddenly became blistering cold. The blue skies lost their color and darkened, and the wheat field shriveled up and died at an impossibly fast rate.     Now, it was only him and the monster.     "AKIKTA!" Subject 7 screamed.     Akikta's eyes shot open, tears flowing like a waterfall. He found himself holding onto Nakji, who had been shouting his name the entire time.     Memories of what transpired minutes ago flooded his mind like a great tsunami.     After processing everything that happened in both reality and his nightmarish daydream, Akikta spoke. "H-how long was I out?" he asked, his voice shaking.     "Five- maybe seven minutes!" She replied hastily. They were zooming down the road at hazardous speeds. "What's the matter with you? You stiffened up as tight as a clam when you saw... whatever the shell that thing was!" Though she yelled angrily, her tone swelled with worry.     Akikta felt terrible. He didn't mean to make Nakji that stressed out. The two had only met yesterday, and yet she showed more care and concern than some of his closest friends.     "What was that thing, anyway?" She asked. Akikta's grip around Nakji's waist tightened in response. She jolted as a result.     When he realized what his hands did involuntarily, he eased up. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to..." Nakji slowed down and looked back at him, confused.     He composed himself and turned his head away. "He's...the whole reason I'm doing this favor." He answered. "Please. I don't want to talk about him right now..."     Akikta expected a judgmental look to wash across Nakji's face. Instead, she nodded and faced the road again. Her response surprised him, but he was appreciative she didn't pry.     His gaze drifted elsewhere as they kept a cruising pace. The blue sky caught his attention first, then the long bridge. They were no longer on the beaten-down sandy road. "H-hey, why aren't we in the desert?"     "Remember when we talked during our walk to Splatsville?"     "Yeah...?"     "You mentioned needing to get to Inkadia. I assumed you were referring to Greater Inkopolis, so I took us down the shortest route."     Akitka got a bit worried, thinking he didn't properly clarify what region they needed to go to. However, after checking the radio's map, it showed they were headed the right way.     Guess Sal thought Inkadia was a better name... Akikta looked back to Nakji. "So, where are we now?"     "Hammerhead Bridge." She answered.     "Will this take us to a place called Inkopolis?"     "Oh yeah, definitely. This'll take us directly to the big city. And coincidentally, they finished construction recently. Talk about perfect timing." She added. "I've never been, but I've heard many great things about it!"     The excitement in her voice made Akikta smile. From the sounds of it, Inkopolis should be like Alterna in its golden days. He hoped so, anyway.     He stared off at the ocean. Aside from the roaring engine of the motorcycle and the crashing waves of the sea, everything was quiet.
     ...Too quiet...
     "Nakji..." Akikta started. "You said this was a bridge, as in anyone can cross it?"     "Yeah?"     "You sure it's not private property?"     "No, I don't think it is."     "Then... where are the other cars?" His question prompted Nakji to look around. No cars were going in the opposite direction, and none were coming up behind them. The entire bridge was empty. Something was afoot. But what?     Akikta got his answer when something smashed into the ground right in front of the duo like a crashing meteor. The impact generated a miniature inky explosion that sent them both hurling backward. Their motorcycle flew to the side, off the bridge, crashing into the ocean.     Akikta managed to somehow keep his hood up as he rolled across the ground. When he came to a stop, Nakji landed on top of him.     The shockwave from whatever landed in front of them was disorienting, but Akikta recovered faster than Nakji. He gently pushed her out of the way to get a better look at what landed in their way.     The impact area was covered in a large puddle of yellow ink; a new figure was in the center of that yellow ink. It was another inkling.     It looked like they had intentionally jumped off the upper chords of the bridge to land in front of them, as they were still in a landing pose. How they survived the fall and created such a heavy impact was beyond Akikta's comprehension.     The inkling stood upright, being a mere five feet in height. Akikta thought it was Metta, but this inkling, while having the same tentacle color and feminine build as Metta, was not her.     This inkling's eyes were orange, her skin a lighter shade, and she didn't have a split eyebrow. She also had a more serious and neutral expression on her face, as opposed to Metta's more laid-back but aggressive face.     Not to mention the old-timey clothes she had on. On her head was a blue worn-down cap, and a strangely shaped headset that covered her pointed ears. An orange and blue tattered poncho covered her torso, along with a black top underneath. Her black pants were also tattered and on her feet were... black flip-flops?     Akikta would've easily mistaken this inkling for a homeless person. Actually, maybe she was homeless.     A familiar face dropped next to the homeless-looking inkling. It was Metta. "Coral! You could've hurt Lil' Buddy!" she said, her tone slightly annoyed.     The homeless inkling, Coral, turned to Metta with crossed arms. She had no noticeable expression on her face, but even Akikta could sense a gaze of irritation from her.     Metta nervously chuckled. "Sorry, I mean Captain..." she corrected herself, although it was too late now.     Akikta helped Nakji up before Coral pointed at them both. Metta then nodded with a devious grin, the mechanical bow from earlier gripped tightly in her hands. "Yeah, those are the suckers who nabbed him!"     It wasn't rocket science to figure out Metta predicted they'd take the shortest route to Inkadia and intercepted them with a friend. Though, Akikta would like to know how she knew where they were going in the first place. Luck perhaps?     "How'd you get ahead of us? We left you behind eating our dust! Literally." Akikta said, earning a gritting of the teeth from Metta.     "Wouldn't you like to know? Unfortunately, I won't be entertaining you bottom feeders with answers!" Metta growled. "Two things are gonna happen today. One, I get Lil' Buddy back. And two, we make you eat pavement. A fitting punishment for you small-time bandits, if I do say so myself!"     Akikta narrowed his eyes. "Look, it's nothing personal. But you're not getting him back. Besides, are you even sure we still have him?"     "I'd say you better for your sake, but..." Metta looked down at Akikta's jacket pocket. He followed her gaze to see the smallfry peeking out, observing the commotion. Dammit. He gently pushed the smallfry further into his pocket.     Metta furrowed her brows in response. "Captain, take care of the Octarian. He's mine."     Akikta looked to Nakji to see she had already drawn her blade and charged at the squid captain. I was gonna say we should fight together, but oh well... He turned back to Metta, who pulled the string back on her bow.     When she released the string, a volley of arrows flew at him; they were direct hits. But like before, Akikta was left unphased. He looked at his arms and hands, then at his chest. He was covered in ink, but no damage was done. "Huh..." Akikta smirked.     "W-what? You didn't even flinch! How did that not splat you?!" Metta questioned.     Akikta dashed towards Metta, closing the distance between them quickly. "Sorry, Metta, but you'll need more than a little ink to take me on!" He boasted, figuring ink was all they had for weapons. When he got within arm's distance, he pulled out his bat and swung at her a few times. Metta used her bow to block the first couple of strikes before tossing it away.     She proceeded to dodge his attacks like they were nothing. "Ha! Predictable!" She gloated, which bothered Akikta. He swung faster, but even then, she still dodged his attacks easily. "Are you even trying?" She yawned.     "Shut up!" Akikta shouted and swung heavily downward. Instead of hitting his target, he hit the concrete road. Metta then delivered a swift but brutal kick to his face. The mask absorbed a good portion of the blow.     The impact from the kick made him stagger. Metta took this opportunity to jab him in the stomach. He groaned in pain and stumbled back, but didn't fall.     Damn! She hits hard! Akikta underestimated her strength. At this rate, he'd prefer to fight Coral. At least she looked weaker.     Akikta calmed himself and went to strike. And again, he missed.     "Yeah, that's it! Keep swinging like the brute you are. See if that'll do you any good!" Metta taunted.     Though she was clearly trying to agitate him more, she unintentionally gave him an idea.     Akikta swung the bat again, whiffing Metta by a nose-hair. She went to punch him a second time, but before her punch landed, he whipped out Little Buddy. "Buddy!" she shouted out of fear and shifted her weight to miss the punch, losing her balance in the process.     With a heavy swing, Akikta nailed her in the head. The headshot created a loud and brutal thunk, sending her rolling violently across the road; As she did, she left behind a trail of yellow ink.     Akikta rushed over to her, half of him thinking he may have overdone it, the other half thinking he didn't do enough.     When he reached Metta, he saw she was bleeding. Well, he thought she was bleeding. The blood was yellow and thick like ink. Shit, I didn't mean to hit her that hard. I hope I didn't crack her skull... wait, does she even have one? As the thought crossed his mind, Metta groaned in pain, unable to pick herself back up.     "Damn, talking all that smack, and you go down in one hit? Guess you're not so tough after all, are ya?" He mocked.     Metta looked up at Little Buddy, who was still in Akikta's free hand. She reached out to the smallfry with half-closed eyes, mumbling words. Akikta tilted his head, wondering what she tried to accomplish with that.     Unexpectedly, the smallfry attempted to get out of his hands. "What- hey!" He tried to hold on, but the smallfry bit his finger when his grip tightened. "Ow!" Akikta yelped and dropped the smallfry.     Once free, it went over to Metta, hopping around to see if she was ok.     Why does it suddenly choose to be by her side now?! He furrowed his brows in agitation.     Akikta took two steps toward Little Buddy, blinking after the second step. When he opened his eyes, he jumped back, startled. Coral was now suddenly in between him and the smallfry who attended to Metta.     He blinked a few more times and turned to see Nakji on the ground holding her katana, beaten and battered, as if a stampede had come through and mowed her down.     "What?!" Akikta voiced his surprise. No way Nakji, who was considered the blade master amongst a crew of vicious pirates, went down to someone wearing flip-flops!     Aside from that, he was mad that Coral harmed Nakji. Moreso than he thought he'd be. Akikta shot a mean glare at Coral, one she couldn't see. "Now you're pissing me off!" His grip around the bat tightened, and he swung, aiming for her head. Unlike Metta, he didn't care if he severely injured Coral, especially not after what she did to Nakji.     First, a whoosh, then a bonk. The hit connected.     No... wait...     She... caught it.     Coral stopped the bat with one hand, staring daggers at Akikta.     The anger Akikta felt was quickly replaced with bewilderment. He had put all his strength into that swing. How'd she catch it without even flinching?!     Akikta shook his head and tried to pull away. No matter how hard he tugged, her grip didn't budge. It was like trying to pull out Excalibur.     He felt his hands get sweaty, and his throat suddenly became dry. The familiar beating of his own heart gradually elevated and became audible to his ears.     Akikta has gone through hell and back after awakening from cryostasis. In fact, Coral was nothing compared to the physical and mental trials he endured during his time in Alterna. So... what was he so scared about?     Before anything could click in his brain, he heard Metta moan in pain. "Go...get 'em...captain..." As if acknowledging her, Coral's eyes took on a more serious glint.     At that moment, every fiber in Akikta's body shouted at him to drop the bat and run. His instincts desperately wanted him to flee while he still could. But he was too slow.     In a blink of an eye, Coral delivered two jabs to his chest that knocked the wind out of him. Metta's punches were painful, sure. But Coral's? Her hands must've been freight trains with how hard she punched. He was afraid she had broken something.     Coral wasn't done. She elbowed him in the throat, causing him to gag hard. Then she kicked his leg, almost making him fall, but he caught himself. Unfortunately, he dropped his bat.     Akikta was flabbergasted. He didn't know what to do. His body couldn't even register the pain until a few seconds after Coral's blows connected.     His confusion only allowed her to strike again, this time with a mean kick to the stomach. He fell backward, but she caught him before he hit the ground. Before he could process why, Coral tossed him over to Nakji, and he landed on the octoling hard, causing them both to yelp.     What...just happened...? Was all Akikta could think to ask as he watched Coral calmly walk toward them. He wanted to move, to run, or to at least try to fight back. But the pain was teeth clenching; His muscles refused to cooperate. Now he understood what happened to Nakji.     Coral came to a stop right next to the injured pair. Akikta dreaded what she might do next. Luckily for him, Coral didn't do anything fast enough.     Some inflatable device appeared and wrapped around the duo, encasing them in a ball. Then, smaller dark green balls landed in a row across a portion of the bridge. Coral's eyes widened, and she ran away from Akikta and Nakji toward where Metta and Little Buddy were.     The balls abruptly exploded in a dark green-colored inky tornado. The force of the explosion sent Akikta and Nakji flying off the bridge, and they careened down into the water. As they sunk beneath the waves, his vision started to blur.     Gradually, darkness overtook his sight. While the world around Akikta turned black, a voice called out his name. Their deep and dark tone echoed all around him, getting quieter and quieter each time it called out to him.     Their voice was reminiscent of what Akikta imagined an evil spirit to sound like when he was younger. The kind that his grandfather had warned him about in the past.     Akikta's last conscious moments were spent wondering what type of evil spirit tried to speak to him.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"A...? Akikta? Akikta!" A voice shouted, bringing Akikta out of his pit of unconsciousness.     He blinked a few times, finding himself lying flat on a cold floor. He groaned before lifting up. A terrible soreness coursed through his body as he sat up, mainly affecting his neck and stomach. Akikta rubbed the front of his neck, wincing in pain. "Damn..."     He coughed before examining his clothes. Like before, the ink had magically vanished. Not a trace of it was left.     As he wondered how and why that kept happening, the radio crackled. "Akikta?!" It was Sal. He must've been the voice Akikta heard right before coming to.     "I'm here. I'm here." The teen croaked as he unhooked the radio.     A sigh of relief came from the other end. "Thank the rings. You're alright."     "Yea, sorry...about that. I don't know what happened. We just got attacked and-"     "I know."     "You do?"     "I was checking in on you and saw the whole confrontation. I had been telling you to get out, but maybe your ears aren't all there." Sal stated with an added insult at the end.     Akikta frowned. He hadn't heard Sal at all. Maybe he was too quiet, or their fighting was too loud? "Hey, it's not my fault that-" A small groan interrupted Akikta.     He turned to find Nakji lying on her side with her purple blade a few inches from her. He hurried onto his feet, his quickness hindered by the sore injuries.     After limping to Nakji, he kneeled by her side to examine her. She looked absolutely rugged. Bruises were visible, and her light skin tone was a bit red in certain areas. If Coral had bruised Nakji any worse, she could've been considered roadkill.     Akikta gripped her shoulder. Immediately, his heart sank. Her usually warm skin was eerily cold.     He shook her gently. "Nakji? Nakji, are you ok?" He asked worriedly, receiving no response. Akikta bit the inner walls of his lower lip as his body grew tense.     Coral had caused him great pain with just a few hits. He agonized at the thought of what Nakji had experienced, and whether or not she was able to endure it.     He shook her again and waited with bated breath. This time, her eyes opened, albeit slowly. Her gaze fixated on Akikta. "Aki?" She murmured. Luckily, she wasn't dead. Akikta sighed, relieved.     He'd plop down on the concrete ground, sighing with relief. "She's alive."     "Your friend, I presume?" Sal asked.     Before Akikta could respond, Nakji perked up more. "Who's...that?"     "O-oh, this is the friend I mentioned. The one I'm doing the favor for. Mr. Sal." Akikta answered.     "Please, just call me Sal." Sal reiterated. Nakji made an unapproving face, but Akikta turned the radio so Sal couldn't see.     "Well, looks like that little scuffle you had sent you a bit further from the target," Sal informed.     "Whoa, hey now. Don't just gloss over the fact we got our asses kicked! I thought you said they'd be harmless to me!"     "Nuh-uh. I said your target would be harmless to you. I said nothing about Captain Tenta."     "Well, how was I supposed to- wait, who's Tenta?"     "What do you mean? You literally just fought her." The man responded quickly. Too quickly for him to realize what Akikta's question implied. Akikta raised his mask so Sal could see the stern look on his face.     There was a moment of silence before Sal grumbled on the other end. "You didn't know... did you?"     "Didn't know? No shit, I didn't know! You're telling me you knew someone like her was out here, and you didn't think to warn me?!" Akikta angrily barked. His raised voice echoed through whatever area they were in.     "A, calm down. As I said earlier, I would not put you in a situation I wasn't sure you could handle. I did not expect you to be put on her radar." Sal said in defense.     Akikta sighed. "Can you at least tell me who she is?"     There was some more silence before Sal responded. "Her name is Coral Tenta. And she's the new captain of a secret platoon."     "New? What happened to the old one?" Akikta questioned.     "Retired. An agent has to call it quits someday, right?"     "Agent? Wait, are you telling me the government is after me?"     "I- er... not exactly. They seem to operate as an independent group. Officially, they're known as the New Squidbeak Splatoon. Don't ask me why they're called that." Akikta closed his mouth right after he opened it, bummed out that Sal knew he would ask. "They normally target actual threats. I don't know what you did to earn the captain's attention, but whatever it was, we'll have to pick up the pace on getting that criminal."     "What? Why?"     "Because they're in the platoon," Sal revealed.     Akikta's facial expression exaggerated greatly. "Wh- huh?! You're only telling me now that Marie is part of a group of probably highly skilled agents!?"     "The criminal herself isn't that big of a deal. At least not up close. And besides, by the time you captured her, the others would've been none the wiser! What did you even do to get them on you?"     "How am I supposed to know? I didn't even know they existed until now!" Nakji stared at Akikta as he went back and forth with Sal.     He mulled through his memories, trying to understand why such a deadly group was after him. "Oh wait, I did kidnap that smallfry. I think he was the pet of an agent."     "Really?"     "Yeah, her name was Metta."     "Metta? I don't recall anyone named Metta as one of their agents."     "Well, she was with Coral. Even referred to her as captain!"     Sal grumbled. "I see..."     "So when you really think about it, this is all your fault," Akikta stated. He wasn't wrong either.     "If I had known they recruited a new agent with a young one accompanying them, I don't think I would've told you to grab them, now would I?" Sal snarled, irritated. Akikta went silent. "Do you at least still have the smallfry?"     Akikta swallowed hard. "I...um...lost him..."     "Of course you did," Sal groaned. His annoyed tone didn't last long. "You know what? This is fine. We can still bring that criminal to justice. The platoon has no clue what your goals are, nor do they know your location. And the bright side is, their captain is their strongest member, so whatever you just went through, don't expect it to get worse than that."     Nakji grabbed herself at the mention of their captain. Akikta could tell she didn't want to see Coral again, and he didn't blame her.     As he stared at Nakji's reaction to Coral's name, a thought crossed his mind. "You said the Squidbeak Splatoon was secret, right?"     "New Squidbeak Splatoon." Sal corrected.     "Yeah, whatever. Anyway, if they're so secret, how do you know so much about them?"     "Well, let's just say...I had an inside source once," Sal claimed.     The claim made sense in theory, but Akikta's curiosity wanted to know more. Who exactly was this inside source? And what happened to them? Considering how Sal's irritation dissipated, for the time being, he wouldn't risk bringing it back by prying.     "Just be careful going forward from now on, alright? Since they're after you, things will be riskier. Whatever you do, don't let them find out you're a..." Sal stopped himself, remembering Nakji was there.     "A human?" Akikta finished. "Don't worry. Nakji already knows."     "See to it that she remains the only person to know," Sal warned. "Now then, where are you? I don't recognize that place at all."     Akikta looked around from where he sat, whereas Nakji stood up, dusted herself off, and sheathed her blade.     The place was dark. Dim lights hung from the ceiling, illuminating a giant tunnel. "It looks like we're in a tunnel. It's pretty dark. Maybe we're underground or something?" Akikta said, suggesting they were underground because of how cold it was. It was colder than Alterna, but still a nice change of pace from the sizzling heat the Splatlands offered.     "Look," Nakji said as she pointed to something.     He waltzed over to see train tracks along a trench-like trail. "I think we're in a subway."     "A subway? There's no...oh..." Sal's tone abruptly changed. He sounded frightened.     "Sal? What's the matter?" Akikta asked.     "It looks like you were knocked to the Deepsea Metro."     "Is that... bad?"     "Let me put it to you this way. I've got good news and bad news."     Akikta gulped. "What's the bad news?"     "Bad news is, the Deepsea Metro has a strange little phenomenon. I don't know exactly how it works, but if you're not a denizen of the deep, you'll lose bits and pieces of your memories the longer you stay. Eventually, you'll forget about whatever life you had before the Deepsea Metro."     Hopefully, the good news is a lot less grim. "What about the good news?"     "Good news is, there should be a train that'll take you directly to Inkopolis." As if on cue, Nakji and Akikta heard the honks and wheels of a nearby train. Bright lights appeared down a tunnel entrance, gradually getting brighter as the honks grew louder.     "Welp, guess that solves it then. I'll check on you periodically. Try not to forget the task at hand..." With that, the radio went out.     "I don't trust him," Nakji said, practically waiting for the radio to turn off.     Her guarded tone caught Akikta by surprise. "Huh? What are you on about?"     "You say he's a friend, but he didn't seem to show any concern for you." She said, eyeing Akikta as the subway train came to a stop.     "He's probably really busy," Akikta said while putting his mask back down.     Nakji raised an eyebrow. "Busy enough to not at least give you a heads-up on those agents?"     He shrugged. To Akikta, Sal's behavior was similar to his father, a head scientist at Alterna. At worse, the man was dismissive. But not uncaring. Perhaps Sal had a lot on his plate.     Nakji crossed her arms in response to Akikta's shrug. "I do not like him. He gives off a bad vibe."     "Oh, now suddenly you don't trust a human?"     "He's... human?" She asked uncertainly.     "Of course he is!" Akikta yelled defensively. Then, the doors to the train opened. A large group of humanoid sea creatures poured out from the different carts. They all resembled animals belonging to the deep waters.     "How can you be sure... have you ever seen him?" Nakji questioned, doubt prevalent in her tone.     "N-not yet. But I just know he is."     "Aki, I don't think-"     "If you don't trust him, that's fine. But don't you dare try to tell me he's not-" Akikta stopped, noticing they were getting looks after he raised his voice.     Nakji's face softened up in response to his aggressive tone. "Just come on, man." He huffed before boarding the train. Nakji sheepishly followed.     What nerve does she have to say he isn't human? She hardly even knows him! If anything, she's not human! Akikta yelled in his head, not hiding his anger well as he stomped through the train's carts.     "Welcome aboard, weary denizen." A proper voice called out, which caused Akikta's bubbling anger to subside. He looked around to find the voice, though no one was seated on either side of the train. "Down here." The voice said.     Akikta looked down to see a blue slug no bigger than a foot staring up at him. Well, he assumed it was staring at him. It had no eyes. The thing reminded him of a sea cucumber, that is, if sea cucumbers wore black conductor hats with a foreign logo on the front.     He stepped back from the creature, his foot a little too close for comfort. "Hey, uh, sorry talking sea slug. I didn't see you there..." Akikta apologized.     The blue slug tilted the front part of its body. "Pardon me? I take it this is your first time riding with us?" Akikta looked at Nakji, who looked just as confused as he did under the mask. He nodded to the sea cucumber. "Right then. Welcome to the Deepsea Metro. I am your humble conductor, C.Q. Cumber, pleased to make your acquaintance." The slug wiggled. Had it not been for its politeness, Akikta would've snorted at C.Q's pun of a name.     "Allow me to introduce you to my assistant." Again, as if on cue, a new face emerged from the front train cart. It was a five-foot-tall inkling. They had smooth cyan-blue hair accompanied by glasses with a heavy cyan-blue tint, which prevented Akikta from seeing their eyes.     "Hello, my name is Astro Mahi. It is an honor having you ride with us on this day." The inkling said with a slight bow. Their voice was just as proper sounding as C.Q. Cumber's.     When Astro stood up straight again, Akikta noticed the inkling wore a neat black suit with a white jacket underneath—a cyan-blue tie paired with it. Like C.Q. Cumber, Astro also wore a black conductor's hat with a cyan-blue-colored logo on the front... This inkling had a rather excessive amount of cyan colors on him.     "How may we be of service to you today?" Astro asked politely. Meanwhile, C.Q. Cumber crawled up Astro's black-colored boots and suit pants and rested on the inkling's shoulder.     "We heard this train can take us straight to Inkopolis. So we were hoping to catch a ride." Akikta said.     "I'm terribly sorry, but denizens of the deep are forbidden entry to the surface." Astro solemnly informed.     "But I'm not a denizen?"     "While I am not insensitive enough to ask you to lower your mask to prove it, I have no other way of knowing if you're telling the truth."     Akikta looked at Nakji and sighed before pulling his hood slightly back. Not enough to where his hair was exposed, but just enough to where the inkling could see his round ears. "You see, I'm an Octarian, same as her." Astro's smile faltered slightly, and he looked at C.Q. Cumber. "Is that an issue?" Akikta asked before flipping his hood fully back up.     "No, not at all." C.Q. Cumber answered. Astro's smile returned, though somewhat confused. "Apologies, but the journey to Inkopolis will take about two days. We hope this doesn't inconvenience you."     Two days?! How far off did we drift from Hammerhead Bridge?? "N-no. Not at all." Akikta said, his words conveying a different tone than his thoughts.     "Excellent. Feel free to relax and make yourselves at home while we prepare for departure." C.Q. Cumber said. Astro nodded before turning and walking back to the front cart.     Nakji and Akikta looked at each other, then they both sighed, exhausted.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The two-day ride was agonizing for Akikta. Why? There were a few reasons.     Until recently, Akikta never had to deal with sleeping in uncomfortable places, like on the hot sand or on subway train seats.     The jostling of the train kept waking him up whenever he drifted to sleep. And once up, the slight shaking of the train would give him an uncomfortable reminder that his muscles were still painfully sore from what Coral did to him.     Akikta would also experience fits of violent coughing, accompanied by a swelling tightness in his chest. So much so, his throat would've become hoarse had it not been for the food and drinks provided to him.     The assistant conductor was kind enough to check on Akikta periodically. And every time, he would offer the masked teen a drink and food. It was nothing big, mainly small bags filled with fried prawns or some other type of shellfish paired with a simple bottle of water.     The food was alright. Oddly enough, it tasted like the fried products back in Alterna. The same could not be said for the water. He wasn't sure how they screwed up bottled water, but it was excessively filtered to the point where it had a weird taste.     Water products aside, Akikta quickly grew to like Astro. He was the friendliest sea creature he'd met, aside from Nakji. He learned the inkling's full name was Astro Mahi Mahi.     Akikta also learned why Astro's smile faltered earlier when he mentioned being an octarian. According to the conductor, C.Q. Cumber, one octarian octoling put a company known as Kamabo Corporation out of business.     Since the conductor was an employee of said company, Astro figured C.Q. Cumber would resent or even hate octarians. Luckily, the blue slug was indifferent to his company's downfall.     Astro went on to ask why Akikta and Nakji wanted to go to Inkopolis. Akikta didn't give him a straight answer, which didn't bother the assistant. Though, it bothered Akikta that he asked at all. His skepticism quickly faded when Astro explained his reasoning behind the question.     Apparently, octarians and inklings have been on less-than-ideal terms for quite a while. Something about a war that happened between the two species, long before Akikta woke up. Long story short, the inklings were victorious, and the octarians got the very short end of a shitty stick.     Some years ago, Inkopolis started unknowingly accepting octarian octolings back into society. That information became known to the public a few years later; it received mixed emotions.     As it stands, Inkopolis is not necessarily a 'kind' environment to octarians. Completely opposite from how Splatsville seemed.     It was strange how similar inklings and octarians were to humans. Though they evolved from cephalopods, they all took on a humanoid appearance, built human-like structures, used vehicles, and even waged war. It was like they were his kind's successors.     "Here." Someone said blankly, interrupting his train of thought. It was Nakji, handing him a bag filled with those delicious prawns.     Right, Astro wasn't the only one bringing him food. Nakji had been scavenging around the train and sharing whatever she found.     Akikta would always selfishly scarf down whatever he could. His appetite demanded to be satiated, and he didn't want to disappoint it. Though the way he ate was ravenous, akin to a wild animal. Nakji saw this as him being starved, so she sometimes gave him her snacks.     He graciously took the bag, but she quickly turned and left before he could thank her. Nakji had been growing more distant ever since they boarded the train. It was no mystery why. Akikta got on her when she was just a tiny bit skeptical about Sal. Perhaps he was too harsh?      Whenever she got close to him, the look in her eye seemed nervous. It was like she didn't want to avoid him, but was too scared to stick around him for long. He didn't want her to avoid him, but whenever she scurried off like a scared rat, the situation seemed too awkward to say anything in.     Akikta sighed and removed his cylinder mouthpiece before opening the bag full of fried prawns. He'd greedily devour the prawns, handfuls at a time, through the mouth hole in his mask. As he did, he'd closely watch the passengers that came and went with each train stop.     The denizens of the deep were fairly complex. Moreso than the people of Splatsville. He didn't trust them, given their appearance.     They all made him uneasy—all but one. "Pardon me, young squire." A polite yet deep voice said. Akikta turned to see a sizeable isopod-type creature sitting in front of him. They were pale blue, and would probably be seven feet tall if they weren't sitting down.     Akikta swiftly put the cylinder translator back on his mouth before speaking. "Hey... you're..." he tried to remember the passenger's name.     During the two days he rode the train, he'd occasionally see the isopod. They were the one who never appeared to get off the train, or if they did, they never stayed off. It wasn't hard to miss the isopod, given their size and that large suitcase they carried around, which happened to be filled with toys... for some reason.     "We've never been properly introduced." The suit-wearing isopod clarified before adjusting their sunglasses, which covered their black beady eyes that Akikta had only seen once. "They call me Iso Padre. That's not my real name, mind you. But it's the only one I can recall now." The crustacean greeted.     Strange. Akikta was sure they had talked to each other before, but he guessed he was mistaken. Maybe it was because of Iso Padre's constant presence that Akikta subconsciously grew comfortable around him.     "Forgive my intrusion, but I've noticed... you seem tense." Iso Padre pointed out.     Akikta chuckled. "That obvious, huh?" He looked down at the bag of prawns. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me," Akikta assured before breaking into a coughing fit.     Iso Padre waited for Akikta to finish wheezing out his lungs before responding. "It doesn't seem like you are, young squire." The isopod's long whiskers wiggled in a wavy motion as Akikta cleared his throat. "What ails you, my friend?"     Akikta looked at Iso Padre, debating if he should answer the question truthfully or not. Considering he had gone this long without speaking to anyone besides the conductors, he decided he could use the change of pace. "I'm just not used to this place." He admitted.     "Ah, not from around here, are you?"     "You could say that..." Akikta put his hands together, clasping the bag gently around his fingers. "Truth is, everything is so different from how I imagined it. But at the same time, so similar... It's confusing." He looked away from Iso Padre. "I guess you could say I'm a little lost."     A moment of silence filled the train cart. Akikta turned back to Iso Padre, who had one of his six arms gently caressing his chin, as if he were in thought.     Then, Iso Padre leaned forward, put all his hands together, and looked Akikta straight in the eyes. "You remind me of another lost one." He started. "Back in the day, when Kamabo Co. was still around, a young squire dropped in, much like you and your friend. She was bright and bold for one so young. She's the only test subject I know that collected a complete set of mem cakes."     "Mem cakes?" Akikta interrupted.     "Memories." Iso Padre clarified. "When test subjects are admitted, they gradually lose their memories. I don't quite know the exact details, but Kamabo Co. somehow compressed those memories into these things called mem cakes." He elaborated, nodding in confirmation to himself. "They awarded us subjects with them for completing their tests. Yes, I too was once a test subject, but I washed out far too early... I only ever got two." He explained, reminiscing about his failed past.     "Where was I? Oh, yes. The young squire. I believe her name was Eight. At least, that's the only name I've ever heard her go by. Such a talented and ambitious one, that." Iso Padre's whiskers wiggled again, this time in a vibrating manner. "She changed this old subway for the better, I dare say. Truly, she was something special."     Akikta gave in to his curiosity. "What happened to her?"     "Well, I heard she moved on to shallower waters. It's been years since I've last seen Eight."     "You must miss her."     "I do. It's a shame she left. But I'm not worried about her. Given her ambition, I know she's out there doing great things...wherever she is."     Akikta raised a brow under his mask. If Iso Padre wasn't worried about this Eight person, then why mention her? "...So I get I remind you of her and all, but why tell me this all of a sudden?"     "Because you should learn from her tale." The isopod answered. "Like you, she was lost, but her ambitions led her to the promised land. Just like your ambitions will do the same for you." Iso Padre declared.     Akikta looked down at the bag in his hands. "I don't think I have ambitions beyond surviving."     "Nonsense, young squire. Everyone has an ambition. You have a dream, don't you?"     A dream? Sure, maybe when he was in high school. But what good were those now with the people he knew gone? "I had a dream. But then reality broke my alarm and woke me up itself." He said, unintentionally responding in a harsh tone. Iso Padre didn't seem to mind.     "Then find a new dream." Said the isopod.     Akikta fumbled with the bag of prawns momentarily, gathering his words. "A...a new dream? What do you mean?" He asked, looking up at Padre.     "Your first dream didn't pan out how you would've liked. But who said you had to stop at one? As long as you've got life, you've got dreams. So find one that lights your way."     For an isopod, Padre was very inspirational. And philosophical.     Still, Akikta didn't know where to begin in that regard. His only drive was to reunite with Sal and the other humans, wherever they were, and save his brother. And to do all that, he needed to navigate through a world different from the one he was told about. "You say that as if it's easy. But I don't even know where to begin. This worl- I mean, this place... It's all so strange."     "Does that include your friend?"     Akikta perked up. "You mean Nakji?" Iso Padre nodded. "I mean... kind of? I only met her a few days ago."     "Really? Then I guess your bond truly is something special."     "What do you mean?"     "I've watched her scavenge around this train for food left behind by passengers. And every time she turned up with something, she gave it to you. Poor girl, she must be famished."     Wait...has she not been eating? Akikta clutched the bag Nakji had given him. He assumed she was eating whatever she found and then gave him any extra bags she turned up with. Was she really starving herself so his stomach could be full?     "It's not every day someone starves themselves for another they've just met. Goes to show she really cares." Iso Padre commented.     Akikta felt his heartbeat rise again. A pain swelled in his chest, but it wasn't physical.     He felt terrible before, but now he downright hated himself for not considering Nakji's well-being. She had been helping him to the best of her abilities all this time, even when he initially didn't want her help.     And what has he done to repay her? Gotten her beaten to a pulp, nearly killed, put on the watchlist of some secret group of agents, and now he was starving her.     For all he knew, she was giving him these bags as a form of apology. "I... see what you mean..." He said, completely embarrassed that he hadn't noticed all her good deeds before or casually brushed them aside.     Akikta should've known Nakji meant nothing negative when she was skeptical about Sal. She was only looking out for him, like she always had been. And he got angry at her for it. "I might've overdone it earlier...before we boarded the train. She probably hates me now..." Akikta clutched the bag even tighter.     He wasn't confident in doing this whole abduction thing alone. And honestly, she was much better company than Sal. Unlike him, she was physically and actively here. If Akikta lost that now? "...I'm afraid to find out."     Iso Padre shook his head. "If she hated you, she would've gotten off at the closest station when she had the chance." He said, making a valid point. "Besides, the only thing that should give you a fright is that beast inside you called your appetite." There it was, another curveball for Akikta.     "I don't..." Akikta started but was cut off by Iso Padre raising a hand.     "I've only seen one creature eat as wildly as you, those pink fish. You should try toning down a bit, lest your hunger consume your ambition... and those around you."     The teen wasn't sure if he should take those words to heart or if they were a metaphor for something else. Surely, Iso Padre didn't actually mean his hunger.     Whatever the case, Akikta thinks he got what Padre was trying to say. Don't be afraid to work things out with Nakji. "You know what, I think I'll go talk to her right now." He said confidently before standing up. "Thank you, sir Padre. You've really opened my eyes."     "Glad to have inspired the youth."     With that response, Akikta smiled and turned, about to exit carts.     "Young squire." Iso Padre called out, making Akikta stop in his tracks and look over his shoulder at the large isopod. "May I have your name, please?"     Akikta fully turned towards Iso Padre. "It's Akikta. Akikta Akule Miles." He rarely gave out his full name, but he figured Iso Padre deserved to know.     "Hmm, a rather unique name." The isopod turned his body a little to face Akikta more. "Heed my advice, Akikta. Don't ever give up on your dreams, or they might give up on you, too." Finally, something that made sense without Akikta needing to decrypt it.     The teen nodded and gave Iso Padre a slight bow to show respect.     "Safe travels, young squire." He ended, allowing Akikta to exit the train cart to find Nakji, which didn't take long. All he had to do was follow the strange sounds of growling. They brought him to the source, a purple octoling holding her stomach in pain.     Nakji had yet to notice Akikta, so he approached her. Once next to her, he held out the bag of prawns and spoke. "Here."     Nakji jolted at the sight of him, startled that he was suddenly there. She looked at the bag and then back at him. "Y-you don't want it?" She asked hesitantly.     Akikta shook his head. "I'm full. I want you to have the rest."     Nakji continued to stare at him and the bag, uncertainty present in her eyes. "But-"     "Just take the bag." He said, stopping her from protesting. "Please..." He softly pleaded.     Still hesitant, she took the bag, and Akikta sat beside her. She'd take her time with the food, eating one prawn at a time at a snail's pace. He wouldn't rush her. The last thing he wanted to do was pressure her more than he already had.     He looked around, noting their cart was empty. She must've come here to be alone. While he would respect her wishes on any day, today was not one of them.     "Listen..." He started, causing Nakji to stop eating. "I'm sorry about...what I said a few days ago. I didn't mean to snap at you like that..." Akikta folded his hands together. "It's just..." His words trailed off as Nakji turned to him.     What should he say? Where should he start? Would she even understand? There was only one way to find out.     "You asked me earlier who that...ink creature was. His name is Subject 7, and he's my brother." Nakji's eyes widened in response to the revelation; Akikta continued. "Yeah, that's right. I'm related to that thing that almost killed us in the Splatlands. And you wanna know what's funny? He's been trying to kill me ever since I woke up. It sucked running from him, especially since I was alone back then. My friends were supposed to be there with me, but they...didn't make it." He rambled.     From her facial expression, Akikta could tell Nakji was a little confused, so he elaborated. "I was frozen. Twelve thousand years ago. And I only woke up recently." He looked back to Nakji. "My home, the one I knew, is gone. The people I knew... my family... they're dead. All of them... Except for him." He said, referring to his brother. It was painful recounting everything. But Nakji needed to know.     "My people changed my brother. I don't really know how, but it's how he's survived all this time. They...turned him into a monster. You've seen it for yourself." Nakji nodded gently in confirmation.     "Sal said he would help me reverse what they did to my brother. All I have to do is bring that criminal to his doorstep..." He leaned back in his seat. "I'll admit. I don't know the severity of her crimes, but I also don't really care. It's her fault for committing them in the first place. Bringing her to justice will help bring my brother back, so that's more than enough reason for me to witchhunt her." Akikta lowered his head. "I'd do anything for him..." He sighed before looking at Nakji, who had put the bag down to give him her full attention.     "As for Sal... well, I haven't known him very long. But when I was trapped, he comforted me occasionally. He even gave me these translators, which is the only reason I can speak with and understand you." He explained, showing off the translators in his ears before hiding them again with his hood. "Without him, I wouldn't have been able to survive out here. Shoot, I probably would've tapped out back in the desert." Akikta finished, hoping this would help Nakji understand why he snapped at her earlier, even though he really shouldn't have.     Nakji looked down at the floor nervously. "Are you c-certain Sal will help?" She asked with a slight stutter.     "It's fine. I won't get mad at you." He assured her before looking forward. "And to answer your question, yes. If he had no intention of helping, he would've left me for dead a long time ago instead of wasting time and resources on me." Akikta was confident Sal was trustworthy, even if he had kept some details from him before. "I know his character came into question earlier with what he did, or rather, with what he didn't do. But we humans aren't perfect. We make mistakes... my people certainly did."     He turned to Nakji. "I did." He said, apologetically. Nakji gave him a weird face in response, making him unsure if she was happy or unhappy about what he said.     Akikta faced forward again. "Sal probably assumed I'd get scared if he told me the full details. I don't blame him." That made the most logical sense.     "Are you even sure he can help?" Nakji questioned. Something Akikta also wondered in the beginning.     "The translators are evidence he can. My people were all scientists, so I recognize advanced tech when I see it. If these translation devices are the bare minimum he has to work with, then I'm certain he can revert what my people did to Chaska." Nakji tilted her head. "Sorry, that's my brother's real name. Subject 7 is just what they turned him into..." He clarified.     Silence filled their cart again. Akikta felt a little better now that Nakji knew everything. Still, he couldn't help but feel like something was missing. Then something occurred to him. "Sorry I'm asking this so late, but why?"     "Why what?" Nakji looked at him.     "From the moment we met, you've been helping me with almost everything. You're even concerned about me and my safety, but you gain nothing from sticking with me. I get it is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to interact with a prehistoric creature, but eventually, I'd imagine you'd call it quits. So, why haven't you?" He asked, wondering what he has that warrants Nakji risking her skin.     At first, she didn't respond. Instead, she turned away, looking at the empty row of seats.     She put her hands together and deeply exhaled. "Earlier, I mentioned the man who gave me my blade was one of the few people who's been nice to me. He was actually the only one." Akikta's eyebrows raised, but he kept his comments to himself. "He taught me how to fight, how to negotiate, and how to survive." She said with a soft smile.     "He showed genuine care towards me." Her smile slowly disappeared. "And then he... vanished. I woke up one day, and he was just... gone." Nakji leaned back in her seat. Akikta could tell she was in pain just from remembering.     "To this day, I still don't know what happened to him. His stuff was gone, so maybe he left me? I don't know... why would he leave without saying goodbye? Was I that much of a burden?" Her slick eyes gradually swelled with water.     Akikta put a hand on her shoulder. "You're not a burden." He assured her, which brought some comfort to the octoling.     "Thank you." She wiped away her tears as Akikta let go of her, then continued. "Ever since he disappeared from my life, I've been nomadic. I've only lived for so long because the many bandits I came across could use my skills. Needed something done? I could do it. And I did it well." She remarked. "But beyond that, I never had any friends. Allies, maybe. But if I did something they didn't like, they were quick to drop me."     "What about the Wild Claws?" He questioned, believing they had some good history.     "The Wild Claws only kept me because I was the best combatant they ever had." She responded in a sour tone.     They could've fooled Akikta. With how they acted, he assumed they'd care about their fellow mates.     "They swiped me from my last group. After butchering them, of course. I don't know how Claw heard about my exploits, but he did, and he gave me a choice. Join his crew, or join the dead."     "Not really much of a choice..." Akikta commented.     "Mhm." Nakji agreed. "And then you came along." She shifted in her seat, looking at Akikta.     "At first, I thought you were just some random weird-looking unlucky bandit, caught by the Wild Claws and about to be wrung dry for all you were worth. But then the captain said you were human, and I didn't know what to think." She looked away. "I never expected you to take out the whole crew, and I still don't know how you took out Claw. His shell was extremely tough. Even I couldn't crack it! But you took his whole claw off!"     Akikta rubbed the back of his head, taking her words as a compliment.     Nakji looked out the window behind them, watching the tunnel wall blur as they zoomed by. "When I woke up and saw the captain's flesh spilled out of his claw, I thought you would eat me next." Looking back on it now, Akikta could see why Nakji reacted the way she did when she woke. Having her tied up didn't help his case either.     "But you didn't. You didn't hurt me either, even when I was unconscious." She placed a finger on her chin. "I thought you had some ulterior motive for keeping me alive. But then... you were just going to let me leave." Nakji turned, locking eyes with Akikta. "No one else has ever done that before. No one..."     She unfolded her hands, brought her feet onto the seat, and wrapped her arms around her legs. "You already proved to be different from the past people I've encountered. That alone made me want to stick with you."     Akikta didn't know she was this deprived of positive attention. Her life was rough. Rougher than his, he'd say.     "I'll admit, part of me wanted to tag along because you were human. But the other part of me figured you were lonely, too." She looked at her knees, a heavy frown on her face. "I... thought you were the last of your kind, so I wanted to do for you what that man did for me..." She sighed. "I wanted... a friend."     Silence filled their cart once again, the only noise being the soft rumbling of the train.     Akikta stopped looking at her and took his mask off. "Sorry." He said with a frown.     Nakji caught his sad look; her eyebrows curled worriedly.     "Back at the ship, if that crab's claw hadn't been there... I would've seriously considered eating you." Ashamed, Akikta turned his face from Nakji, expecting her to be revolted once she knew he once saw her as food.     Instead, she spoke up. "I'm sorry too."     Akikta shook his head. "You don't need to apologize. You didn't know and-"     "Not about that." She interrupted, which made Akikta look back at her. "What you're going through right now, it must be tough. You're putting yourself in harm's way to save your brother. That's admirable. I'm sorry I can't fully understand why you do it..." Akikta stared at Nakji, confused. "I'm ashamed to say it, but I'm envious of you...I wish I had a brother."     Suddenly, it clicked in his head. Ah, so it's not that my name was too long for her... When they first met, she claimed the length of his name bothered her. Why would it if she could say it properly with no problems? She did so once before, though he was too emotionally shaken to question it at the time.     But now, after listening to her story, it made sense why his name bothered her. Rather, his last name. She didn't have anyone to call family. Hell, she probably didn't know her own last name. She was just Nakji, the nomadic bandit.     She believed because of that, she couldn't relate to what Akikta was doing or understand why he risked his life for the sake of someone else. Ironically, she was already doing that herself.     "Well, I wouldn't say that." He smiled. "You may not be a human, but you've got the heart of one. Or is it hearts?" He shook his head. "Anyway, the point is... what you've done for me... that's more than what friends would do for each other. Especially friends who've only met a few days ago." He placed a hand on her shoulder, this time letting it stay. "You're more like a sister to me at this point."     Her eyes lit up like a child on Christmas. "A-a sister? You see me as a sister??" she asked giddily, her tone a higher pitch than usual.     "Well, yeah. I've never had one before, but I really enjoy your company. Besides, I think Nakji Miles suits you."     Before he could say anything else, Nakji jumped on him and gave him a boa constrictor tight hug. Instead of complaining about his oxygen supply being cut off, he returned the hug.     "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She repeatedly said with a creaking voice. Was she crying? He heard her sniffling, so she must've been. Akikta had no clue just how much this meant to her. You were right, sir Padre. Our bond really is special.     After a moment, Akikta began to worry about how he'd get out of Nakji's grasp. It became hard to breathe, and it was even harder to pry her arms from around him. He feared she'd suffocate him in her excitement.     "We have arrived at Inkopolis station 0. I repeat, we have arrived at Inkopolis station 0," said Astro over the train's intercoms.     Nakji's hug loosened, though she didn't fully let go until Akikta moved her arms himself. She was filled with utter joy at the prospect of being family. "Calm down, Nakji. I'm not going anywhere without you."     He chuckled before putting his mask back on. Shortly after, Akikta broke out into another fit of coughing. "Guess the prawns bite back, huh?" He joked in a coarse tone before clearing his throat.     Astro walked into their cart a few minutes later with C.Q Cumber on his shoulder. "I take it you heard the announcement?" Asked the assistant.     Akikta responded with a nod. "Yep, we were just on our way out."     "Before you go, I wanted to give you something." Astro dug into his chest pocket and took out a cyan blue handkerchief.     He'd hand it to Akikta, who took it awkwardly. "Uh, thanks?"     "Turn it around." Astro Instructed.     Akikta flipped the handkerchief around and found symbols written in black. They were words, but he didn't understand them. "What's this?"     "An address." He answered. "I remember you saying you've never been to Inkopolis. It's a big city, so you'll need a place to stay if you plan on living there. That's my friend's address." Akikta was taken aback. He didn't know Astro trusted them enough to share a friend's address like that. However, he was grateful, especially since he nor Nakji had any money to pay for a place.     He thought about the state of Inkopolis and how they treat octarians. "You sure your friend will help us settle in?"     "Oh, don't worry about that. She's very friendly. She'd be absolutely delighted to help you until you can stand on your own two tentacles." That was a strange expression, but not one Akikta would question.     He'd nod before sticking the handkerchief into his pants pocket.     "Oh!" Astro exclaimed, as if he had forgotten something. "One last thing. To prevent denizens of the deep from sneaking to the surface, we stopped at a station that isn't connected to the city. Once you exit the train, just go down that tunnel. You'll eventually be at Inkopolis Station 1. From there, you should be able to enter the city."     Akikta nodded. "Thanks for the directions. And thanks for helping us out."     "No, no. Thank you for boarding with us today!" Astro smiled.     Akikta thought to ask why the assistant went to such lengths to ensure he and Nakji would be ok. After all, he already did his part by providing them with snacks on the train. But from their interactions, he could tell Astro was simply a nice guy who liked to help people.     Again, Akikta nodded to Astro and C.Q. Cumber. "Come on, sis." He said to Nakji before turning and walking towards the train doors. She followed close behind, bouncing happily with each step.     "Safe travels, friends." C.Q. Cumber called out as they left.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Akikta and Nakji made their way through a dimly lit tunnel. About halfway in, the train tracks ended. "Guess they really don't come through here..." He said to himself.     Akikta looked behind him at Nakji. He planned to use this time to talk to her some more, but she looked so caught up in her own little world. She was grinning from ear to ear, swaying her head side to side.     She didn't even notice Akikta looking at her, so he refrained from saying anything, not wanting to disturb her happy mood.     Nakji broke from her walking pace and started skipping ahead of Akikta. He only smiled as he now followed behind.     That smile didn't last.     Akikta straightened his lips as his brows lowered. A nagging feeling kept poking the back of his brain. His instincts told him something was off, but he couldn't tell what.     The tunnel looked normal, with nothing being out of place. And even though Nakji was in her own world, she had sharp reflexes. She would've been the first to notice if something was actually afoot, but she had her guard all the way down.     Maybe it was just him, but the atmosphere felt familiar... like he was being watched.     Akikta turned around, seeing nothing but the darkness of the tunnel. He faced forward again, seeing Nakji was still merrily skipping along. If someone were ahead of them, she would've noticed by now. "I guess it's just me." He figured, only to steel himself to ignore the nagging feeling.     The further they walked, the worse the feeling grew. Something internal screamed at him to turn around, so finally, he gave in. He looked over his shoulder to satisfy his paranoid mind, expecting to find nothing.     He found something.     Akikta yelped in surprise before turning around, garnering the attention of Nakji, who stopped skipping.     A figure about the same height as Nakji quietly stood before him. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to scare you..." The figure said, their voice soft and hushed.     To prove their innocence, they stepped further into the more well-lit area of the tunnel. Their black boots clacked against the ground, echoing.     Aside from the boots, the first feature that stuck out was their hot-pink tentacled hair with suckers on the top. On the underside of their hair was nothing but a smooth white color.     They were another female octoling, like Nakji, though their skin tone was slightly darker.     She wore a black sleeveless top, which exposed her stomach. Further down was a black leather skirt, accompanied by a small black band with a white buckle around her left thigh.     She awkwardly grabbed her arm, and Akikta noticed the neon yellow bands around her left wrist and right ankle. His guess for what they were for was as good as anyone else's.     Nakji returned to Akikta's side, and they both watched the octoling. Her gray eyes avoided direct contact with either of them. She was nervous... why?     Actually, before that, how did she get right up behind them so quickly? She would've had to run to get as close as she was to them. Only a minute passed since Akikta checked their six. No doubt, that's what she did, but how'd she do it without making noise? Her boots clanked earlier when she stepped into the light, but she made no noise prior to that.     "Can we help you...?" Akikta asked, not understanding who this octoling was or why they were in a tunnel alone. Honestly, they creeped him out. But he didn't want to be mean. After all, they seemed overly shy, and a little afraid. Maybe they were lost?     "I was just hoping you two could... well... come with me..." The octoling mumbled.     At this point, Akikta figured she feared the tunnel's dark atmosphere. Perhaps she came off the train a little after them and didn't want to be alone.     Akikta took a step forward. "We don't mind accompanying you if-" Nakji cut him off, stopping him by placing an arm in his way.     He looked down at her to see her purple eyes gazing intently at the octoling; Her happy demeanor disappeared. She was serious. "What's the matter?" He whispered.     "Her back. Look." She quickly whispered back.     Akikta peered over the octoling's shoulder, seeing a cylinder glass tank strapped to her back. There was some type of liquid inside that matched the color of their tentacled hair.     Judging by Nakji's expression, that tank was bad news. Was it something dangerous? No, certainly not. Though, now that he thought about it, ink is used as ammunition by these cephalopods. And the ink color always matches the shooter's hair color. Was that an ink tank on her back? That would mean she had a weapon, right?     Sure, even if she had a weapon, she might still want the company of other people. Then again, her choice of words suggested she wanted them to follow her somewhere... "Why exactly do you want us to come with you?" Akikta questioned, attempting to rationalize everything.     "I'll explain it to you on the way... if you don't mind..." The octoling responded, being as polite as possible. Her voice was incredibly gentle, yet Nakji stared at her as if she were bad news. Akikta was missing something here, but what?     The radio on his belt suddenly buzzed as thoughts ran through his mind. "Hey, hey, A, made it to Inkopolis yet?" Sal asked.     Akikta looked down and went to unhook the radio from his belt. As he grabbed it, he looked back up at the octoling's face, then froze.     Her facial expression went from soft and timid to disgusted and angry. The sudden change spooked Akikta. "That...voice..." The octoling said, no longer in a soft-spoken tone.     "Hey A, who was..." The radio buzzed in Akikta's hand, Sal's voice trailing off as Akikta absentmindedly turned the radio to face the octoling.     "SHE'S AN AGENT!" Sal screamed, nearly making Akikta drop the radio.     That was all the confirmation Nakji needed to unsheathe her blade. At the same time, the octoling pulled out what appeared to be some sort of gun. It looked like some of the weapons back at the ship, albeit more polished.     Right after weapons were drawn, the octoling shot ink at Akikta and Nakji. Instinctively, Akikta rolled out of the way, whereas Nakji deflected the first volley of shots and rushed the octoling.     She swung her katana rapidly; those horizontal ink slashes shot out as she did.     The other octoling dodged them rather easily, only to transform into an octopus. Her form was similar to Nakji's, the only difference being it matched her hot-pink color.     Once transformed, the octoling dipped into a puddle of ink that was left behind from when she was shooting, disappearing immediately. It was as if she had jumped into a deep body of water. The move surprised Akikta.     Nakji held her blade in a defensive stance. Moments later, the octoling jumped out of the ink in a different location and opened fire. The two girls returned to their intense fighting, with Akikta quietly watching.     He's watched documentaries of octopuses fighting before, but this was something else. These two were fierce, relentless, and surprisingly precise.     He was amazed Nakji could keep up, as he assumed the injuries they both suffered from would hinder her performance.     Akikta kept ducking and sidestepping as the ladies fought, not wanting to get hit by the ink they splattered around the wide tunnel.     "Wait, what am I doing?" He muttered. The sudden escalation of the fight made him forget he was immune to their ink weaponry.     Instead of admiring the fight, he should be helping Nakji! He just hoped this agent didn't punch half as hard as Coral.     Akikta reattached the radio to his belt and stayed low, waiting for an opening.     When the octoling had her back turned to shoot a barrage of ink at Nakji, Akikta rushed her. She must've heard his clunky movements, as she spun around to fire at him.     He felt like he was violating some rules at a paintball game with the amount of ink that hit him, but he didn't stop running. Akikta quickly closed the distance before reaching out and yanking her gun from her hands.     He tossed her weapon aside, but she transformed and dipped into the hot-pink ink before anything else could be done. Nakji would swipe moments after, narrowly missing the octoling and scraping Akikta instead. He winced painfully in response.     "Sorry, Aki!" Nakji quickly apologized, her serious expression taking on a more concerned look.     "It's fine; you just gave me a paper cut, that's all." He assured, only for the octoling to reemerge behind Nakji, taking her by surprise.     The enemy octoling grabbed Nakji's wrist and then flipped her over, disarming her swiftly and taking her blade.     Akikta, now a little worried, backed up. The octoling didn't allow him to get far, as she quickly dashed forward, somehow without making noise.     She swung a flurry of strikes at Akikta, most of which nicked him as he barely managed to throw his body out of each strike's way. Akikta grunted before turning his body sideways as he sidestepped, narrowly avoiding her last vertical slash.     Before she could swipe again, he grabbed the handle of the blade to stop her from raising it. Just like in the action films. He grinned before moving to deliver an elbow to her face. Instead, the octoling let go of the blade and transformed again, dipping into the ink below and dodging the blow. That wasn't in the action films.     Akikta frowned, seeing a trail being left behind as the octoling swam through her ink. She reemerged beside her weapon, hastily grabbing it and aiming at Nakji, who finally got back up.     Akikta jumped on Nakji as the octoling started shooting, taking the hits.     "Aki!" Nakji shouted worriedly.     "It's fine. I got this," He reassured before slowly sitting up. Akikta turned to look at the octoling, who stopped firing. A confused expression sat on her face.     "I don't understand... how are you not splatted yet?!" she questioned in agitation, gritting her teeth.     "Sounds like someone's a little mad." He pointed out.     "I'm not..." she started, only to shake her head and sigh. "Please, I don't want to fight... just come with me, and we can talk this out!"     "Don't listen to her, A." Sal interrupted from the radio, which surprised Akikta as the teen thought Sal stopped tuning in a while ago.     "You don't have to tell me that," He responded before swiping at the air, expecting an ink slash to come out, though nothing did. This garnered a strange look from the octoling, causing Akikta to chuckle awkwardly. "That was going to be a lot cooler in my head, not gonna lie." With no better idea, Akikta tossed the blade at the octoling.     His aim was superbly bad. She didn't even have to move an inch to dodge the blade. The confused octoling watched as the katana bounced away from them both.     Akikta used the distraction to rush her. By the time she looked back up, he was already on top of her.     She transformed again, though this time he expected her to do that. "Oh no you don't!" He grabbed one of her tentacles before she dipped back into the ink. Her eyes widened as Akikta swung her, smashing the octopus into the wall.     He swung her again, tossing her to the wall on the other side. She crashed with a wet smack, transforming back into her humanoid form before hitting the ground with a loud thump. The grip on her weapon loosened.     Akikta rushed across to the octoling and flipped her over before once again tossing her weapon away. Then he held her down with one hand, the other raised into a clenched fist.     At first, she had a painfully dazed expression on her face. When she processed what Akikta was about to do, her gray eyes dilated, and she took on a frightened look.     Akikta hesitated; the two stared at each other for a moment, which seemed to last for hours. He relented, lowering his fist. "I can't hit her..." He sighed. The octoling's face eased a little in response to his mercy.     "I can," Nakji snarled before kicking the octoling in the head roughly.     If she had been disoriented before, she'd be on the verge of unconsciousness now.     Akikta waved Nakji off, signaling that was enough. She walked back to her katana as he got off the groaning octoling. "Well, that wasn't so bad," He commented before turning to Nakji, who walked back to him, sheathing her blade. "What should we do with her?"     "Leave her," Sal ordered.     "You sure that's a good idea?" Akikta protested. On the one hand, she might come back with a vengeance like Metta if they leave her be. On the other, he didn't want to leave her alone in a cold dark tunnel. Sure, they beat her up a bit. But what if someone else came along while she was in this vulnerable state and took advantage? That'd be infinitely worse, in Akikta's opinion.     "Trust me, A. It is better to leave people like her... alone." Sal finished before the radio crackled off. It seemed Sal wasn't willing to discuss the situation further.     "You heard him. Let's go," Nakji said, once again leading the way.     Akikta stared at the octoling for a second longer before turning. "D...don't...listen..." The octoling moaned softly, causing Akikta to look back at her.     She was still conscious. Barely. "H...he's...using...y...you..." she mumbled before going quiet.     Akikta kneeled by her side, seeing she clocked out. What did she mean by that? Did she and Sal know each other? She seemed to recognize Sal's voice, and he's never seen Sal act so jumpy before.     So many questions filled Akikta's head, and he had the answers to none of them. He sighed, deciding to let them all go instead of letting them eat at his curiosity.     "Aki? Come on, let's go!" Nakji said excitedly. Her mood changed surprisingly fast. She couldn't wait to see Inkopolis, and to be honest, he couldn't either.     Akikta looked at the octoling one last time. I wish I had at least gotten her name... He sighed before turning and following Nakji.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After walking through the tunnel, Akikta and Nakji eventually arrived at Inkopolis Station 1, just like Astro said they would.     It was packed with people, mainly inklings and jellyfish. "Over here!" Nakji said, taking Akikta's hand and dragging him through the dense crowd. She tugged him up a flight of stairs toward a bright light. The brightness made Akikta close his eyes.     "Whoa..." Nakji gasped.     Once they reached the top, Akikta slowly opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the oncoming brightness. When he could finally see, he joined Nakji in her wowed state. "Whoa..."     All around them were the streets of a metropolis—cars whizzed by them, all varying in color, shape, size, and design.     There was constant chatter everywhere as sea creatures of all kinds passed by, entering and exiting the various shops on the sidewalk. As some passed Akikta, he got a whiff of the strong heavy-duty cologne they wore, making his nose recoil instinctively.     He backed away and looked up at the towering buildings and flashy billboards that slightly obscured his view of the daytime sky. Even then, he could still feel the warmth of the sun's rays.     This was it. Inkopolis. "This place reminds me of home," Akikta commented, noting how similar Inkopolis looked to Alterna before its collapse. It was nothing like Splatsville, with its chaotic layout. It looked more orderly and compact, what he expected from a bustling city.     Without wasting another moment, Akikta unhooked his radio. "Sal?" He spoke, only to hear lip smacks in response.     "Oh, hey, A. You there yet?" Sal asked, swallowing whatever was in his mouth.     "Yeah, we're here. This place is a lot bigger than I thought it'd be."     "I know, right?"     "You've been here before?"     "Eh, once or twice," Sal stated. "We're in the home stretch now, A. I don't think I need to tell you what'll happen if you mess up," he said, sounding a little on edge.     "Don't worry. I won't mess up." Akikta said confidently.     "Right. Once you do your part, let me know immediately, and I'll give you new coordinates. We'll meet there."     Akikta couldn't help but smile at the idea of meeting Sal. He had wondered what the man looked like for so long. Was he tall? Short? Black? White? What color were his eyes? Was he bald? Akikta's imagination ran wild.     "Also, be careful. I'd prefer it if you didn't run into any more of those agents. If they catch you on their home turf, things could get really bad." Sal warned, snapping Akikta back into focus mode.     "Right. Don't worry. They won't be seeing me. I'll be like a thief in the night."     "...Right..." Sal creaked. "Just remember to-"     "Yeah, yeah. I know, keep it discreet."     "Heh, glad to know you've got a good memory." Sal finished, then the radio crackled off.     Akikta rehooked the radio to his belt and turned to Nakji, whose face was pressed up against a store's display window. "Come on, Nakji. Let's roll." He waved her over; she quickly joined him at his side.     They walked down the streets for a few minutes, admiring the sights and flashing lights. Occasionally, they'd pass by posters and electronic billboards with a humanoid duo posing on them. They only stuck out to Akikta because it was always the same two people.     Both appeared to be female inklings wearing matching black dresses, earrings, and white gloves. However, one's dress had a magenta hue to it, while the other had a green tint.     Even from the billboard, he could see how different the two were compared to the common inkling. For one, the magenta inkling's eye mask was more angular than the common inkling's. Her tentacle hair was black with pinkish tips, and she had a beauty mark under her left eye. On the opposite end, the green inkling's eye mask was droopy, her hair color was white, and she had a beauty mark under her right eye. Both their ears were slightly longer than the average inkling's, with the magenta's being upturned and the green's being more downturned.     Akikta guessed the two were sisters, as they looked closely related with minor differences between one another.     They had to be celebrities. Their posters were everywhere. Speaking of posters, he noticed a big one plastered over a nearby wall with graffiti surrounding it.     The poster gave Akikta a better look at the two sisters. Their golden-colored eyes and plus-shaped pupils stood out amongst everything else.     Their pupils reminded him of that one inkling back in Splatsville. The one with the enormous forehead. She also had plus-shaped pupils. And... wait a minute.     Something in Akikta's brain told him to jot down every visible detail on the sisters. The longer he stared, the more familiar they looked. And then it hit him. "No way." He's seen these two before on the security footage back at Alterna. They were standing near Metta. They had slightly different hair colors and clothing back then, but he still recognized them.     "What?" said Nakji, confused.     "These people, I think...no. I've definitely seen them before." Akikta answered, wondering what these two inklings were doing in Alterna.     Wait, could they also be agents? They were with Metta, after all. No, no. Maybe not. They couldn't be if they were celebrities. They'd have too much on their plate. Plus, they didn't look like fighters.     Perhaps they got dragged into Alterna somehow and ended up stuck with Metta and the others? That seemed more reasonable than them being secret agents and famous.     "Are they important, Aki?"     "I'm not sure. I don't think so though." Akikta shook his head, refocusing on the mission. "Anyway, let's keep moving."     "To where exactly?"     Akikta stopped, realizing a big issue with his plan. He had no plan.     He assumed if they aimlessly walked around, they'd eventually find Marie. And aside from the immobilizer, he didn't have a way to capture her.     Not to mention, he still didn't know what she looked like. Sal said she'd be hard to miss, but he hadn't seen or heard any sign of her thus far.     "Uh..." Akikta pondered on what to do, knowing they couldn't walk forever. That uncomfortable two-day train ride and fight with the agent took a lot out of him. They needed a place to stay.     "Oh!" Akikta remembered the little handkerchief Astro gave him and pulled it out of his pocket. "Hey, what does this address say?" He held it out for Nakji to read.     "Flounder Heights, apartment building four-o-eight, room two-ten." She said, Akikta making a mental note of the address.     Now all they needed to do was find it. "...Do you-"     "It's my first time here."     "Right." Akikta sighed, realizing they both had no clue where the address was. "Guess we'll have to ask around." And ask around, they did.     Asking for directions was the easiest part after Akikta learned to treat the citizens as if they were human. Most seemed kind and polite when they answered back. Others didn't want to be bothered with him.     Some inklings he asked gave Nakji a weird look. Some even refused to speak so long as she was there with him. But thanks to Astro's heads-up, it was expected, so he refrained from causing a scene.     The two followed the directions given to them by the friendlier inhabitants, and finally, they found their destination. At least, he hoped they did.     "This does have the number two-ten on it, right?" Akikta asked, surprised that even the numerical system was incomprehensible to him.     "Yeah, it does," Nakji responded assuredly.     Akikta stuck the handkerchief back into his pocket and approached the door. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, preparing himself for whoever was behind this door, and on the off-chance Nakji read the address wrong, a very awkward situation.     After composing himself, he knocked on the door seven times in a rhythmic jingle, then backed up.     Nakji stared at him. "What was that?"     "What was what?" He turned to meet her stare.     "What you just did."     "A knock?"     "You knocked seven times."     "I know."     "No one knocks that many times!"     "If you're trying to do the jingle, you do."     Nakji's face scrunched up in confusion. "The jingle?"     Akikta shook his head. "It's a human thing. You wouldn't get it."     She pouted, unpleased with his answer. Before she could continue the conversation, the apartment door suddenly unlocked and opened slightly.     An inkling girl's head poked out from the opening, her black headband being the only visible clothing. "Hello...?" She said quietly. Akikta couldn't tell what emotion her tone held, and he couldn't decipher the expression on her face.     Her cold gray eyes darted between Akikta and Nakji. She was waiting for one of them to state their business. "Yes, hi. Uh..." Akikta's mind went blank as he thought of what to say.     The inkling's eyes lowered as she stared at him. Since her dark blue hair covered her forehead and eyebrows, he couldn't tell if her brows curled in concern for whatever he was about to say or furrowed in annoyance at him for not knowing what to say.     "Sorry, we're new here in Inkopolis. We heard from a friend of yours that you could help us?"     The inkling tilted her head. "Which friend would that be exactly...?"     "Uh, Astro Mahi?" The second the name left Akikta's lips, the inking's demeanor instantly changed.     She smiled widely before standing straight and fully opening the door for them, revealing her full figure. "Astro sent you? Then you must be good people! Come in, please!" She said cheerily, waving the both of them in.     Akikta was disturbed by the sudden shift in mood, looking over at Nakji, who seemed to feel the same. But it was too late to back out now, at least not without seeming rude. He stood on guard as he followed behind the inkling, Nakji shutting the door behind them.     Upon entering, a lovely coconut smell filled their noses as they walked through a short hall.     On the left side of the hall was an open door, showing a dimly lit bathroom interior. On the sink was a single lit candle, where the coconut smell came from.     Across from the bathroom to the right was another opened door, allowing Akikta to peer into the inside of a dark laundry room.     Once they passed both rooms of interest, Akikta focused on the fair-skinned inkling herself. She wore a black jacket with long black cloth pants that stuck to her form. Below her knees were long white socks; her feet were covered by black loafer shoes with a white rim and underside.     "Sorry about the place. If I had known I was getting company, I would've cleaned up." The inkling apologized, causing Akikta's gaze to drift off her to the large room they entered.     It was a living room with a big black sofa in the middle facing a large screened TV mounted to the wall. On either side of the wall were glass sliding doors leading out to a wide balcony. In front of the sofa was a round table with a bunch of magazines and empty cups and boxes on it. And on the right wall of the living room were two doors spaced apart from each other. Akikta assumed those were the bedrooms.     The inkling suddenly twirled to face Akikta; He noticed her jacket was unzipped. Luckily, her chest was covered by a short black crop top. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Inka!"     "I'm Akikta." He introduced, then pointed to the female octoling, who was feeling up the couch. "And this is Nakji."     "It's a pleasure to meet both of you!" She said with a warm smile, showing her teeth.     Inka's teeth were sharp. She had three large canines instead of four. Two were on the upper sides of her mouth, and one was in the center at the bottom. Were inklings' teeth always like that, or was it just her? The more he looked, the more it resembled a beak.     "So, uh. Sorry if this is a sensitive question, but what's with the mask?" Inka politely questioned, breaking Akikta out of his concentrated examination of her teeth.     He wanted to tell her it was classified, but he didn't want to come off as shady. "Sorry, I got into a pretty bad accident in the past. Trust me. You don't want to see under here."     "Oh, alright. Well, um, I know your friend is an octarian, but what are you? An urchin?" She asked curiously.     "Actually, I'm also an octarian. She's my sister." He answered.     Inka's face turned into one of awe. "Wow, I've never seen one so tall before!" She stared up at Akikta, which brought an awkward silence.     She cleared her throat after catching herself staring. "Are you guys hungry? I can make you something to eat if you'd like."     "Oh, we wouldn't want to impose-" Nakji unexpectedly jumped on Akikta's back, causing him to stagger. He barely kept his balance.     "I'm hungry!" She announced.     Inka couldn't help but giggle. "Don't worry. You're not imposing anything. You're my guests! What do you guys want?"     Akikta stood up straight, now giving Nakji a piggyback ride. "Well, if you insist, I don't really mind whatever you cook. I'll eat anything."     "I'll eat anything as well." Nakji seconded.     Inka nodded with a smile before walking off to the left corner of the room, where a small kitchen was situated. It was separated from the rest of the living room via a counter, but regardless of where anyone stood in the living room, they could see into the kitchen and vice versa.     "So, what brings you to Inkopolis?" Inka asked as she rummaged around for pans and ingredients, making a ruckus in the process.     "Oh, we're just visiting to take care of some...business," Akikta responded. "We won't be here long."     "Aw, that's a shame. I was hoping you'd be living here." She said, sounding a little down. "But you are at least staying for the Splatfest tomorrow night, right?"     Akikta perked up. "Splatfest? What's that?"     Inka suddenly dropped a pan. The loud clanging noise it made upon impact spooked Akikta enough to make him drop Nakji, who landed on the carpeted floor with an audible "oof."     The inkling turned towards him, her face in disbelief. "You don't know what a Splatfest is? For eel?!"     Akikta awkwardly shrugged. "Is it something important?"     "Uh, YEAH! Only the most important thing in all of Greater Inkopolis!" She picked up the pan that fell, quickly setting it aside before rushing to Akikta. "Come here!" She said excitedly and grabbed him by the hand, her's being softer than he expected. She then grabbed Nakji before dragging them both out to the balcony.     As she did, Akikta made a mental note that neither Inka nor Nakji had fingernails.     Once outside, Inka pointed down to the streets. "Look!" Akikta and Nakji both looked to see a bunch of jellyfish prepping large trucks.     "Every few months, the city holds a special event called a Splatfest." She said giddily. "During the festivities, all sorts of cool things happen. But for me, the highlight is when popular idols and bands perform for the masses live! It's like a free concert!" She explained, clapping her hands excitedly while lightly bouncing on her feet, making her four tentacles swing.     "Usually, the performances are held at either the plaza or square, but I hear this time the Squid Sisters are gonna sing on the coastal shore, right next to the Manta Maria!" Akikta and Nakji simply nodded their heads in response to Inka. "I can't wait to see Callie and Marie perform again!"     Both Akikta and Nakji jumped at the mention of the latter name. They gave each other a quick stare before Akikta spoke. "You know Marie?"     "Who doesn't know Marie? She's one of the most popular idols in the entire city! Maybe in the entire region!" Inka claimed.     "Do you happen to know what she looks like?" Akikta asked, earning a weird look from Inka. That look morphed into a cheeky grin before she pointed to one of the many billboards.     Her finger landed on the green inkling he had seen earlier. She's Marie? He thought, not believing how right Sal was. She really was hard to miss. He had been seeing posters, newspaper clippings, and small ads of her everywhere. "Wow..." He muttered loudly, baffled that she's been in front of him the whole time.     "Caught your interest, huh?" Inka asked as she leaned on the balcony's railing, resting her head on her hand.     "I guess you could say that." He answered awkwardly.     Inka's smile faltered slightly, then she looked at the billboard. "Well, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but I'd go for someone more in your league. No offense, but she won't even bat an eyelash at nobodies like us." The more Inka spoke, the more Akikta's face grew red as he realized what she meant.     He never thought about things like that unless his brother teased him about them. Though all the girls Akikta was interested in were gone, he didn't want to consider the evolved sea life as an alternative, not even the humanoid ones. He just hoped he could find a romantic interest in Sal's clan.     "So, about you fixing us something to eat?" He redirected the conversation, unwilling to discuss the previous topic further.     "Oh, right! I was thinking about a clam chowder soup. How does that sound to you guys?"     "Clam soup sounds delicious." Akikta agreed.     "What's that?" Nakji asked.     "You've never had clam soup before?!" Akikta and Inka said simultaneously, to which Nakji responded by shaking her head.     "It's delicious. Trust me, you'll love it. Actually, do you want to help me make it?" Inka offered.     Nakji looked to Akikta, as if asking for permission. Although she didn't need his say-so, he gave her a thumbs up. She then looked back at Inka and nodded.      After she accepted, Inka grabbed her hand. "Let's go then!" She raced with Nakji back into the apartment, leaving Akikta alone on the balcony.     He leaned forward on the railing, staring at the billboard with Marie posing next to who he assumed was Callie. Akikta still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he had seen Marie back in his home. Even if it wasn't face-to-face, it was a colossal coincidence that his journey would lead him right to her. It almost seemed like fate.     Admittedly, his resolve was challenged. He was about to steal Callie's sister to save his brother. As poetic as it was, the thought of how it would affect Callie made him feel terrible; After all, he'd be devastated if his brother was abducted. But at the end of the day, he had to remind himself that if it were between Marie and Chaska, he'd pick Chaska any day of the week.     "Enjoy your time here while you can, Marie," Akikta grumbled, not feeling good about what had to be done.     To get his mind off the mission, he admired Inkopolis's flashy scenery. The view vaguely reminded him of when he and his grandfather looked over Alterna exactly like this, minutes before he was frozen.     Akikta's admiration for the city was cut short, interrupted by the sudden sensation of a buzzing headache.     Suddenly, he got weak in the knees and had to use the railing to balance himself. "Whoa..." He muttered, nearly falling over. "I'm gonna go lie down."     After some strength returned to his legs, Akikta lumbered to the sofa and lazily threw himself onto the comfortable leathery furniture.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Akikta awoke to the delightful herbal smell of soup. He hadn't even realized he passed out until Nakji and Inka shook him from his slumber. Judging from their expressions, they had fun making the clam soup, which turned out to be delicious.     During their meal, Akikta politely asked Inka some general questions regarding Marie. Each time he did, he noticed Inka's mood decline, so he switched it up and asked about both Squid Sisters, which seemed to keep her from getting suspicious.     Unfortunately, there wasn't much of anything new he learned about the idols; aside from the unexpected fact that they were not sisters, but rather cousins.      The information helped ease the guilt spawned from his conscious decision to abduct Marie, but only by a little.      Shortly after eating, Nakji snooped through Inka's fridge out of pure curiosity, a trait she shared with Akikta. She ended up finding half a coconut.      Akikta wasn't sure why, but for most of the day, Nakji was infatuated with the coconut. She wore it like a cap and called it her pride and joy for the next few hours, which the inkling somehow allowed. He elected to call Nakji a Coconut Fiend the entire time she had it on.     Eventually, Inka offered to wash Akikta's and Nakji's clothes while they showered. Akikta jumped at the chance to finally bathe himself, though he was adamant that he and Nakji showered separately.     It was a bit difficult learning how to use the shower. They didn't function like Alterna's, and the soap bottles had unreadable labels. All Akikta could do was take a leap of faith and try a random bottle.     Aside from the familiar smell of heavily filtered water and Nakji scaring the living shit out of him by coming in with his clean clothes unannounced, the shower was nice.     Later in the day, Akikta and Nakji- especially Nakji, grew fond of Inka. She was incredibly friendly, extremely helpful, and even had an artistic side, evident with the art pieces she shared with them. They also learned she was a big fan of everything historical, including humans. Something Akikta found endearing.     The only thing he didn't like about Inka was her inability to stop talking. He quickly discovered that if you let her speak, she'll ramble until the next ice age sets in. But he couldn't blame her. She didn't have many friends. Actually, she only had one.     Inka and Astro were close. They even lived in the same apartment room for a time. But according to Inka, after Astro got his job in the Deepsea Metro two weeks ago, he thought it best to live on the train so he could stop being late for work.     She had no one else to talk to besides Astro, so she must've gotten pretty lonely ever since he came around less.     Nakji didn't seem to care about her endless info dumping, so against his better judgment, Akikta allowed Inka to speak their ears off.     This would continue until the late evening rolled around, allowing the group to gear up for bed. Inka had some spare blue pajamas for Nakji since they fit her. As for Akikta, he had to sleep with his clothes on, which he didn't mind. As long as he got to sleep on something soft, it'd be worth it.     Inka allowed Akikta and Nakji to use the room that once belonged to Astro, which would have been fine if the room had more than one bed.     Akikta opted to sleep out on the couch so Nakji could have the more comfortable piece of furniture. He removed the utility belt, placing it on the table so it wouldn't bother him in his sleep.     Unfortunately, he found his thoughtful decision to be for naught, as when he went to sleep, it was only him on the couch; but when he woke up, Nakji was using him as a bed. Akikta sighed. He couldn't tell if she was the older or younger sister at this point.     He laid still, allowing her to snore on him softly. "You're a lot less scary when you're asleep." He commented quietly, staring at the peaceful expression on her face.     Akikta's adoration for Nakji's cuteness was ruined when he realized she was drooling on his neck. "Ah, come on, man!" He mumbled in disgust.     Since it was Nakji, he didn't completely throw her off him. Instead, he shimmied from underneath her.     After freeing himself from Nakji's clutches, he took the sleeve of his jacket to wipe the excess saliva off a dozen times. Even after all that, the icky feeling remained. "Whatever. I wanted to take another shower anyway."     He walked to the bathroom, this time making sure to lock the door. Once locked, he stripped himself and started the shower.     As he cleaned himself, he thought about how to go about abducting Marie. He had the means to do it, but they needed a distraction and an escape route in case things went sour.     The more he thought about it, the more the guilt grew.     Inka was undoubtedly a fan of the Squid Sisters. How would she feel knowing the two friends she made kidnapped one of them? He didn't want to out himself to Inka, but at the same time, it seemed like the better option. Far better than letting the shame eat away at his spirit.     Akikta was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by a terrible pain surging through him. The muscles in his chest tightened, causing him to grab at it with one hand. He coughed violently, using his other hand to cover his mouth.     When the pain eventually subsided, so did his coughs. "Damn, that kind of-" he froze.     When he uncovered his mouth, he saw his hand drenched in red. Blood-red.     Akikta began hyperventilating. This never happened to him before. Was he sick? Why did he cough up blood? Why-     A loud banging noise broke him out of his panicked state. The bathroom door was getting pounded on, accompanied by a loud gargling warble coming from the other side.     Confused and frightened, Akikta quickly washed away the blood before turning the shower off. The horrid gurgling and constant pounding didn't help ease his fear.     But then a thought crossed him.     He shuffled for his clothes on the sink, his wet fingers dampening his pants pocket as he pulled out the spherical and cylinder translators. He put on the cylinder mouthpiece first before twisting on the earpieces.     The more he twisted in the earpieces, the more those terrible warbles morphed into coherent speech. It was Nakji. "Aki! Please answer me!" she called out in fear, spooking Akikta.     Believing something was happening, he hastily wrapped a dark blue towel around his waist before unlocking and swinging the bathroom door open. "What hap-"     Nakji dashed into him, knocking them both down as she wrapped her arms around his slippery body. "Are you ok?!" she shrieked, frantically looking Akikta up and down.     "What? Yeah, I'm fine! What about you? You were banging on the door like someone broke in!"     "I...I had a bad dream. And when I woke up, I heard you coughing!" Akikta softly groaned at her explanation.     He figured she must've heard his coughs, despite his efforts to muffle them. "Oh, yeah, that. It was just a cough. Nothing to-"     "No, Aki!" She put her hands on his chest, balling them up into fists. "I've heard that kind of coughing before! The kind that happens moments before death!" she looked at him intensely. Akikta had seen her worried before, but she looked like she was on the verge of tears this time.     "Have you heard the coughing before or after you fatally stabbed someone?" He queried, making her hands open slightly. "I told you, Nakji, I'm not going anywhere without you. It was just a cough." He assured her, though she didn't seem convinced. "Look, I think I might be a little sick. Whenever humans catch something, we tend to cough like that. But it doesn't mean we're...dying. Promise." Nakji's face became less fearful, though she still looked worried.     She leaned back but kept eye contact with Akikta. After a moment of awkward silence, he spoke up. "So, now that we've gotten that out the way... can you get off me?"     Nakji looked down, noticing she was sitting on him. "Oh! Sorry, I'm not crushing your third arm, am I?"     Akikta became stunned. "How- what are- it's not an arm!"     Nakji's face shifted into a neutral expression. "...Third leg?"     "GET OFF."     "Alright, alright, jeez. You don't have to shout at me..." Finally, Nakji removed herself from Akikta and left him alone in the bathroom. After drying off and redoing his hair for the second time, he got dressed.     When he exited the bathroom, he caught Nakji in her regular clothes, about to leave. She claimed she was going to do some recon, though Akikta did not want her to go alone.     Despite his wishes, Nakji would not let him come. She pointed out he wasn't exactly great at dealing with foreign environments. Hell, his first day on the surface got him swooped up by a band of pirates and put on the wrong foot of a secret group of agents.     He tried to persuade Nakji to at least bring Inka with her, but apparently, the inkling already left, leaving a note stating she was out doing school activities.     It would seem there'd be no winning in this situation. Bottom line was they needed that recon intel before tonight; he also wanted to respect her wishes.     Akikta caved in. "Just be careful. Please." He sighed.     Nakji walked up to Akikta before wrapping her arms around him, pulling the teen into a warm embrace. Without uttering a word, he returned the hug. It lasted for a few seconds before Nakji backed away. "Be back soon!" She said optimistically and left.     Akikta was left alone for the next few hours. He did not want to dwell on whatever happened in the bathroom. Besides, his body seemed fine now. So maybe what happened wasn't all that big of a deal? He hoped so, anyway.     To get his mind off the shower incident, he casually browsed through various channels and news outlets. While cruising through the television, he learned about plenty of bands. Ink Theory, Chirpy Chirps, Off the Hook, Bottom Feeders, the list goes on. They all had one thing in common; they made pretty damn good music.     Of course, Akikta could only understand the lyrics if he had his translators in, but shockingly, he found each bands' music more pleasant when he couldn't understand what they were singing.     An abrupt knock at the door made Akikta tune into his surroundings. He didn't even realize how much time had passed. "Must be Inka," he said to himself.     As he approached the door, he put in his translators, covered his face with his mask, then concealed his hair with his hood. Once everything was in place, he reached out to the doorknob, only to stop.     Wait, Inka would have a key to her apartment, wouldn't she? He thought before bending down to look through the peephole. It wasn't Inka, but instead Nakji. That explains it.     He unlocked the door for her, who smiled at him with a toothy grin. It was now that he realized Nakji's teeth were also sharp like Inka's, except Nakji only had two large canines, one to the left at the top and the other to the right at the bottom.     "Told you I'd be back soon!" She walked in, allowing Akikta to close the door behind her.     "Everything go alright?"     "Yep. Reconnaissance here was easier than I expected! I've got a pretty good idea of how we'll be able to move around the area. Though the place is pretty big, so there might be a lot of people."     Akikta mumbled. "I thought so. Inka did say this was a special event."     "Speaking of, did she come in yet?" The question made Akikta wonder exactly how long Inka would be out. It was getting late. She should've been back before Nakji.     "She hasn't..." A knot of worry tied itself in the pits of his stomach. Even Nakji's expression saddened at his response.     Nakji's mood going down made up Akikta's mind. "I'm gonna go look for her."     Nakji looked up at Akikta, looking even more worried. "Aki-"     "Nuh-uh, don't try to stop me. I let you go, so let me do this."     Nakji pouted. "How will you even find her?"     "Well, you said she was out doing school activities, right? I know where she may be," Akikta said confidently, remembering she mentioned what school she went to during her long ramble yesterday. "Inkblot Art Academy."     "You don't even know where that is."     "I can find it the same way we found Flounder Heights."     "Fine then. I'll go with you."     "No, Nakji." He said firmly, causing her to wince at his words. She seemed pained at the thought of him leaving out alone, just like he was with her.     "Don't worry. I'll be extra careful. Promise." Akikta placed a hand on her shoulder. "You staying here would be better anyway. You need to rest before the big event tonight. And Inka might come back, so as long as one of us is here, she won't think we ditched her." He brought up many valid points; each one made Nakji's eyebrows curl. "Besides, we need at least one of us here to lock the door." He added, making Nakji sigh in defeat. "I trusted you. Now trust me, please."     Nakji looked at Akikta one last time before giving him a big hug. "Be careful." She pleaded softly.     "I will." He pulled away from Nakji and went back to the table.     After retrieving and securing the belt around his waist, he walked back to the front door and lifted his mask slightly so Nakji could see his lips, which curled into a smile. "Be back soon."     Before Nakji could change her mind and protest further, Akikta exited the apartment to find Inka.     He asked around for directions to Inkblot Art Academy. Although he eventually got them, he never made it to the academy.     "Stop it!!" A shrill voice barked during his trek. He knew that voice. It was Inka! Akikta dashed toward where the sound came from, running into an alleyway littered with trash. No one was there.     Just when he thought he was hearing things, a few boisterous laughs came from further down. "Look at the freak protecting another freak! How poetic." Said a masculine voice.     Akikta cautiously approached the noises and came across a turn in the alley. Peeking over the corner, he witnessed three yellow-colored inklings corner Inka against a wall.     "Oh hey, I know! You two freaks should get together. You'd make a sick couple." The middle inkling teased.     Inka spread her arms out to block their path, despite there being nothing but a wall behind her. "Just leave him alone, guys! He didn't do anything to you!"     Akikta had some difficulty following what was happening until something moved behind Inka. A small creature with big lips and large eyes huddled behind her for protection. It looked like a tentacle with tiny legs... actually, that's literally what it was.     "They don't belong here. You know that!" The inkling to the left shouted.     "Y-yes, they do!" Inka protested.     "Shut up, freak! You're practically the same as that octarian. Maybe you should go live with them!" The middle inkling declared, their tone growing aggressive.     Akikta couldn't help but wonder how that was an octarian. Nakji, nor any other octolings, looked anything like that tentacle creature. Then again, O.R.C.A did say there were plenty of octarian subspecies. Perhaps this was one of them.     "If you just give them a chance, you'll see-" A quick punch from the middle inkling interrupted Inka, shutting her up immediately; She yelped as she fell.     "I said shut up, freak!"     At that point, Akikta had seen enough. "Hey!" He shouted angrily, stepping out and announcing his presence. Everyone in the alley stopped in their tracks to stare at him. "She said stop. So stop." He demanded, causing the two inklings beside the main inkling to snicker.     The middle inkling stood up straight to appear intimidating. "And who are you?"     "Instead of worrying about that, you should be worried about what I'll do to you if you don't leave her alone." Akikta seethed, his agitation getting the better of him. He's no better than them when it came to hitting girls, but seeing them gang up on Inka like this made his blood boil.     "Chum, there's one of you and three of us. What're you gonna do?" The center inkling backed up before crouching down to Inka's level. "'Sides, if you're with her, I bet you're just as much of a-"     Akikta slammed his fist into a nearby trashcan. Surprisingly, the trashcan dented from the punch, making a loud popping noise. It fell over and rolled away, causing the inklings to stare at him.     The faces of the inklings on either side morphed into a fearful look, whereas the inkling crouched down took on a more serious expression.      It looked like Akikta was intimidating them, but really, he needed to punch something to control his anger. His hand painfully throbbed, but he ignored it and kept both hands balled up. "Try me." He dared.     The middle inkling stood and crossed his arms. He must've finally noticed Akikta's larger stature, as he repeatedly looked him up and down.     Akikta figured he was gonna have a fight on his hands, only for the inkling to scoff. "Whatever, she ain't worth all this trouble. Let's go." With that, the trio of inklings maneuvered around Akikta to leave.     He waited until they were fully gone before rushing to check on Inka. "Are you alright, Inka?"     "I'm fine..." she whimpered, obviously lying. The side of her face swelled with a nasty red, contrasting with her fair skin.     "Those bastards. I'm gonna-" Inka gently grabbed his arm, stopping him from getting up.     "No, no! It's alright. Really, I'm fine." Inka assured with a pleading look in her eyes. She clearly didn't want him to pursue them, so he stayed with her and calmed down.     A sigh escaped his lips, wondering what could've led three people to bully her and the small octarian. "What was all that about?"     "Those were my classmates... they're usually like this," Inka responded casually.     "Wait, what do you mean usually? Do they always get on you like this?!"     Inka didn't answer him. She simply frowned.     Before Akikta could get mad, the octarian wrapped the tip of their tentacle around his hand. "Thank you." It said before doing the same with Inka's hand.     "You're quite welcome!" Inka responded happily before the octarian left.     Akikta helped her up before both left the alley onto the darkening streets. Bright, flashy lights started turning on as the sky grew darker.     "Was that the school activity you were talking about?" Akikta said, referring to the note she had left.     Inka shook her head. "They invited me so we could all work together on our upcoming school project. I thought it'd be my chance to get to know them and maybe be friends... but then they started picking on that little guy! He wasn't even doing anything!" She explained, which confused Akikta.     "Wait, if they think you're a freak, why'd they invite you?" Inka shrugged her shoulders in response. "Why do they even think you're a freak?"     "Oh." She chuckled nervously. "Well, you see... intelligence isn't really a common thing among my people. At least, not around here."     "You mean y'all are dumb?"     Inka sheepishly nodded.     He connected the thoughts. Those inklings only invited Inka so they could have her do their project. They were probably too stupid to do it themselves. Bastards.     "Why would they be mad about you being smart?" Akikta thought out loud, figuring if Inka was smart, people could use her intelligence to better the world and the livelihood of everyone in it.     She sighed. "They don't like that I'm different." Akikta eyed Inka, who frowned heavily. "I want friends. I really do. But everyone thinks I'm weird or a freak of nature. At this point, I feel like I need to be friends with actual monsters just to fit in."     Sounds of the city abruptly replaced their conversation.     They walked in silence for a good bit. Akikta wasn't sure what to say to her. He didn't like that she felt lonely. He knew how that felt all too well...     Before he could think of something comforting to say, a fragrant scent stopped him in his tracks. This smell...     Akikta turned his head to see a nearby park. It was mundane at best. But blooming flowers glowed in the dark, grabbing his attention. "Whoa..." He absentmindedly walked up to them, Inka following close behind.     "Oh wow! I forgot these were going to bloom tonight." She commented with a smile.     The flowers were a fluorescent purple, their outer rim a majestic blue. On their own, they were pretty. But when they bloomed, they were otherworldly beautiful.     They were so distinct from ordinary flowers, Akikta recognized them immediately. They were what his grandfather called the Purple Death. The flower itself wasn't dangerous. However, when turned into tea, it gained toxic properties, which is how it earned its sinister nickname. "I didn't know this place had Purple Death flowers." He was shocked to find something from twelve thousand years ago still alive and well today.     "Purple Death? Those are Old Lillies." Inka corrected.     Akikta should've known the flowers would go by a different name, but they were identical in appearance and function.     "No one really likes them, but I do. They smell pleasant." She turned to Akikta, who stared directly at the patch of flowers. "You couldn't have picked a better time to come visit Inkopolis. These flowers only bloom once a night in an entire year!"     I know. Is what Akikta wanted to say. He was familiar with the Purple Death, or according to Inka, the Old Lilly.     It held a special place in his heart for a few reasons. One being it was his grandfather's favorite flower. Another being they looked mystical when they bloomed. But the biggest reason was because the Old Lilly always bloomed on a special day for Akikta.     His birthday.     Memories of a year ago, or more accurately, over twelve thousand years ago, manifested as vivid hallucinations. Akikta's father, grandfather, brother, and himself were all gathered around the flowers.     He remembered this day well; His family talked about the dreams and goals they'd accomplish once they reached the surface. His father wanted to open the fanciest seafood restaurant on Earth. Chaska wanted to become a great inventor, like their grandfather. And Father Axe... well, he was already living his dream. The elder simply wanted to be with his family.     Back then, on this day, they were happy... and together.     "Are you ok, Akikta?" Inka interrupted. The hallucination quickly faded, bringing him back to reality.     And now, on this day, Akikta was reminded those dreams they had were dead, along with them.     There was no stopping the floodgates now. Before he knew it, Akikta suddenly broke down into a wet sobbing mess, which startled Inka. "No... I'm not." He choked out through the tears, falling onto his knees with both hands over his mask.     The reminder of what happened to his family was unbearable. Maybe if he hadn't been so naïve, he could've helped his grandfather convince his dad that the rocket was a bad idea. Maybe everyone would still be alive, and his brother wouldn't have gotten turned into an abomination.     If he weren't so fucking stupid, he'd still have his life! The people he knew and loved would still be alive! If he weren't so-     "H-hey... It's... It's ok, Akikta." Inka kneeled down, softly rubbing his shoulder.     "IT'S NOT! NOTHING IS OK!" He cried, snatching himself away from her touch. "I-I got my friends killed! I got my family killed!" He stammered.     Inka had a concerned look, but she didn't back away from him. "You did?" She asked calmly.     Akikta realized what words left his mouth. "I..." He continued to sob, unable to muster a response. His hands lowered as he stared at the ground. "I've been using you..." He confessed.     Akikta couldn't bring himself to continue lying to Inka. Especially after she's been so hospitable to him and Nakji. "We didn't come here for any type of business. We came here to abduct Marie." He sniffled.     A frightful look overcame Inka, but only for a moment. "W-why?" Her expression eased.     "Because I have to! That's why! I- I allowed something terrible to happen to my brother. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't be a monster! And now the only way I can fix him is if I get her! I NEED MARIE." He yelled, though not as loudly as he would've liked. Akikta reeled himself back to his senses enough to understand that openly screaming he was going to kidnap Marie was a bad idea.     "I didn't want to use you, Inka. I really didn't, but we had nowhere else to go. And this... it means too much to me. So I'm sorry!" He bowed his head, pleading for forgiveness. "You're too good for this world. You helped two strangers in need without knowing a thing about them! You put us before your own safety, and we used you!"     Akikta abruptly stopped sobbing. "You're not a freak. You're an angel. The only freak here... is me." It took him a moment to fully recognize this, but Akikta was truly a sick person.     How long did it take for him to see Nakji, let alone the new life, as people? Too long. Did he plan to exploit Inka's kindness? Yes. Was he going to steal Marie from her cousin, potentially making said cousin feel just as terrible as him? Also yes. Did he understand all of this was bad? Of course he did. And the worse part? He's still willing to do it. "I just want my brother back..."     If Inka chose to report him to whatever authorities Inkopolis had, Akikta was sure he didn't have the strength to fight back. He was done. He couldn't go on anymore. There was no way he could-     Inka wrapped her arms around Akikta, giving him a tight but soft hug. "I'll help."     Akikta paused, thinking he misheard her. "What?" He pulled away from the hug, expecting to find a disturbed or furious face on Inka. Instead, she stared at him calmly.     "I said I'll help," she repeated, confirming that he was not hearing or seeing things.     Suddenly, her gray eyes didn't look so cold anymore.     "I've been called a lot of things: freak, nerd, outcast. But not once an angel..." she said. "You and Nakji didn't question my hobbies or intelligence. Not once. In fact, you praised me for them!" Inka rubbed the side of her shoulder and looked away. "You also saved me from getting beat up."     There was a moment of peaceful silence. The cool breeze of the wind gently blew past the two, making the Old Lillies sway.     "You know, it's funny." Said Inka, breaking the silence. "When Astro left, I knew I wouldn't see him much anymore. I thought my social life was over, but then you guys came along." Her eyes avoided looking at Akikta, instead choosing to monitor the nearby flowers. "Yesterday was one of the few times I felt... accepted."     Inka turned, locking eyes with Akikta. "I don't want to be alone again..." she admitted shamefully as they gazed into each other's eyes.     Her words made Akikta realize something. His old life may have been gone, but he still had a life. He had Nakji and Sal, too. And although he lost a lot, he didn't lose everything; His brother was still here.     He wasn't alone. He never has been. Not like Inka.     There was another moment of silence, though oddly enough, this one didn't feel uncomfortable to Akikta.     When Inka caught herself staring intently at him, a deep blue tint formed around her cheeks. He would've thought she was blushing, but he knew better. Blushes don't come in that color.     She cleared her throat to once again break the quiet atmosphere. "You guys are nice. So, if it's all good with you, I'd like to tag along."     While Akikta was not opposed to Inka joining him and Nakji, he worried for Inka's wellbeing. "I... I don't know. You do realize we'll most likely be branded as criminals, right? You won't be able to live a normal life in Inkopolis anymore."     "Akikta, I've never had a normal life." She waved him off. "Besides, I have no one here that'll miss me anyway. Not anymore, at least."     "But you like the Squid Sisters, don't you?"     "Of course I do. But as much as I admire them, they'll never notice me in a million years. Not like you and Nakji have." She scooted a little closer. "And you said it was to help your brother, right? No one can blame you for wanting to save the one you love."     Inka made a good point; she seemed willing to throw away her life to aid them. Then again, if she's willing to do this, her life must not be that great to begin with.     The more Akikta thought about it, the more he saw the pros outweighed the cons. Inka wasn't a fighter, but that's it. Aside from that, she was brilliant, and having an extra pair of hands would help. Besides, Nakji seemed to love her.     He isn't sure how Sal will feel about bringing these cephalopods into their domain, but Akikta would feel bad if he left Inka now.     "Well, you and Nakji do get along well. So, if you're really ok with ruining your life here, I wouldn't mind the extra help. Though, we haven't actually devised a plan yet..." Akikta rubbed the back of his head, keeping his hood up.     Inka lightly tapped her chin with a finger. Then, a sly grin took shape on her face. "I might have a few ideas."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

By the Splatfest's start, starry skies, flashy spotlights, and loud applause were the sights and sounds Akikta became immersed in.     Nakji's guess was right on the money. There were a ton of people here tonight—more than Akikta expected. The crowd of primarily inklings and octolings gathered at the center of a wide circular area, with buildings and alleys on either side. Behind them was a main road, and of course, front and center were the one and only Squid Sisters.     Inka gave him the impression Callie and Marie were extremely popular, So he expected the coastal area to be crammed. But this was outright ridiculous.     It felt like he got packed into a can of sardines. Did all of Inkopolis come to see them or something? He looked at the buildings and saw even people inside had their windows opened, cheering for the Squid Sisters.     Considering how many people were present, Akikta thought the main attraction would be hard to see. But Callie and Marie were propped up onto separate trucks, both of which were converted into mini-stages, equipped with speakers and spotlights. Callie's stage had mainly purple and pink colors, whereas Marie's stage boasted a bright lime green.     His first time seeing them in person was as surreal as seeing them dance.     Differences between the two cousins' movements and expressions stuck out. Callie looked eagerly excited and happy, being fairly active in her steps. Conversely, Marie sported a less unenthusiastic look, but her motions flowed elegantly, like a squid gliding through water.     Their performance of a song called 'City of Color' had the crowd raving hysterically. The audience grooved with the Squid Sisters, but their dancing was subpar compared to Callie's and Marie's. Not to mention the duo's heavenly singing.     Callie's voice was high-pitched and gave out the right energy. Marie's pitch was slightly lower, but still hit every note gracefully and perfectly.     Akikta now understood why they were so popular. They had genuine talent.     However, all of this was... a bit much. The blaring noise, the bright lights, the large crowd; it was overwhelming. And it distracted him from what had to be done.     It was time.     Akikta shimmied through the crowd into a nearby alley. A ladder was out, leading onto a scaffolding staircase connected to a building. He used that to get on the roof. Once at the top, he went to the edge of the building, getting an eagle's eye view of the entire concert. If someone looked up, they'd see him, assuming they stared long and hard enough.     Even with the flashy spotlights, the area was still quite dark. Plus, the crowd had their attention on the Squid Sisters, and vice versa. He didn't have to worry about being spotted.     "Should be any second now-" A loud boom, accompanied by a colorful bright light, echoed from above. Fireworks, the thing he'd been waiting for.     Each time one exploded, it gave just enough light for Akikta's whole body to be visible. He put up both arms and looked forward.     Past the Squid Sisters' trucks was a lower deck of the circular area. And past the railings of that deck was the calm sea and a short dock leading to the Manta Maria.     Akikta made out a tiny black silhouette next to the railing, and once they saw his arms go up, they hurried onto the Manta Maria.     When they disappeared from view, Akikta scanned the crowd until his eyes landed on the small figure of Nakji. She was leaning on a wall next to an alley, staring at him.     Akikta lowered both arms, pointing them at the crowd. In response, Nakji stopped leaning on the wall and began prowling through the cheering masses toward the trucks.     Both arms returned to his side, the plan now set into motion.     With Inka's guidance and Nakji's recon intel, the three had planned in great detail how they'd catch Marie and disappear into the night.     Thanks to Inka's firm knowledge of the idol, Akikta knew there was no way people wouldn't notice Marie going missing. They just had to ensure no one knew they were the culprits. Nakji's intel suggested it would be easy enough since the area had no nearby cameras, and the Squid Sisters were conveniently without security.     It was a miracle the idol duo decided to perform next to the Manta Maria, as that would be their means of escape. According to Inka, the ship was decommissioned ages ago. Nowadays, it is only used as a location for turf war battles. However, she was confident in her technical abilities to get the ship in operable conditions.     While she did that, it was Nakji's job to inch her way closer to Marie without seeming suspicious. Akikta couldn't do it since he would've stuck out like a sore thumb the closer he got. He had already given Nakji the immobilizer and taught her how to use it. It was up to Nakji to actually get Marie.     As for Akikta, he had the responsibility of coming up with a distraction. The distraction had to be loud enough to catch the attention of everyone within the vicinity, as well as big enough to hold their attention during and long after the operation.     Akikta only now realized he had the hardest assignment out of the trio. He pondered what to do next.     He had a few ideas prior to his arrival, but after seeing firsthand how truly massive the Splatfest was, those ideas seemed insufficient. Everyone's eyes were practically glued to Callie and Marie. Anything he did would most likely go unheard and unseen.     The trio didn't have any earpieces to communicate with each other while this operation was ongoing, so they only had one shot.     In hindsight, it would've been better to think of a solid distraction before giving Inka and Nakji the signal to begin, but his nerves got the best of him. The most anxiety-inducing thing he's ever done was sneak into the control room of Alterna's Space Center, and that didn't stress him out half as bad as this did.     Either way, it was too late now. He had to come up with something before Nakji reached Marie.     As Akikta paced back and forth on the rooftop, biting his inner lip hard enough to draw blood, his instincts suddenly twitched. He no longer felt alone.     His head shot over to the next building over; perched on the ledge like a hawk was a small figure with a long rifle pointed at the crowd. Their focus was on the masses below.     The person looked like an inkling with short orange hair. They wore some sort of glowing headphones that took the shape of and covered their pointy ears. Covering their torso was a large yellow-green hoodie. Enormous black puffy boots protected their feet.     Their appearance perplexed Akikta. This individual, whoever they were, came too well prepared to be some ordinary security guard. Maybe they were a hired hitman here to assassinate someone?     After giving the situation some logical thought, Akikta realized who the weapon was pointing to. Nakji.     SHIT! They overlooked a crucial piece of information in their plan. Marie, and by proxy Callie, were part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, so that meant they had protection. He knew it looked suspicious that there were no visible guards.     They hadn't accounted for another agent to be watching Marie's back. How could they? Inka had no clue the platoon existed, and the thought slipped from Akikta's mind.     With no way to warn Nakji, Akikta got a running start and took a leap of faith, jumping the gap between buildings. He landed on the inkling's building with a rough roll, unintentionally alerting them. They quickly sat up, aiming at Akikta.     He stood there and waited for the inkling to shoot, planning to move on them during their shock that the ink did not harm him.     Fireworks went off again during his wait; the light revealed the inkling's full figure. They were a female with concentrated orange eyes. Akikta's mind wandered elsewhere.     Now that I think about it, I haven't seen a single male agent yet. He wondered if all the agents in the platoon were female.     The sounds of running feet snapped Akikta out of his thoughts. The agent wasn't firing; she was coming straight at him with closed fists. She must've already known about his immunity to ink. Word sure travels in the platoon, I guess.     Akikta watched the inkling charge at him. Her speed didn't decrease. She was really about to come at him swinging. Not like he was going to let her land any hits. He learned his lesson from Metta and Coral. Especially Coral.     When the inkling got into striking range, she leaped into the air and attempted to roundhouse kick him in the face. Instinctively, he grabbed her leg and turned his body in the same direction she kicked. Keeping the momentum, he threw her onto the other side of the roof.     "Whoa," Akikta impressed himself by catching her attack.     She didn't stay down long. After a short roll and a light groan, the inkling swiftly got back up and rushed Akikta again. This time, she started throwing punches.     He dodged her first few swings by backstepping, only to trip and fall. When he landed, he found himself on the edge of the roof where the agent had been, with an upside-down view of the crowd as his head hung off the side. Despite the ruckus they were causing, no one noticed them.     During the single second his attention shifted from the fight, the agent pounced on him and attempted to hold him down.     Akikta grabbed at her arms, only to find this agent was stronger than her slim body led on. It was hard for him to pry her off, especially with one hand, as he used the other to keep his hood from flipping off.     While he struggled with the inkling on top of him, he noticed Nakji had grown dangerously close to Marie's truck. She was ready to grab her; she merely waited for the audience's attention to be directed elsewhere.     The inkling kept Akikta preoccupied, but even if she didn't, he was far from coming up with a distraction!     Dammit! Akikta gritted through his mask as the agent tried to keep a firm hold on him.     As Callie and Marie neared the end of their first song, frightened shrieks from the crowd gradually replaced the sounds of upbeat music and noisy cheering. This shifted the agent's and Akikta's attention from each other to the commotion.     One green-inkling boy and a blue-inkling girl were being held up by their tentacles. The person holding them was none other than Subject 7, towering over the crowd at a height of seven feet.     Before those inklings even had a chance to scream, black ink oozed all around their body, completely covering them. They tried to wail anyway, but their cries sounded like they were drowning. The black ink that covered them shrunk, adding to Subject 7's mass. Just like that, they were gone. Akikta was mortified.     Those who witnessed the scene screamed and panicked, only to scramble in every direction away from Subject 7. Unfortunately for them, there wasn't much room to go anywhere with how packed it was.     Akikta felt the agent's grip loosen. He turned back to see her face was ghostly pale. She looked beyond terrified, reasonably so. "I'm sorry." He muttered enough to get her attention before quickly flipping her off the building and into the crowd. He watched as she landed on a group of inklings, thankfully breaking her fall.     Akikta stood on his legs, only for Subject 7 to let out a deafening screech. It sounded exactly the same as when they first met.     He looked over to Callie and Marie, as at this point, everyone noticed Subject 7, including them. Callie had wide eyes with a hand covering her mouth. Marie also had wide eyes, but her arms were at her sides, her mouth agape.     Nakji, somehow unphased by the mayhem, lunged at Marie and connected the immobilizer to her chest. Marie could only react to the immobilizer being put on her before she suddenly spazzed, then fell to the truck floor, limp.     Nakji hurriedly collected Marie into her arms and flipped the unconscious squid over her shoulder before retreating amongst the panicked crowd.     No one, not even Callie, seemed to notice Marie being snatched up. Everyone's eyes were on the monster who gobbled up any inkling and octoling that crossed his path.     Suddenly, the Manta Maria's exterior lights came on, garnering the attention of no one but Akikta. That was his cue to get the hell out of there.     He got down the building the same way he got up and ran out amongst the screaming crowd, pushing past panicked citizens towards the lower deck.     "Marie? Marie?!" someone suddenly cried out. He turned to see Callie had noticed Marie was gone. The magenta popstar trembled as she called out for her missing partner. Was she shaking because of Subject 7 or because her cousin suddenly vanished? Probably both.     "I'm sorry," Akikta mumbled. She obviously couldn't hear.     Another screech came from the ink creature, this one not as loud. He turned to see what Subject 7 was doing—the two locked eyes. "Shit!"     Akikta sprinted toward the deck, hoping the presence of water would slow or outright deter his brother. He didn't dare look behind him.     As he approached the Manta Maria, he saw the ship had begun to move. Inka and Nakji frantically waved to him, which motivated him to run faster.     By the time he reached the end of the dock, the Manta Maria was a short distance away. Akikta used whatever strength the Great Spirit would give him and leaped into the air, slamming into the side of the ship. Nakji caught one of his arms, while Inka caught the other. Together, they hoisted him up onto the ship.     Akikta took a short breather, only to see Marie's unconscious body a short distance from him. The sight freaked him out, so much so that he immediately stood to attention, only to see the carnage left behind by Subject 7.     Surprisingly, there was no sight of Subject 7 himself. It was as though he disappeared the moment Akikta turned around. But he was sure they locked eyes, and knowing Subject 7, he would've given chase.     Akikta leaned over to peek at the ship's side, dreading but expecting Subject 7 to be hanging on. He wasn't.     Where did he go? Fear set in as he knew Subject 7 couldn't just disappear like that. Or could he?     Inka and Nakji didn't react to him being chased, so maybe he lost Subject 7 the moment he broke into a dash. That still begs the question of where he went.     Akikta looked back to the concert, the scene snatching him away from his thoughts on Subject 7's whereabouts.     There were so many distressed inklings and octolings. Evidently, some didn't notice Subject 7 had disappeared; They ran around as if they were still being chased, fearful for their lives.     These people came here to have a good time. But because of him, he unintentionally led Subject 7 to them. He got people killed.     No longer was the music blaring; it was silent. The crowd wasn't cheering anymore; they were weeping. The splatfest was a disaster, and it was his fault.     Inka and Nakji's lips were moving around, apparently speaking to Akikta. Their words fell on deaf ears.     Akikta looked away from the ruined concert and stared at the star-filled sky. Only two words could muster the courage to leave his lips. "I'm sorry."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

They completed the mission. Akikta finally caught the criminal like he was supposed to. But it didn't sit right with him. Not one bit. He thought he'd be satisfied and put at ease once the favor was done, but instead, his spirit bubbled with immense shame.     All those inklings and octolings Akikta got killed weighed on his conscience. Thinking about it only made the boy curse himself to hell and back. The operation wasn't supposed to go the way it did. No one was supposed to die! Then there was the heartbreaking look on Callie's face. It tugged at his heartstrings.     What would Chaska think? Would he be proud or disgusted at his younger brother? The thought alone made Akikta want to cry, but alas, he had no tears left to shed.     As they sailed into the night, Akikta helped Nakji and Inka remove any electronics on Marie so she couldn't be tracked. Before he tossed Marie's squid-shaped phone away, it buzzed in his hand.     A call came through. He couldn't read the caller's name, not that he needed to; the picture told him everything. It was Callie, who, evidently, had been calling a lot. Akikta hesitated, but ultimately tossed the phone into the ocean.     After all essentials were taken from Marie, the trio looked for something to restrain her with. The ship was huge, so it took a while, especially since Akikta wanted to use something other than rope and chains. He still didn't know if inklings had something equivalent to an octoling's octopus form, but in case they did, he didn't want any chance of her escaping.     They ended up finding a large jar in the storage room of the Manta Maria. It was surprisingly big enough to fit two people. If Akikta weren't so tired, he would've questioned why a jar that big was made in the first place. The jar had a single micro-hole on its top. Too small for Marie to fit through, let alone notice, but big enough to provide her with oxygen.     After removing the immobilizer from her chest, they placed her inside the jar, then waited for her to wake up.     She didn't.     Fear took hold of Akikta. There was no way she died. She couldn't have! The device worked perfectly fine the last time he used it!     His panicked expression ceased after he noticed Marie's chest softly rising and falling. She was only unconscious, not dead. Akikta sighed in relief, only to wonder why she didn't wake up.     The effects wore off on Captain Claw immediately when Akikta removed the device from him. Though Claw was much bigger than and had a hard shell, opposite to Marie's shorter stature and soft-skinned body. Maybe it affected the squid much worse than it did the crab.     Regardless, Akikta kept an eye on her and informed Sal of their success. The man was overjoyed at the confirmation of Marie's capture, so much so, he didn't seem to care when Akikta shared the news that he brought another cephalopod along.     Either way, Sal's enthusiasm did not improve Akikta's mood, nor did the new coordinates. He didn't even question the marked location, which was in the middle of the ocean. He just had Inka direct the ship toward their new destination.     The voyage took two days. During those two days, Akikta felt miserable.     Inka used her squid phone to show him and Nakji the events that transpired during the Squid Sisters' performance went viral.     He couldn't read the headlines or articles, but according to Inka, everyone was talking about his brother, who they dubbed 'The Ink Demon.'     Akikta was adamant that Inka not refer to Chaska as a demon. When she was confused about why he cared, Nakji had to explain that Subject 7 was his brother. Inka was shocked, to say the least.     People were also now aware the Manta Maria and popstar idol Marie have gone missing, though information regarding what happened to them was scarce. At least they got the 'escaping with no witnesses' part right.     Still, the mere fact people died messed him up emotionally. And unfortunately, that caused Akikta the least amount of issues.     Occasionally, he'd go through a series of painful episodes: aches in his head and stomach, sharp pains in the chest, violent fits of coughing, and the horrifying vomiting of blood. Sometimes he would unexpectedly lose strength in his legs and fall.     Something was wrong with him, and he didn't know what. So, to avoid making Nakji and Inka worry, he'd make up an excuse to leave the two whenever he felt an episode coming on.     To keep himself from panicking, he convinced his conscious that Sal could treat him. His clan's technology was advanced. By proxy, so was their medicine. He'd be fine. He'd get out of this fine... hopefully.     During the second day's afternoon, Akikta moved down to the ship's lower deck and entered a large room. In the corner of the room was the jar containing Marie. The trio felt it was best to keep her out of sight, so they moved her to one of the many large rooms in the ship's interior.     He sat in a chair with wheels and positioned himself close to the jar, his face right next to the glass.     Akikta was a little worried they might've put Marie in a deep coma. She hadn't woken up at all. Not when they moved her, knocked on the jar, or at any point during their two-day voyage.     At any rate, they should almost be at their destination. Akikta's eyes trailed away from Marie and down to the radio. A small map blinked, showing them inching ever so closer to the coordinates marked by Sal.     "Can't we get there any faster?" Akikta groaned in annoyance and desperation. He felt himself getting weaker and weaker as the days passed, even with the canned food Inka brought along for the journey.     He sighed before turning his attention back to Marie, who was now standing with her gloved hands pressed against the glass of the jar.     "Fucking- Whoa!" Akikta yelped as he jumped, losing balance in the chair and crashing to the steel floor.     "Pansy." The green inkling noted as Akikta grunted in pain.     Had it not been for the fact he kidnapped her, he would've gotten angry at her comment. "So, you're awake..." He grumbled, rubbing the back of his head as he stood up.     "Where am I?" Marie wasted no time in asking questions. He figured the least he could do was answer them.     "Aboard the Manta Maria," he said, propping the chair back up before sitting down.     "Where's Callie?"     "Not here." Akikta swiveled in his chair, his back now facing Marie. "You're the only one we want."     "What are you going to do to me?"     "Relax." He waved his hand and rolled over to a desk on the side of the wall. "I have no intentions of doing anything to you."     "Right, because you totally squidnapped me, just to do nothing." Marie's tone sounded nonchalant rather than fearful.     Akikta looked over his shoulder to see her lips curled into a slight frown. She looked disappointed moreso than afraid. "You don't seem very concerned. Let me guess, not your first time?"     Marie tapped her chin, gazing absentmindedly. "You could put it like that." Her eyes focused back on Akikta.     He turned back to face the radio in his hand, having nothing to add to the conversation. Akikta hoped his silence made Marie stop talking.     It didn't. "Seriously, what are you going to do with me?"     Akikta placed the radio down, turning to Marie. "We're taking you somewhere so that you can pay for your crimes."     She sucked her teeth. "I know I'm diabolically hot, but I hardly think that by itself is a crime."     "Don't be so full of yourself."     "Why shouldn't I be? After all, I'm not full of anything else." A growl emitted from Marie's stomach. Then she tilted her head, causing her ears to sway. "Like, come on. I'm starving. This is no way to treat your favorite idol."     Akikta crossed his arms. "Not a fan."     "You're not? Could've fooled me."     The teen shot up from his chair and pointed at Marie. "What's your problem, huh?"     "What's my problem? So you're a liar and blind?"     "I'm not a liar or blind! I've been nothing but honest with you! I get it; you don't enjoy being stuck in a jar-"     "You can say that again. Now I know how Octavio feels..." she mumbled in between his sentence.     "But take your complaints up with the man who wants you!"     Marie's brows raised, visibly confused. It only took a moment for her expression to change to an enlightened one. "Oh, I see." She crossed her arms. "You're just the errand boy, about to deliver me to some freak fan of mine. Well, whatever he's paying you, I bet I could pay triple."     Akikta shook his head. "I'm not doing it for money."     Marie's nonchalant expression faltered. "Then what are you doing it for?"     Silence filled the room. Akikta didn't know how to respond to her question... no, it was more like he didn't want to.     He sat back down in his seat and turned towards the desk again. "You wouldn't understand."     Once his back was to Marie, he removed his mask and mouthpiece before dragging out a long, tired sigh. "What am I doing..." He questioned, resting his head on his hand.     Did he make the right call to do any of this? Of course, anything for his brother. But did he go about it the right way?     "That noise..." Marie said, giving off a tone of disbelief. Akikta almost turned to look at her. Her statement caught him off-guard. "I've heard it from before..."     Akikta placed his mask and mouthpiece back on before turning to stare back at the green inkling. She didn't have the usual unenthusiastic expression on her face. She looked perplexed, the same as Akikta.     Where had she heard him before if this was their first-time meeting?     "Who are you?" she asked, her sass completely disappearing from her tone.     Before Akikta could answer, a faint creaking noise startled both of them. They looked to the far end of the room where it came from, seeing nothing but darkness as the power wasn't working on that side of the ship, at least not for the interior lights.     Akikta swore he heard that creaking noise before.     His eyes squinted, and he noticed something dark on the floor. It was dried up. Some kind of liquid, maybe? Did someone spill something without realizing it?     Akikta got up, but before he could investigate, Inka suddenly barged into the room, making him jump. "Damn! What's the matter with you?!"     "We have a situation!" Inka announced, only to do a double-take on Marie. "Oh- she's awake?"     "Is everyone here blind?" Marie commented.     Akikta waved off Marie's response. "What's the situation?"     Inka's focus returned to whatever got her so jumpy. "C-come to the top deck!" She stuttered before running out.     She looked scared; whatever was going on must've been bad. He dearly hoped nothing was wrong with Nakji.     Akikta rushed to the desk and grabbed his radio before pointing to Marie. "Don't go anywhere."     "I could go somewhere?" He didn't even acknowledge her response as he left.     He came to the top deck and ran over to where Inka and Nakji were. Nakji looked physically ok, albeit nervous. She was using a pair of binoculars, looking out into the distance.     Akikta turned to see she was looking at two specks. He couldn't tell what they were. "What's going on?"     Nakji lowered the binoculars from her face before handing them to him. She said nothing. Her face was the definition of tense.     He hesitantly took the binoculars before putting them up to the eye sockets of his mask. It can't be that bad, right?     The first thing he saw was a large shark, ferociously swimming through the ocean like a raging tide. "What?" He said, confused. Why was there a giant ass shark heading straight for them? Wait, was it wearing a damn jetpack and sunglasses?     Akikta leaned in further, noticing this wasn't an ordinary shark. It had all sorts of things equipped on its body, as if it were some sort of cavalry unit. It even had a saddle! Wait... a saddle?     His brows furrowed, realizing three people were riding the shark. Three people he recognized, no less. It was the same three he had seen in that studio back at Splatsville. What on Earth were they doing here? And why did they suddenly share the same yellow hair color?     And weren't there two specks? The shark, even with those three on it, only made one.     Akikta looked up and saw what the other speck was: A big-ass helicopter that held a small platform. On the platform were familiar faces, all with yellow-colored hair. Now he could see why Nakji looked so nervous.     There was Metta, this time more geared up and ready for action, with her salmonid companion in a little canister strapped to her back. Beside her on the left was the agent he had thrown off the roof. And to her right was that octoling from the tunnels.     A new face he hadn't seen before was also there, probably another agent. They wore a pink suit, heavy pink-colored boots, a black visor, and a large black helmet. In their hands was a large oversized...paint roller? That's what it looked like.     There was also... "Oh, fuck."     It was Coral, still in that raggedy uniform from before. He knew better than to misjudge her again.     Her arms were crossed as she stared directly ahead; He would've thought she was staring at him if he didn't know any better. Her expression was serious...ly mad.     "I don't get it... How did they find us?!" By now, he was certain the three people from Splatsville were in cahoots with the platoon. But they never had a negative interaction. Metta didn't look like a tracker, nor did those other agents. Plus, they stripped Marie of anything valuable and tossed all her electronics into the ocean.     Akikta's eyes widened. "Inka!" She jumped at his shout. "Your phone!" She stared at him in confusion, then her face lost color.     Inka took her phone out, only to be met with a glitchy screen. On it were two black dots with white infinity symbols in each. That, combined with the curled lines above each 'eye,' made it look like a timid expression of a face.     "Shit," Akikta murmured, realizing they've been made. He should've thought about having Inka get rid of her phone when she showed them the news.     The general public may not have known or seen what happened, but that didn't mean the New Squidbeak Splatoon was in the same boat. At least now he knew there was a skilled technocrat amongst the platoon.     Akikta turned the radio on. "Sal?! Sal!" He shouted.     "Whoa, what's with all the yelling, A? You here yet?"     "No! We're close, but the whole platoon is on us!"     "What? What do you mean the whole platoon?!"     "Coral is here, Metta is here, that octoling is here- EVERYONE IS HERE! They'll be on us any minute now!"     "What? No! NO!" Sal roared in frustration, a loud banging noise crackling through the background.     "We're screwed..." Akikta mumbled, halfheartedly giving up.     "No, you're not! I'm sending help right now. Just hold them off, A!" Sal instructed, and the radio switched off before Akikta could question how.     He growled in annoyance. "Of course you'd leave in this situation too!" Sal's dismissive behavior started getting on Akikta's nerves. But now wasn't the time to address it.     "Inka, go move Marie! Keep her hidden!" Akikta ordered, knowing Inka would be of no use in a fight. She nodded before quickly leaving the scene.     Nakji unsheathed her katana as Akikta looked back at the two specs that drew closer to the ship. "We really kicked the hornet's nest now..."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It seemed the three shark riders would reach the ship before the helicopter, thus giving Nakji and Akikta some time to plot how they would deal with them before the agents arrived. Unfortunately, things weren't that simple.The two couldn't come up with a plan they both agreed on. Akikta was stuck worrying about Inka's safety and protection, so he suggested Nakji stay with her. On the other hand, Nakji wasn't convinced Akikta could handle the situation, given his lack of combat experience. Despite what has happened so far in every conflict, Akikta personally believes he's watched enough action movies to make up for his lack of fighting skills. Still, Nakji insisted he be the one that sticks with Inka.Their bickering was eventually interrupted by the large shark jumping onto their side of the ship. Both dove out of the way to avoid being crushed.Akikta quickly turned to see the shark was way bigger than he initially thought. No way this thing was a normal great white. Assuming it was a great white at all. Nakji stood her ground, less fearful of the animal than Akikta, who backed away."Ah, you must be them. The squidnappers." A sharp voice spoke out. Akikta looked up to see it came from the yellow tentacled octoling who held the reins, which were actually motorcycle handlebars.The octoling waved her fan a few times before abruptly closing it. She then did a double take on Akikta. "Hold on. You're the masked thief Metta was on about?" She sounded astonished, like she wasn't expecting Akikta of all people to be the culprit."No way! I totally called it!" The big-foreheaded inkling cheered with fists pumped into the air.Akikta was confused until he remembered they had technically met him before. The inkling probably took a wild guess that he was the one Metta apparently gossiped about."Guess Frye's intuition was right after all, ay?" The manta ray added.Akikta's head tilted, wondering where he's heard that name before. Then he remembered the manta ray had introduced himself and his colleagues during their announcements at Splatsville.Yeah, everything was coming back to him now. Their band's name was Deep Cut. Considering the two cephalopods were female and smaller, he assumed that meant the manta ray was Big Man. Big Man addressed the inkling as Frye, meaning the octoling was Shiver. Although Akikta was happy he could match some names with faces, that's about all the information did for him."Great. Should've known Deep Cut were agents of the Splatoon." His comment caused the trio to look at each other quizzically. Then Big Man and Shiver chuckled, while Frye broke out into a fit of laughter."Agents? If only we had enough time out of the day to add that to our job description." Shiver snickered, hiding a grin behind her opened fan.Akikta raised a brow. "So, you're not agents then?" he questioned, confused."'Course not! Who do you take us for?" Answered Frye, squatting down on the large saddle of the shark, who never once took its black eyes off him and Nakji.If they weren't part of the platoon, why were they here?"Well, you seem to know who we are, so we can skip the introductions and get straight to it." Shiver folded her fan and pointed at Akikta. "Politely hand over our boss, and maybe we'll refrain from beating the ink out of you."
Boss? What Boss? Wait, are they talking about Marie?
"Now hold on, Shiver! They'll probably try to take her again if we don't teach these punks a lesson. Lemme knock some sense into them!" Frye smacked a fist into her hand, absolutely ready to throw down."Well, I suppose they already crossed the line by putting their hands on the boss in the first place. So sure." Frye smirked at Shiver's approval before jumping off the shark. "The boss should be somewhere on this ship, according to Marina, anyway. Let's go find her." Shiver said, looking towards Big Man, who nodded in agreement.
Marina? I've heard that name before from somewhere, haven't I? Is she part of their band? No, that'd make four people; they're a trio. Where have I heard that name?
While Akikta was lost in thought, Big Man turned to Frye. "Ay! Don't hurt them too badly, alright?"Frye waved a hand. "No worries! I won't mess 'em up that much." She grinned. "They'll still be recognizable by the time I'm done." Big Man looked worried by her statement, which made Akikta mildly concerned.Shiver turned to face forward, tapping her fan on the shark. "Pedal to the megalodon, Master Mega!" The shark roared before speeding off past Nakji and Akikta.Nakji raised her blade and took an offensive stance, same as Frye. "Aki, if we both take her, we can hurry and catch the other two-""No." Akikta interrupted. "You go follow them; make sure they don't reach Marie and Inka!"Nakji turned to Akikta. "But Aki!""I can handle this one. She doesn't look so tough."Frye chuckled. "Oh, ho! You're a bold one, huh? I like that!"Nakji's worry became visible. "She's got the body and stance of a skilled Splatlandian. You can't take her alone!""Stop saying what I can and can't do! I took down your captain when you couldn't, didn't I?" Akikta yelled, angered at Nakji's protest. "I know you're worried, but if they get Marie, we'd have done all this for nothing! She takes priority, not me!" He reminded, causing Nakji's face to sadden. She knew how much this meant to Akikta, so she couldn't possibly tell him no. "Now go! I'll be right behind you."Nakji turned. "You better be." She added before running toward where Big Man and Shiver went.Akikta looked back at Frye, who was geared up and ready to fight. "Mano a mano, eh? Fine by me! Let's settle this, Splatlands-style!"He chuckled, causing Frye's smile to falter for a moment. So, some phrases survived after all, huh? Akikta thought before standing upright. "I don't want to fight you."Frye's head tilted, her smirk reappearing. "Really? That's too bad, cuz I wanna fight you!"Akikta snarled at her response before aggressively pointing at her. "Listen here, you balloon-headed motherfucker! I've been through a lot already. So I don't wanna hurt you if I don't have to." After his little rant, he lowered his finger. "It's not like I want to hurt your boss either, seriously! I just need her."Frye's triangular brows furrowed. "Balloon-head?! Oh, now those are fighting words!"Did she not hear anything I said after that?! Akikta was starting to think Frye's head was so big because it was filled with air.He sighed, realizing there was no getting through to her. "If you really wanna go, fine. But before we fight, I have to ask, what were you guys doing in Alterna?""How did you know we were there?" Frye eased up on her stance, surprised by the question."Just answer the question, please." He redirected the topic, wanting to get answers.Frye shrugged. "It was a treasure trove, so we scavenged for treasure," she answered casually.Her response took Akikta aback. Did that mean the camp he saw in Alterna belonged to Deep Cut? Was her pitiful group scavenging the remains of his people?!Unbridled rage bubbled from the depths and forced itself out of Akikta in the form of words. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" he shouted with clenched fists.Frye could see her answer angered him, which only made her grin more. "The name's Frye, but you?" She took out an instrument, which he recognized as an Indian-styled pungi flute. "You can call me the Eel Deal!"Before Akikta could process her response, she played a dazzling melody with the flute. Soon after, he watched in horror as a horde of orangish yellow eels emerged from behind her in the form of a swirling whirlpool."Eel tamer..." Akikta gasped, realizing Captain Claw wasn't making up or exaggerating his story. She was real.Frye chuckled before backflipping onto an eel, this one wearing a mask, while most of the others didn't. She then played her flute again, and the eels charged at Akikta with open mouths.The teen did the one thing he could: run. He booked it down the ship's deck; the horde followed close behind.Akikta looked over his shoulder to see the eels snapping their jaws at him. At the same time, the melody from before filled his ears. The music somehow made the eels' speed increase. I'm gonna need to get rid of her flute, pronto.He barged in through a door, quickly closing it and barricading the entrance with his body before the eels entered. They smashed into the door, lightly bumping Akikta with each pound. Luckily, they weren't strong enough to break the door down. But he knew they'd come piling in the moment he stopped holding it.Akikta looked straight ahead to see another door on the other side. He had to move fast before they noticed there was another entrance. But he needed this time to think. How the hell was he going to get that flute from Frye? About a thousand eels surrounded her!Maybe this was hopeless. They weren't even fighting the agents, yet he already found himself in a pickle. And besides, Captain Claw couldn't beat Frye. Why did Akikta think he could?...Then again, he did technically beat Captain Claw.Akikta looked down and spotted some chains on the floor—an idea formed in his head. That'll work.After the eels smashed into the door one last time, Akikta dashed forward and swooped up the chains into his arms. Right after, the eels busted through and chased him out the room's other end.Akikta ran into a more open area of the ship's deck and started attacking from a safe distance by swinging the chains at the horde.The eels without a mask disappeared upon contact with the chains, as if they were made of nothing. The eels with masks would hurl away in whatever direction Akikta hit them; when they impacted the ground, they popped into a mess of yellow ink.He made good progress on the eels, but it meant nothing if he couldn't get that flute from Frye, as she kept summoning more each time she played the instrument.Speaking of Frye, he saw her amongst the horde of eels. She was... dancing? Yeah. She danced on top of the eel she rode while playing her flute. For what it was worth, the display impressed Akikta.He swung the chain in a circle a few times before tossing it towards Frye, lassoing her ankle and catching her attention. Got her! Akikta tugged at the chain, yanking her off the eel and towards him. His intent was to grab the flute when she came flying into him. However, Frye repositioned her feet moments before contact, dropkicking him instead.Akikta flew back with a small cry, only to roll back on his feet. By the time he looked back up, Frye's ankle was free of the chain.She couldn't contain her excitement, evident by her wide smile and constant movement. At least one of them was having fun.Before Akikta could rush her again, another eel came at him. He quickly raised his chain to block the bite, noticing the eel was unmasked. With a quick inhale, he balled up his fist and sucker-punched the eel. Like all the other unmasked eels, it disappeared into thin air.With that out the way, Akikta focused on Frye and swung his chains at her in arc motions. Frye dodged each attack by either hopping over or ducking underneath it, all while cheerily playing her flute. The way she evaded his strikes made it look like she was dancing.One strike she evaded swung back around and nailed Akikta in the head. The mask took the brunt of the blow, so he feigned his pain by cursing and holding his head."Better be careful where you swing that thing!" She teased, moving the flute away from her mouth to speak. Akikta used that moment to abruptly swing the chain at Frye, catching her off-guard. He pulled back just enough so that the chain didn't hit her square in the head, but wrapped around her flute.Before her grip could tighten around the instrument, Akikta yanked it out of her hands and into his own. "My flute!" Frye cried. "Give it back!""Sure." He responded, only to snap it in two over his knee.Finally, that mocking grin left her face, and her pupils dilated. "NO!" she roared in anger and desperation.He tossed the two halves of her flute over her head, and Frye went to catch her broken instrument. By the time she caught the pieces of her flute, Akikta had run over to her and jumped, kneeing Frye hard in the face. She yelped and rolled across the ship's deck.Frye wasn't completely out of it yet, but before she could get back up, he ran over and kicked her head like a soccer ball, making her slam into the railing of the ship with a loud bang.That seemed to do her in, as she wasn't making any more movements. Akikta huffed. "Next time, keep your guard up..." He commented, noticing the remaining eels meandered without the guidance of Frye's melody.The teen bent over with his hands on his knees, about to take a short breather, but a loud thunk from behind interrupted him. His neck nearly snapped with how quickly his head turned.It was the octoling from the tunnel, standing above him on a circular platform connected to the center mast of the ship. A concerned glare was present in her eyes as she stared at him.There were a lot of things he wanted to ask her. What was her name? What history did she have with Sal? Why are her hair and weapon a different color from before? Despite all those questions, only one really stuck out in his head. How did she get over here?At first, he thought the helicopter was above them since it sounded like the octoling dropped; But upon looking over, he saw the helicopter was closer, but not close enough to where they could drop directly on the Manta Maria.She... she couldn't have jumped that distance, could she? Even if she did, how'd she sustain no leg injuries? Akikta grunted, confused at the movement capabilities of these cephalopods.He turned back to the octoling and raised his chain, ready to fight the agent. "Wait!" she pleaded with a raised hand. Akikta hesitated, only for her to drop softly to his level.He noticed her outfit was also slightly different. Instead of wearing boots, she had on black high heels. And her sleeveless shirt was replaced with a black zipped-up leathery suit with only one arm covered while the other was sleeveless."Please, just listen to me for a minute." She pleaded again."And why would I do that?" Akikta queried."Because I'm the one who told the others to stay back." She informed, which would explain why the others had yet to jump if they could also reach the ship.Akikta considered the alternatives, only to lower his weapon. "What do you want?""For you to listen to reason." She exclaimed. "Please, Aki, you're being used. And I don't think you realize it."His grip around the chains tightened. "My name is Akikta. And you're wrong.""But I'm not! I can tell. That... monster used me too!" With every word that left her lips, Akikta felt his irritation rise. Describing Sal as a monster made it seem like she was saying every human was a monster. But she kept going. "He's manipulative, evil, and vile! Whatever he promised you, he won't keep it.""LIAR!" Akikta lashed out, swinging his chain at the agent, who swiftly dodged. "You're just trying to get in my head!""I'm trying to tell you the truth!" She punched him in the chest, sending him sliding back a little.The agent hit hard, but Akikta's anger numbed the pain. "Shut up! You don't know Sal, not like I do!" He shook his head. "Why am I even telling you this? Someone like you will never understand the connection we have!" he swung his chains again, this time more wildly.The agent didn't raise her weapon. In fact, she holstered it, continuing to dodge and get in close whenever possible. "You don't have a connection with that monster. No one does! He isn't even supposed to exist. He's a freak accident of nature that only sees people like you and me as food!" The agent delivered a quick kick to Akikta's hip and another punch straight to his noggin. He stumbled back, refusing to fall.More chains were thrown at her as he thought about her words. He recalled something, and everything clicked together. "You... he mentioned you." Sal had mentioned he once trusted an octoling. It suddenly made sense now. "He trusted you. I won't make his mistake.""It wasn't a mistake to trust me! It was a mistake to trust him!" She threw a jab at Akikta, only for him to catch it and swiftly headbutt her. The agent let out a painful moan as she stumbled back."He clearly didn't trust you enough to tell you there's more of us!" His statement perplexed the octoling long enough for him to get a hard kick on her, sending her rolling back."Stop..." she whimpered as Akikta stood over her. He took this time to catch his breath. "Being delusional!" she suddenly barked, swinging a mean uppercut into his chin.The strength of her punch had his feet leave the ground for a few seconds, only for him to crash back down onto his back. He groaned in pain, then heard a small thunk as something landed beside him; his eyes gazed over at a mask. His mask.The octoling approached Akikta, breathing heavily, though not quite as hard as him. As he sat up with a soft grunt, the octoling stopped in her tracks.Her eyes looked uncertain. "Wait..." Shock, confusion, and possibly fear washed over the octoling's face, all at the same time. "You're...a human?" Her stance completely fell away; She was in total disbelief."Yeah..." Akikta balled up his fists, clutching the chain that wrapped around his hand when he fell, giving him a makeshift brass knuckle. "I am."He jumped up and smashed the agent's face in. She screamed and flew back, violently bashing her head against the railing much harder than Frye did. She was knocked out instantly.Akikta breathed heavily, looking at the fist he punched the agent with. It dripped with yellow ink, which he was sure was their form of blood. He shook his head; disappointed things had to come to this.After re-securing his mask over his face, he heard another thunk of someone landing behind him. "Dammit! What no-" Akikta cursed as he turned around, halting immediately when his gaze met Coral's.The captain crossed her arms, staring daggers at the teen. Any anger Akikta had was replaced with nervous hesitation. He didn't know whether to fight or run.Coral's intense orange eyes drifted from Akikta to Frye, then to the octoling, before finally glaring back at him. She let out a small huff, which was Akikta's cue to choose something, and fast. He chose flight.He turned on his heel and quickly darted up some steps to get higher on the main deck. Afterward, he ran through various twists and turns, ending up at the back of the ship.Somehow, Coral was right there waiting for him. His head kept darting between her and where he ran from. He couldn't understand how she was able to not only outrun him but also cut him off too.Coral began her eerily slow approach, not waiting for him to process anything.Seeing he couldn't outrun her, Akikta threw his chain at her. Surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly, she caught the chain with both hands. Then, with a low grunt, she swung the chain towards the ship's railing. Akikta's hip slammed harshly into the metal bars; a cry of pain escaped him as he dropped to the floor, letting go of the chains.Midway through pulling himself back up, Coral rushed him and grabbed his throat, slamming him back onto the ship's floor. Despite the size and height difference between the two, she was handling him as if he were a doll.She then let out a flurry of bone-breaking blows into his chest and stomach. He felt like a gorilla's personal punching bag.With a shout, Akikta kicked the captain off and away from him. He used the brief opening he created to stand, wobbling to his feet.That was all Coral allowed before she rushed him again, trying to get another hit on him. His adrenaline-filled body hurled itself out of each strike's way. His evasion annoyed the captain, as she let out an irritated grunt.She swung at him again, this time rougher than usual. Akikta felt the wind rush past him as she narrowly missed her attack. Coral must've punched harder than she intended or expected, for she fell to the floor with a painful yelp after missing her punch.Akikta quickly backed away, expecting her to get back up at any second. But she didn't. He thought she knocked herself out with the fall, but she was still conscious, letting out pained groans and whimpers.When he took another step back, Coral's head whipped to where he was, making him jump. She barred her teeth at him and made some growling-like noise, not something he expected to hear from a squid.Then she tried to get back up, only to fall back down after standing for a few seconds. This would happen every time she tried to stand.Akikta tilted his head in confusion, then noticed her ankle was a bright purplish red color, contrasting heavily with her palish skin. Her muscles must've twisted the wrong way when she threw that last punch.It scared him, really. He didn't expect her to be so strong that her own body couldn't keep up with her strength. Her punches and kicks already hurt like hell, but what if that punch had hit him? She could've broken something. Hell, maybe she already did.Either way, Akikta didn't want to wait to see how long it'd take for Coral to recover, so he went around her and headed back to the center of the main deck.When he arrived, he found Nakji and Inka outside with Marie, who was still in the jar. "What are you guys doing up here?!" He questioned out of exhausted anger rather than concern."The lower decks feel unsafe," Nakji answered hastily."What? You couldn't deal with the rest of Deep Cut?""No, I took care of them. The immobilizer was a great help."Marie butted in. "She cheated with that thing."Akikta spread his arms out. "If you're telling me the only thing that made the lower decks unsafe is dealt with, then why are you here?! What happened to keeping Marie out of sight?!"Nakji turned her head to Inka before replying. "Inka said she saw something down there during our fight." she gave Akikta a serious look. "And I felt something watching us... It was the same as-""Marie!" A voice called out from above. Akikta was so focused on his frustration with Nakji that he didn't realize the helicopter was now above them.Three figures fell in front of them. Metta, that inkling with short hair, and... Callie? Now that he thought about it, the voice calling out Marie's name sounded familiar.Now that she was closer, he could see the agent with the paint roller was indeed Callie. She wore an advanced-looking suit, same as Metta and the inkling agent."Bet you didn't expect this, huh?" Marie snickered. No wonder she was so calm about her kidnapping. She knew the platoon would mobilize to rescue her asap."Inka, stay behind us," Akikta ordered. Inka would listen and hide behind Marie's jar."You're in for it now, thief!" Metta snarled.Before Akikta could reply, another voice boomed from above. "If you know what's good for ya, you'll let our girl go, yo!" This voice was new—and obnoxiously loud.He peered up at the helicopter, barely able to make out the shape of two figures who stood at the open side doors of the helicopter.One was tiny and wore a white sleeveless dress with pink tights. They might've been the one who spoke, but he wasn't sure.The other figure was much taller than the other. Maybe even taller than everyone else aside from himself and Big Man. The only other noticeable feature was their darker skin tone."I'm only gonna say this once!" Callie spoke up; Akikta's attention shifted back to the agents. "Let Marie go!"He turned to Marie, who shrugged her shoulders in response. "I'd listen to her if I were you."Akikta scoffed. He couldn't imagine what type of jail sentence he'd be serving if he went down for this. "I've come this far. No point in turning back now." He balled up his fists again and took a fighting stance. Akikta was incredibly sore and tired from his previous fights, but even so, he couldn't stop now."Fine, then!" Callie raised her yellow paint roller, making Nakji back up."Remember, Cal! This dude is freakishly resistant to ink," Metta warned."Yeah, but is he resistant to a beat down?!" Callie jumped and swung downward, a messy wave of ink being flung outward at the same time. Nakji managed to dodge the splashes and immediately engaged in combat with Metta and the inkling agent.Akikta would catch the roller with both hands, holding it and Callie up in the air. Before he could do anything else, she gripped the roller's handle tightly and swung toward Akikta, kicking him right in the nose.He let go of the roller with a surprised and pained yelp, bumping into Marie's glass jar. "Woo. Get him, Agent 1," Marie said, half-assedly cheering for her cousin with a raised arm.The unenthusiastic cheer actually made Callie fight harder as she attempted to whack Akikta with her paint roller numerous times. Each time he blocked or grabbed her weapon, she'd used the weight of the roller to swing herself to a blind spot of his and strike him hard.He would occasionally ignore the weapon and grab Callie directly, but every time he thought he had her, she'd pull off some baffling maneuver and escape his grasp, hitting him in the process. She even bit him a few times, which was quite painful, given her sharp teeth.Since she was an idol, he expected Callie to be a terrible fighter. His assumption was dead wrong. She fought much better than him. Then again, that wasn't exactly hard to do.Still, even for an agent, she fought a little too well. The same could be said for Metta and the inkling agent. He had little experience with fighting the other inkling, but he remembered Metta being manageable, even for him. However, when he caught glimpses of Nakji's conflict, he saw Metta was outclassing her badly.He then noticed Metta's headphones. The headphones were like the ones on the inkling agent. Even Callie had a pair on over her reflective helmet. Akikta only noted their headphones because the octoling agent didn't have any, nor did the members of Deep Cut. That, and during a few of Callie's strikes, he could hear a faint voice from the other side.He's seen this in a movie before. Someone was telling them how to fight. But who?Before any guesses were made, the loud propellers of the helicopter momentarily interrupted the fight. Now that it was closer to the ship, Akikta could see the figures on the aircraft a little clearer.The short one, which he now identified as an inkling, held a small mic and looked like a little kid. What is a child doing here? He thought, baffled that the New Squidbeak Splatoon would bring a child to the battlefield.Next to the short inkling was a taller octoling with silvery-teal eyes and reddish-pink pupils; like Shiver, the octoling's pupils were in the shape of infinity symbols. Given the slightly revealing attire of this specific octoling, he could tell they were female. Her tentacles were the longest he's seen on an octarian, as they extended down to her waist; They also were a dark shade of purplish-brown with teal edges. Speaking of teal, the tips of her brown fingers were the same color, giving the impression of painted nails, which he found odd since none of them had fingernails.He watched the octoling's lips move. She was speaking, but the small inkling did not react to her words. No one else was close enough to hear her but that child, so who else could she be talking to?He felt a sudden whack in the back of his head by a heavy-ish object. It was Callie with her damn paint roller again. Her audacity to attack him while his attention was elsewhere enraged him.He spun around faster than she expected and quickly jabbed her three times in the face. The third sent her tumbling across the ground."Hey! Don't hit her so hard!" Marie demanded."She's the one with a weapon! Oo- ah." Akikta's sudden attack strained his bruised muscles, causing him to grab at his sides and wince.Marie gave a small 'ha' at his pain. "Serves you right," she commented.Akikta shook his head before looking back at the duo on the helicopter. The small inkling saw what he had done to Callie, their face visibly angry. "You'll pay for that!" They declared while pointing at him.As Akikta felt the urge for that child to shut up, something about their mannerisms reminded him of someone. Wait... His eyes squinted at the inkling and octoling, only now noticing the stylish headphones around the octarian's ears and the large pinkish-crown atop the inkling's head.There was no mistaking it. The two on the helicopter were Off the Hook, another popular group he had recently discovered. If his memory served him correctly, then the inkling was Pearl, the band's hyperactive rapper, who was not a child. And the octoling was Marina, a certified DJ.He didn't expect them to be agents of the platoon. Or were they only affiliated with the group? Regardless, they were here, and Akikta had a pretty good idea who the enemy technocrat was now.Marina had been holding a laptop in front of her this whole time, typing away on it occasionally before her lips would move. He noticed every time she spoke, Metta, the inkling, and Callie would abruptly move and attack in surprising ways.Marina's worried expression also matched the icon that appeared on Inka's glitchy phone. He was thankful no one went for Inka. But at this rate, they'd get clobbered. Something had to be done about Marina.He heard Callie get back up. She attempted to hit him with her paint roller. Instead of blocking, he jumped back and kicked the paint roller, sending it and Callie rolling a short distance away. By now, he figured out that the weapon wasn't heavy to him, but had some weight over Callie, so he used that against her.As she rolled away, the roller bumped over some rope left on the ground from a couple of days ago. Akikta's imaginary lightbulb suddenly lit up.He grabbed the pile of rope and looked to Nakji, who seemed to be just barely holding her own against Metta and the inkling agent. When the two agents were aligned, Akikta football tackled Metta into the other inkling. Both flew off the ship; Metta barely caught the ship's railing, her bow dropping into the waves below. The inkling grabbed onto Metta's leg.With all three inkling agents temporarily dealt with, Akikta held out a hand to Nakji. "Nakji, let me borrow your blade for a minute.""Huh? Alright..." She was confused, but obliged to his request anyway.After handing him the katana, Akikta wrapped the handle of her blade in multiple layers of rope. When he was certain the blade wouldn't slip out from the binds, he looked to the duo."What are you doing?" Nakji questioned."Evening out the playing field." He pitched the katana into the air. It traveled quickly toward Marina's laptop.The octarian, still typing away on her keyboard, had no idea the blade was coming. "MARINA!" Pearl shouted, gaining the attention of Marina at the last second as she shoved the octoling out of the way.A horrid shriek broke the tense atmosphere.Had Pearl not pushed Marina out of the way, the blade would've struck her directly in the head. Unfortunately, she was still too slow to move her fully out the way, so the katana sliced a whole tentacle off Marina. It plopped onto the helicopter floor, wriggling like it was still alive.Pools of teal-ish ink poured from Marina's wound as she cried out in pain and held her head, dropping her laptop on the helicopter floor."Heh, nice shot Aki." Nakji complimented before tugging on the rope, pulling her katana back to her.Akikta was frozen in place. "I...wasn't aiming for her..." He mumbled, horrified that he almost killed someone with his own hands.His target was Marina's laptop, not her. But his aim was bad, horrendous even. He internally thanked Pearl for pushing her bandmate out of harm's way, though maybe he shouldn't thank her yet.After trying to console Marina, Pearl shot a nasty look at Akikta. It was as though the devil himself looked right at him. He jerked backward out of fear, practically feeling the furious aura radiating off the small squid."YOU!" Callie started, attempting to slam her paint roller down on Akikta. Luckily, Nakji stopped it with her blade, barely holding it off. "How could you do that to her!" she yelled, mad on Pearl's behalf.Before Akikta could explain himself, Metta kicked Nakji to the side, followed by the inkling agent hauling off and punching Akikta straight in the face. He fell back roughly, then tried to speak. "Hold on-" Ferocious strikes from all agents interrupted him.They jumped him like a pack of hungry wolves. His bruises got worse as he was beaten, smashed, slammed, stomped, pounded, and even bitten by the three squids. The more Akikta tried to fight back, the worse his beating got. There was basically nothing he could do to stop them.The only bright side to the beat down was Nakji being spared from the worse of it, only getting a taste of the action whenever she tried to save Akikta.Eventually, he was thrown right into Marie's jar, smashing into the glass but somehow not breaking it.Inka kneeled to him. "Are you alright?!" Utter worry was prevalent in her tone. Nakji smashing right into Akikta abruptly interrupted her concerns. Inka helped Nakji get up before he responded."You kiddin'? I could... do this all day..." He jokingly panted, wobbling to his feet for the dozenth time. It was a miracle he could stand without the need of something supporting him. Though, His legs felt like they were on fire, ready to give out at any moment.His muscles ached, his vision blurred, and his clothes were in tatters. He never got whooped so badly before, let alone by creatures he used to eat. Perhaps this was karma for all those times he gorged out at his favorite seafood place.Suddenly, the floor behind the agents dented with a loud smash. The agents backed up, only for something large to burst from beneath the deck. It was Shiver, Big Man, and her large shark, whom she called Master Mega.Nakji gritted her teeth and groaned. "Didn't think she'd recover anytime soon."Akikta looked to his left to see Coral hobbling down the ship deck toward's the group. It seemed her ankle had partially healed to where she could at least walk. That spelled doom for them."Well, hey. You had a good run." Marie said, adding insult to injury.As much as Akikta didn't want to admit it, this seemed like the end of the line. The platoon and their affiliates backed the trio all the into the ship's side rails. There was nowhere to go.Nakji was nearing her limit, and Akikta had reached his a long time ago. Still, he couldn't give up! Not yet. "I didn't come this far... just... TO LOSE!" He shouted defiantly, refusing to give in.Suddenly, the ship rocked hard, causing everyone to stagger. Coral and Callie completely lost their balance.What was that? Akikta thought, not believing his shout caused the whole ship to shake. He looked ahead and noticed something massive blocked out the sun, casting a shadow over everyone.Shiver, Big Man, the agents, and even Master Mega stared up at whatever broke through the waves behind him. In unison, Akikta, Nakji, Inka, and Marie turned around and looked up at what had to be a monster.Seawater poured from the creature's scaly skin as it rose. Chains wrapped around what had to be its neck, jingling, and clanging as they bumped together. Its two large pupilless eyes beamed down at the group below. The beast's spiky-red mohawk vaguely reminded him of the snatcher he had seen days ago."What..." Akikta couldn't even begin to describe what he was seeing. Judging from everyone else's expression and the ensuing silence, they couldn't either. Even the captain looked somewhat fazed.The Manta Maria rocked violently again; This time, something else emerged from the waters on the other side of the ship.This next monster was equal to the first in size. It even had the same pupilless eyes. However, this one was longer and had all types of electronics, lights, and wires trailing across its snake-like body. It was... flying.Both goliaths stared down at the group before shattering the silence with thunderous roars. The fat one's roar was low and monstrous, while the long one's roar had an electronic echo.After their war cries, loud horns blared all throughout the area. Then, many smaller entities of various shapes and sizes started hopping onto the ship.Most looked like battle-hardened versions of the snatcher, with some being bigger than others. The really small ones looked identical to Little Buddy, the only difference being they wore green pants and wielded tiny green spoons. Then there were those that Akikta couldn't find a resemblance in at all. Regardless, he assumed they were salmonids. They had to be, right? They all looked similar... enough.The large fat salmonid jumped high into the air, revealing it had on pants as well. Everyone shouted as they moved out of the behemoth's way, not wanting to be crushed. When it landed, lots of green ink splashed everywhere, similar to how ink splattered everywhere when Coral landed on Akikta and Nakji back at Hammerhead Bridge.Once out of the way, Akikta noticed all the salmonids were attacking only the New Squidbeak Splatoon and their affiliates. Could this be the help Sal was referring to? Akikta had expected him to send human soldiers, but he guessed their existence should still be kept a secret. After all, why send humans when you have all these pets? Well, were they even pets? They were more like military animals.He heard a small shifting noise from his side and turned to see Inka and Marie being taken away by smaller salmonids with propeller hats on their heads. "Akikta!" Inka called out, reaching for him.Akikta was about to grab her, but he also felt himself get picked up by a group of these things. Nakji was also grabbed, but they had to restrain her a little since she fought back.Akikta was too exhausted to put up much of a fight, and besides, if they were with Sal, they were probably bringing them to him.While they were lifted off the Manta Maria and carried away, Marie hurled a flurry of curses at no one in particular and repeatedly banged on the glass of her container, luckily not putting even a scratch on it.Akikta looked back to the ship one last time to see most of the platoon and their affiliates were fighting the oncoming horde of salmonids. Though he didn't wish for them to die, he didn't see them getting out of that situation alive. Especially not after witnessing the long salmonid, who also wore pants, spit out a large green ball that exploded into a gigantic mass of ink once it touched the ground.All Akikta could do was breathe a sigh of relief. He was nearing the end of this painfully long journey. "Don't worry. I'll bring you back soon, Chaska." He said, reminding himself why he put up with any of this to begin with.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The loud sounds of blowing horns and provoked shouting gradually quieted as Akikta and the rest of the group were taken away from the Manta Maria.     After losing sight of the ship, Akikta observed how everyone else handled the situation. Nakji was still defiant, occasionally attempting to wrestle from the salmonids' fins. Inka looked terrified, not daring to move an inch as her wide eyes zipped between Akikta and Nakji. Marie was the same as Nakji, though there wasn't much she could do inside her glass cage.     Eventually, the four were dropped off at a big circular gray platform that stuck out above the ocean's surface.     After releasing them, the salmonids hovered close by, not getting within arm's reach of the group.     Akikta turned to Inka, who instantly grappled onto the platform's railing, trembling. She was more scared than he thought. "Inka, are you alright?" Inka responded by shaking her head quickly. Nakji gently touched her shoulder, concerned for her friend's wellbeing.    He recalled Nakji mentioning salmonids were real dangerous. The salmonids near them right now didn't seem all that bad, but if those bigger salmonids were anything to go by, they must've had a frightening impression on inkling society.     Akikta kneeled to Inka. "Listen, I know these things look scary, but you don't need to be afraid. They won't hurt us." Inka looked at him, still quivering. He'd place a hand on her other shoulder. "I won't let them hurt you."     Inka slowly composed herself, shaking less as a result. Suddenly, she pulled Akikta into a big hug, causing him slight pain. "C-careful. Those agents really messed me up..." She eased up on her hug, only letting go when Marie spoke up.     "You didn't say your boss worked with salmonids." The idol crossed her arms, clearly displeased with the current predicament.     "I'm pretty sure they're his pets. And he's not my boss. He's my friend," Akikta responded sternly.     Nakji turned to him, confusion written all over her face. "Pets?"     He turned to Nakji. "Yeah. They seem well trained."     "Aki... salmonids aren't things you can keep as pets."     "What do you mean? Metta had one."     "I don't know what the deal is with that one, but her situation isn't normal."     "His name is Little Buddy." Marie interrupted with a huff. "And he's a companion. Not a pet."     Akikta saw no difference in what Marie said but chose not to argue. "Pet, companion, whatever. He follows her around like a pet, doesn't he? It could be the same with these-"     "Salmonids are not pets!" Nakji repeated.     "You called them terrifying beasts!" he reminded. "Clearly, they'll listen to whoever tames them."     "They aren't creatures that can be tamed, Aki! What do you not understand about that?" she shook her head. "Yes, I called them beasts. But I never said they weren't intelligent. They don't just mindlessly follow simple commands; they have their own way of life!" Nakji explained.     Akikta was stumped. "Wait. So what you're saying is... they're sentient?"     Marie gave out a slight chuckle. "If you didn't know that, you really must not be from around here."     Akikta looked down, questioning what little he knew about the salmonids and their species. If they weren't pets, then what were they to Sal?     While he was lost in thought, a panel opened up in the middle of the floor, catching everyone's attention.     A long mechanical tendril slithered out. At the end of the tendril was a flashlight-shaped object. It looked at Marie and projected a bright green light that scanned her up and down. She covered her face from the sudden flash of light. After it finished its scan, the light glowed blue before disappearing.     Whatever this thing was, it did the same for the rest of them. However, instead of glowing blue at the end for Akikta, it shined red.     Once everyone was scanned, the mechanical tendril retreated into the hole it came from, with the panel closing behind it.     Then, the platform slowly ascended, taking the group high into the clouds. The propeller hat-wearing salmonids rose with them.     "Look!" Inka pointed below while holding onto the railing for dear life. Nakji and Akikta came over, seeing the platform they were on was the top of a long narrow pole that ran deep beneath the waves.     The next set of events shocked everyone.     Seven enormous structures breached the water's surface; each resembled a nuclear cooling tower with small windows and exterior lights. Six of the towers were positioned in a circular formation, with the seventh and largest tower being in the center of the circle.     All seven towers were connected to an even bigger structure, which appeared to be a gigantic dome.     As seawater washed off the rising megastructure, huge letters became visible on the towers' sides and the dome's top. Akikta was surprised to see the letters were in English.     "Atlantis..." Inka read, catching Akikta and Nakji off-guard.     "You can read that?" Nakji said, clearly unable to. Judging by Marie's facial expression, she couldn't understand what the words said either.     "Oh, I've studied many human languages in my spare time. Sorry... I thought I told you," Inka explained.     "Wait, that's written in a human language?" Nakji questioned; Inka confirmed with a nod. She then turned to Akikta, who gave her a tiny but noticeable nod.     A loud horn broke the quiet atmosphere, startling the group.     After a few seconds, the dome split apart and opened in four directions, revealing two things. One: they were only seeing the smaller top halves of the seven towers. And two: A massive metropolis hid underneath the dome.     Everyone couldn't help but gasp in awe.     Once the dome fully opened, the platform descended, a low mechanical whirring noise being made in the process.     As they went down, Akikta could see the water within the towers being drained out somehow.     When the platform reached its origin point, the railings lowered, making Inka jump.     Akikta peered over the edge, seeing they hadn't even reached the bottom of the metropolis. He couldn't even see the streets, assuming the city had any.     Suddenly, a long bridge extended from the platform into a zigzag line towards the center tower. The salmonids then grabbed Marie's jar and carried her along the path. One of which gestured for Akikta to follow.     He looked to the two girls, who waited for him to take the lead. With a deep breath, he cautiously walked down the metal bridge.     During their trek, Akikta got a nice view of Atlantis. Well, part of it. The place was utterly gigantic. Even at their height, he still couldn't see the whole city.     However, he could see plenty of shops and skyscrapers, as well as the many salmonids in and on them. There were food stores, supermarkets, hospitals, and so much more.     A lot of the buildings looked worn down, being covered in moss and coral. Only a few were in pristine condition. Despite this, all the buildings still seemed functional, considering their working interior and exterior lights.     Like on the outside of the dome and towers, words Akikta could understand were written on various signs and on the sides of skyscrapers.     There was no doubt in his mind now. Sal and his clan were human. That octoling really was trying to lie to him. Then again, there was no way she would've expected Akikta to be human too.     Still, he wondered what Sal and his clan's relations were to the salmonids. Were they partners of some kind? Maybe.     Perhaps the salmonids provided military security, and in exchange for their services, Sal and his people provided them with a home and food. That scenario made the most sense.     But even if the two were partners, it seemed like the salmonids went out of their way to save them, like they were a top priority. Sal was the one to send them, so if he could do that without issue, he must've been pretty high up in his clan- maybe even the leader.     Akikta's thoughts were cut off by a smokey aroma filling his nostrils. The smell wasn't bad, but it certainly was prominent. He sniffed the air, unable to find where it came from, until he looked up. The seven towers were now ejecting rings of red smoke.     Clouds that were once white started matching the smoke's color, and the sky gradually turned from baby blue to murky red.     Akikta focused ahead as the group reached a large circular door of the tower. Big bold words on the door read 'Chain of Command.' He assumed Sal was somewhere in this tower.     He was finally about to meet the man who helped him get this far. Then he'd be able to use this place to track down and restore his brother to who he once was. After that was done, he'd spend the rest of his days with Nakji and Inka.     He was unsure how two cephalopods would mingle and interact with a race they thought was long extinct, but Nakji got along with Akikta well. And so did Inka, even if she didn't know he was human. It'd probably be fine. Besides, Sal and his clan were working alongside a bunch of weird-looking fish people; getting along with a humanoid squid and octopus shouldn't be any more difficult.     Akikta smiled at the thought of his life returning to some form of normalcy.     A red light flashed above the door before it opened sideways, revealing a room of gray colors and blue lights. The salmonids hovered further along, forcing everyone else to speed up.     Akikta followed the salmonids through the tower's halls while Nakji and Inka huddled close together.     As he walked, a few puzzling thoughts came to mind out of the blue.     According to Sal, English was not his native language. If that were true, it made no sense why his clan would utilize the English alphabet. He already knew the salmonids weren't the one's doing the reading.     Ok, sure. Maybe the clan could read English better than they spoke it. But that didn't explain why Sal was comfortable sending Akikta, a child, to abduct Marie. He didn't think about it all that much until now, but he was certain the thing that made him special was his immunity to the new life's ink-based weaponry.     Akikta found it highly unlikely that his species would evolve to be vulnerable against ink. Humans have never gained such a trait from evolution in the millions of years they've walked the Earth, at least, as far as he was aware.     So why couldn't Sal send a trained adult human to get Marie? Or better yet, why not just build machines immune to ink that look and act like the new life to infiltrate and nab her? Both ideas were infinitely better than sending a teenager. Especially if the New Squidbeak Splatoon was in the picture.     And, while Akikta still didn't care all that much, what did Marie do to Sal's clan that was so bad? From what he's seen, her sassy remarks are the worse thing about her.     All these questions made pieces Akikta thought he had put together fall out of place. He'd definitely have Sal clear all of this up when they met.     Eventually, they came across another set of large doors, and more red lights flashed. When it slid open, a dark room filled with salmonids greeted them.     The salmonids holding Marie's jar flew in, forcing the rest of the group to follow. Akikta scrunched up his nose when an intoxicating fishy smell entered his nostrils.     To keep his mind off the smell, he eyed the salmonids in the dark. Like the ones on the Manta Maria, they varied in shape and size. Some were big and fat, wearing overalls. Others were also big, but covered head-to-toe in armor. Or were those hardened scales? It was hard to tell.     All of them lacked legs, unlike Akikta and the cephalopods. They truly looked like overgrown fish with bulging eyes and crooked teeth. And, despite not having legs, they wore green pants.     Akikta spotted a few salmonids in the distance, stacked atop a tower of pots. Then he started noticing most salmonids had some kind of kitchen accessory on them. Pans, spoons, forks... It was strange.     The salmonids stared at the group as if they were a light snack. Inka and Nakji huddled closer to one another, practically hugging themselves. Akikta wasn't as uncomfortable as the girls.     He often ate salmon, so to him, he was staring at an armada of fish that could be prepared and sorted into plenty of signature dishes. The thought of eating these sentient creatures made him slightly salivate. It didn't help that the salmonids held various kitchen-based tools, practically inviting Akikta to come and eat them.     He shook his head, deleting the intrusive thoughts. These salmonids were people, not food. That's what Akikta told himself as the group followed the propeller hat salmonids.     They finally stopped at the center of the dimly lit room, dropping Marie onto a little cart so it was easier to move her around.     Akikta scanned the crowd of salmonids, not seeing any signs of other humans, let alone Sal.     Then, he heard a familiar voice. "Hey, hey! You made it!" Sal called out from the crowd.     Akikta darted his head in the voice's direction, a smile quickly appearing on his face. He couldn't see Sal yet, as the bigger salmonids blocked his line of sight. However, they gradually moved to the side.     As they did, he heard Marie whimper. "N-no..." Akikta turned to her. "It... c-can't be..." She sounded deathly afraid. In addition to her scared tone, her skin paled and her pupils dilated.     Did she recognize Sal's voice like that octoling? No way Marie also had history with him. That seemed like too much of a coincidence. But her reaction looked scarily genuine.     When Marie got kidnapped, she didn't seem the faintest bit afraid, always throwing in a sassy remark or mocking comment here and there. But now, she looked as though her worst nightmare was staring her down, unable to utter words without stuttering.     "Hey, A," Sal said, his voice sounding much closer. Akikta looked ahead, his eyes landing on a pair of black lips. Those lips then parted into a wide smile, revealing what was behind them. Akikta's smile faded away, only to be replaced by a face of shock and horror. "It's nice to finally meet you."     The teen expected Sal to look different in many ways. This was not one of them. "...Sal...?"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"That's me," Sal answered with both arms spread out.     He had a dreadful smile on his face, revealing a row of jagged, sharp yellow teeth.     "Y-you're not..." Akikta stuttered, flabbergasted by Sal's appearance. He wasn't human. No way he could be. He couldn't be a salmonid either. Compared to the others, he was far too... humanoid.     "Like you?" Sal finished for Akikta, lowering his arms. "Maybe not entirely. But I'd say I am. In the ways that matter, anyway."     And which fucking ways are those?! Akikta nearly blurted, unable to see how Sal was anywhere close to being like him.     For one, he was freakishly tall, checking out at seven feet and eight inches. His height, paired with his slightly muscular physique, made Akikta appear and feel that much smaller. Never mind the cephalopods, Sal was a giant compared to them.     His skin was covered in silver-colored fish scales; hints of bluish-green spots dotted all around his body. The only parts of Sal that weren't silver were his partially visible stomach and his lips, the former being a light shade of pink, while the latter was pitch black, making it seem like he was wearing lipstick.     Sal also had ears and a nose. While his nose resembled a human's, his ears were unlike Akikta's or the cephalopods'. They were fin-like, round, curved, and without holes.     Akikta didn't think anything could be odder than the inklings and octolings. They could at least pass for a human if you squinted. Even Captain Claw and the other sea creatures looked somewhat normal, as they were just anthropomorphic animals. But Sal? Sal was an anomaly.     He was neither an animal with human traits, nor something mimicking the likeness of humans. It was like some freak scientist took a human, a salmonid, and various other creatures, then rolled them up into one big entity. Sal looked unnatural.     Akikta jolted when Sal unexpectedly approached him. With each step he took, a soft thump followed. Akikta looked down to see the sound was caused by Sal's five webbed talons tapping against the hard floor.     When Sal stopped moving, Akikta looked back up to see he had stuck out a clawed hand for him to shake. His hands were also webbed.     It was creepy how Sal's smile never once faltered. "I hope my appearance doesn't disturb you."     As much as Akikta wanted to say it did, he held back any potentially offensive comments and reluctantly shook Sal's hand. "N-no. It doesn't." He lied, forever glad that his mask concealed his true emotions.     After their awkward handshake, Sal turned to the side, showing Akikta the long fishlike tail that protruded from his tailbone. The caudal fin at the tip was colored orange, same as the large dorsal fin he now saw sticking out on Sal's back.     His clothes did a poor job concealing both fins; Then again, what was his get-up anyway? It didn't match what the other salmonids wore at all.     He looked more like a biker with his unzipped black leathery jacket and pants. Said pants were torn near the bottom, so they didn't go past his knees. Black spiky collar bands were wrapped around his neck, wrists, and ankles, matching the biker aesthetic.     Akikta watched as Sal moved to Marie's jar, gently pressing a clawed finger on the glass. "I told you I'd get you one day, Ikayaki." He said with a low chuckle, dragging his finger down the glass to make an irritating ear-grating sound. "And this time, dear ol' Cuttlefish won't be saving you."     Marie didn't dare look at Sal. Instead, she sat away from him with hands covering her face and her eyes shut tight. Tears dribbled down her cheeks as she cried softly.     Well, now there was no doubt in Akikta's mind that Sal and Marie met at least once before. The real question was: just what on Earth did he do to her in the past? And who was Cuttlefish?     Before he could ask, Sal stopped scraping Marie's jar and spun around to face Akikta and the girls. "I gotta say A, I'm impressed. You did in days what I couldn't in years. That deserves a celebration. But first, we have something important to do."     "Hold on, hold on." Akikta stopped. "This... This is all happening too fast! I want answers!" He exclaimed, causing Sal to blink and stare. To avoid the awkward silence that set in, Akikta focused on Sal's beaming red eyes.     It was strange how his sclera was green instead of white. The greenness of Sal's eyes highlighted his red pupils, which Akikta could've mistaken for miniature spotlights. Additionally, like Nakji, thin-black markings covered Sal's eyes, except he had four wiggly lines on the outer ends instead of a single dash.     "If you're confused, that's fine. I'll answer any question you have on the way." Sal said, breaking the silence with assurance before grabbing the cart's handle.     "On the way where?" Akikta questioned.     Sal side-eyed the teen, his lips giving a small smile. "You'll see." He then gestured at the other salmonids, who quickly made a path for the group to leave. Once a path was cleared, Sal walked ahead of them with Marie in tow.     Akikta turned to see confused and nervous faces on Inka and Nakji. He couldn't help but also be a little anxious. Still, he came this far—no point in being scared now.     Akikta and the cephalopods hurried along, quickly following behind Sal. Eventually, they exited the tower onto a wide bridge that was on a higher level of Atlantis. They walked in a straight line to another tower.     As they did, Sal spoke. "So, what did you wanna know, A?"     "What are you?" Akikta immediately questioned.     This whole time, he had believed Sal to be a descendant of humans. It was shocking to find out his assumption was wrong. Though, in hindsight, he shouldn't have been surprised. There were plenty of signs that screamed Sal wasn't human from the start. Akikta just wanted to desperately believe he was one...     "Well, I'm a salmonid, of course!" He proudly answered, earning perplexed glares from Nakji and Inka. Akikta looked over in the distance, seeing more of those propeller hat salmonids and snatchers flying around from building to building.     It was hard to believe Sal was a salmonid, especially since the only thing he had in common with them was the orange spartan mohawk he had for hair.     Was that even hair? It wasn't fuzzy like Akikta's, but rather smooth like an inkling's or octoling's. Though it couldn't have been tentacles, there were no suction cups on it.     While Sal's answer seemed unbelievable, Akikta didn't completely disregard it. If the Manta Maria situation told him anything, it was that the salmonid race had dozens of subspecies. So it wasn't unreasonable for Sal to be part one he's yet to see. Still, if that were the case, Sal was being incredibly vague on which kind of salmonid he was.     Akikta looked over his shoulder at Nakji and Inka. An octoling and inkling... one a humanoid octopus, the other a humanoid squid... Sal was a humanoid salmon, so that could only mean...     "Ah, so you're a Salmonling?" He turned back to Sal, who laughed exaggeratingly.     His laugh stopped, abruptly. "Don't call me that." He said, his usually upbeat tone shifting to a serious one.     It spooked Akikta a little, but not enough to where he kept quiet. "Come on. You must be a Salmonling. What else could you be?"     "Salmonlings don't exist."     "You do."     Sal stopped and looked at Akikta, causing everyone to halt in their tracks. He could feel slight annoyance radiating off Sal, clearly not the biggest fan of being called a salmonling.     Akikta felt his throat get dry as an uncomfortably long moment of silence passed. "I guess I can see why you'd think that," Sal finally spoke, turning to face forward. "But I wasn't always like this." He resumed his walk; so did everyone else.     "What does that mean?" Sal paused, then laughed. Akikta missed what made his question so funny.     "It's a long story, so I'll skip to the end. When I was a little smallfry, I got separated from my tribe during our migration." Akikta lowered his gaze, feeling bad for Sal. He could sympathize with the loss of family. "I spent years searching for my clan. I never found them, but I did find something better... Atlantis." He stretched out an arm to present the metropolis. It was certainly a sight to behold, even if it wasn't in tip-top shape.     "I'm not sure how it happened, but this place changed me for the better. I'm stronger, faster, smarter, and tougher than the rest of my people!" Sal gloated, then turned to face Akikta.     The teen tilted his head. "So what? You were turned into... whatever you are now?" Sal nodded. "I don't understand, how?"     "Like I said, I don't really know. It was such a long time ago; it all becomes a blur after a while..." Sal looked down, deep in thought.     After a moment, his head shot back up with a loud clap of his hands, making Inka jump. "Well, no need to dwell on the details!" He continued dragging Marie's cart across the metal bridge.     Akikta adjusted his mask. "So... salmonids. Quite an... interesting society you guys have."     "Interesting? Ha! Maybe to the brainless." Sal scoffed.     Akikta's face scrunched into a disapproving look. "I wouldn't put down your people like that."     "A, let me tell you something. I may share the same species with them, but they are nothing like you and me." Sal said, looking over at a group of salmonids who were on top of a building, doing what appeared to be construction work.     "As useful as they are, they're ass-backwards. I mean, can you believe they didn't even have proper names before I came along? They referred to themselves by titles!" Sal complained. "The Grand Golden Twin Serpent of Wise, Calculating Launcher of Doom, The Valiant Green Flame Born in Jigokudani. Ridiculous!" He insulted.     "Until I came into the picture, this clan was as bright as an inkling. And if you couldn't already tell..." Sal looked back at Inka before leaning in towards Akikta's ear. "They're not as bright as they make themselves out to be," He whispered.     So far, Sal was making a poor first impression. Akikta had forgiven the fact he wasn't human since he never did state he was one. However, the disrespect he showed towards his own kind was unadmirable. Then he had the nerve to insult Inka's people!     But Akikta played it cool. It wasn't his place to tell someone how to feel about others.     "So, just like how Atlantis improved me, I improved the clan," Sal stated, only for them to stop at a tower's doors. The lights above the doors flashed red, and Akikta saw the dried-out words 'Superiority Complex.'     "It's a shame they haven't figured out how to operate most of Atlantis's facilities. But I guess I can't blame them. Human-made structures are beyond this world's comprehension." Sal added, giving Akikta the confirmation he wanted.     "So, this place was built by humans."     Sal nodded. "Apparently, the humans built this magnificent structure to survive something they called 'The Grand Disaster.' I assume that's what wiped out most of your species thousands of years ago."     Akikta immediately knew what Sal was referencing. At the same time, Inka's expression became shocked, as if she had pieced something together. However, she remained silent.     "The Grand Disaster was described as a terrible calamity. You were there, weren't you?" Sal questioned.     Akikta shook his head. "That's... a little before my time. My grandfather lived through it, but he never talked about it much." He replied, recounting the times he's pestered Father Axe about what the surface was like before and during the series of events that made Earth inhospitable.     Back then, Akikta never thought too deeply about it, but it must've been a traumatizing experience for his grandfather. Whenever he asked about it, he probably reminded Father Axe of the horrors that came with it. If Akikta could go back in time, he'd never ask again.     "I see. That's a shame. The logs here don't go into too much detail about it. Was hoping I could hear from a source with firsthand knowledge. Oh well." Sal cleared his throat before leading the group into the tower.     The inside of the tower was much different from the last one. It wasn't dimly lit, but it wasn't all too bright either.     Large platforms settled on different elevations of the tower; on those platforms were empty gray pods, closely resembling Akikta's cryopod, though not quite matching. The white walls were also lined with these empty pods.     They trekked on a wide catwalk that spread out into other sections. Akikta looked the tower up and down. The further up he looked, the whiter the walls got, with no ceiling in sight. In contrast, when he looked down, there was nothing but a bottomless black abyss.     "The Atlanteans have always fascinated me," Sal said, snapping Akikta out of his sightseeing. "When the disaster hit, many of your people thought it best to build shelters and wait it out. Some of you even chose to abandon the planet entirely. But not the Atlanteans. No, they thought the best way to avoid the disaster was to live amongst it." He explained, leaving Akikta amazed at human ingenuity.     The humans who built Atlantis must've had a pair of steel balls on them. Never in a million years would Alterna's careful scientists suggest something so bold and crazy. From the looks of things, the Atlantean's idea wasn't unfeasible either.     But if that's how they survived the disaster, then where were they? Akikta hadn't seen a single human thus far. "If humans built all this, where are they?"     "Dead," Sal answered bluntly.     The sounds of Akikta's boots clanking against the metal catwalk suddenly ceased, causing Sal to look at him over his shoulder.     His smooth orange brows curled softly. "Ah, I should've told you..." Sal turned to Akikta. "The Atlanteans perished ages ago. Something about water getting in and drowning the residents."     Akikta remained quiet for a moment, then looked up at Sal. "Let me guess, the logs say so...?"     Sal nodded earnestly. He then turned back around and led the group further into the tower. "When I stumbled upon Atlantis, it was vacant. Not to mention much worse than it appears now. It's tragic what happened to them. But on the bright side, all their technology survived! ...Kinda." He added.     Akikta balled his fists, not out of anger, but rather sadness. He had been holding out on the fact that some humans aside from himself and his brother survived. Unfortunately, fate had other plans.     Everyone remained silent until they entered another area of the tower, this one being grayer in appearance, possibly due to the scarce lighting. More pods were on the walls, other platforms, and even on a now visible ceiling. Salmonids were also present, though far fewer than before.     "I know things didn't turn out how we would've liked, but you know what? Everything is all right now." Sal comforted, patting Akikta's back. "You and me, A, we were called to this place for a reason."     Akikta perked up. "We were?"     "Yes." Sal stopped moving Marie's cart as they walked onto a giant triangular platform. He approached a large pillar that extended from the platform into the ceiling. The base of the pillar opened, revealing a terminal that Sal began typing on.     "I have two dreams in life. One of them has just been fulfilled. The other? Well, that dream takes two."     Akikta looked around, waiting for Sal to finish. "And what exactly is that second dream of yours?" he inquired.     Sal stopped typing to look at Akikta. "For the Apex Predators to sit at the top."     Akikta stood there, a bit puzzled by his word choice. "What do you mean?"     Sal smiled before his typing resumed. "You see, A. This world isn't big enough for multiple species to dominate it. If you ask me, it should belong to a single Apex Predator. One who could do as they please, whenever they want, without the worry of implications or consequences... one who is at the very top of the food chain."     Akikta raised an eyebrow. I sense a 'but' coming on...     "But you see, there's just one teeny tiny incy wincy little problem." He pointed to Nakji and Inka. "Them." his tone became serious again.     Akikta looked between Inka and Nakji. "The cephalopods?"     "Yes, the cephalopods." Sal continued typing.     Marie finally started calming down from the overwhelming fear that took hold of her, albeit slowly.     "This world is plagued with hedonistic inklings and kiss-assing octarians, to name a few. And don't even get me started on those horrific tunes they call music."     Nakji frowned upon hearing Sal's comment, squinting her eyes at him. Akikta wanted to disagree with Sal on the last bit, but he figured now wasn't the time.     "For far too long, they've reigned supreme, mimicking the true apex predators. It sickens me. And to make matters worse, they've started hunting our people en mass! Interrupting our great migrations, which I might add, is necessary for our survival! And for what? A few golden eggs that they don't even know what to do with?!" Sal slammed the terminal out of anger, though somehow it remained undamaged. He turned to Akikta, an irate expression on his face.     Sal calmed down before standing up straight. "I'll admit, they're tougher than I initially thought." He huffed. "Those snobby workers at Grizzco have impeded my efforts. Even when we invade their cities, they persevere through anything thrown at them! I've gone so far as to allow a trade agreement with those dirty octarians in Inkadia. But not even that has been enough to give us the edge we need." Sal ranted, only for a smirk to form on his lips. "But with you... that can change."     Akikta raised an eyebrow. "How?"     Sal chuckled eerily before pressing a button on the terminal. The place lit up a little more, and the pods reacted by softly glowing white. "You must be wondering why I've gone through so much trouble to help you. Well, here's your answer: I've been searching for your kind," He revealed, walking over to the platform's edge. His tail gently slapped Marie's glass jar as he strode by.     "During their time, the Atlanteans piloted Atlantis everywhere and documented their findings. In doing so, they discovered they weren't the only survivors of this Grand Disaster."     Sal placed his hands behind his back. "When I was certain no Atlanteans had survived their downfall, I used Atlantis's navigational data to travel to many places of key interest. There was a lot, but they all led to nowhere! Honestly, I thought I'd hit the jackpot with Aether and Asyl, but they were just a graveyard of bones. That wreckage those cephalopods went on and on about was also a dead-end. What did they call it again? Ark Polaris, I think..." Sal monologues.     It was news to Akikta that Atlantis survived alongside Alterna; now he was learning there were more! Aether? Asyl? Ark Polaris? What were those places? And just how many human settlements were there?!     "I nearly gave up on my efforts... but then, there was Alterna." Akikta reeled himself back to the present, seeing Sal staring at him over his shoulder. "Out of all the settlements I visited, yours was the hardest to find. I almost didn't believe it existed." He turned around, now facing the group. "But, after eavesdropping on some transmissions from our dear old group of agents, I ended up finding exactly where it was. I sent a team, but never heard back from them. After that, well. The rest is history."     Sal's explanation cleared up a few things for Akikta, but at the same time, it left far more blanks. "That still doesn't answer how I'll change anything. I mean, come on, man. Look at what those agents did to me! I'm a mess!"     "True, they gave you a rough time. But you're immune to their weapons."     "But I ain't immune to their ass whoopings!"     "If I'm correct, you're still considered a child amongst your kind, right?"     "Well, I mean... Yeah. So what?"     Sal smiled. "Don't you think you'd be able to tear them to shreds once you've reached maturity?"     "I mean, I don't know. Maybe? Either way, that doesn't matter! I can't kill all of them. And even if I could, I wouldn't! I don't want to be a killer!"     "You don't have to be. I'm not forcing you."     "Not forcing me? You had me kidnap a celebrity!" Akikta raised his voice a bit, pointing at Marie.     "Listen, if it were up to me, I would've brought you straight here."     "I thought you were the leader of this joint?"     "I am, but..." Sal scratched his chin. "As to not complicate things, let's just say this clan has recently changed how their leadership works."     Akikta tilted his head. "Changed how?"     Sal held up seven fingers. "Before I came along, this clan had seven chieftains. Or were they called warmasters? Anyway, most of them didn't particularly like me. Luckily, the wiser of them saw my potential and knew my worth. So, after many long years of clawing my way through the ranks, I became this tribe's sole ruler." Sal explained, gradually dropping all but one finger.     Akikta crossed his arms. "Interesting story, but that still doesn't explain why you didn't bring me straight here."     Sal placed a hand on his hips. "Well, the thing is, my position is fairly new. The clan is still iffy about a whole lot of what I've got planned. So much so, they wouldn't accept me bringing in an outsider. Not after what happened last time..." he shook his head, also crossing his arms to match Akikta's posture. "So to prove you wouldn't weigh us down, I had you do something the rest of us couldn't, and you did!"     Akikta was piecing it together now. Kidnapping Marie was not only a favor, but a test as well. A dangerous one at that. "Yeah, barely! Actually, while we're on the subject, what the hell did she do that was so bad anyway?"     Sal looked at Marie. By now, she was fully aware of her surroundings, and gazing back at him with a small but defiant glare.     He chuckled before shrugging his arms. "Oh, she didn't do anything."     Akikta silently stared at Sal for a few seconds, repeating what he said in his head a few times before realizing that's what Sal actually said.     "WHAT!?" Akikta's shout echoed throughout the area, gaining the attention of the salmonids within the vicinity. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING?!"     Sal raised his arms defensively. "I might've exaggerated a tiny bit about Ikayaki. Since she's well known, I knew she'd be a perfect challenge."     Akikta wanted to strangle Sal for all the pain he put him through. But he held back, forcing himself to calm down.     After breathing in and out a few times, Akikta spoke. "Y'know what, fine. Whatever. Just... if she isn't guilty of anything, why did you have me get her out of, like, all the  other celebrities?"     A grin appeared on Sal's face once again; for some reason, this one seemed oddly sinister. "Well, I did say I'd give you an all-you-can-eat calamari dinner, didn't I?"     A shiver traveled through Akikta's spine, and Marie's expression switched from defiant to fearful.     Maybe once, he had seen these people as food, but not anymore. He couldn't stomach the thought of eating an inkling. They were close enough to being human that Akikta viewed eating them as cannibalism.     "W-what? You- we can't eat her! That's wrong!"     "How?"     "They're sentient!"     "We're sentient too, but they eat us anyway." Sal rebutted.     Akikta couldn't refute that claim. Assuming the ways of the animal kingdom didn't change, then it was quite possible these creatures still ate each other despite now being sentient. Even if he could refute the claim, he'd be a massive hypocrite, considering he salivated over cooked salmonids literally minutes ago.     At this point, he just didn't want Marie to get eaten alive. "W-wait! Why specifically her? There's a whole race of them! You could've gotten me to get any one of them!" He stammered, attempting to discourage Sal from eating the green inkling.     "True, but you see, not all of them have low-tide ink."     "Low-tide what?"     "Low-tide ink." He repeated. "An exquisite but unfortunately rare trait some of these cephalopods have. It makes them taste absolutely...delicious." Sal growled, or was that his stomach? Either way, Akikta could see drool forming at the base of his black lips.     Sal quickly wiped his mouth before continuing. "I've only ever had one. They're so hard to come by, and... Well, the truth is, I've been after little Ikayaki here for a long time." He tapped the top of Marie's jar. "I've enjoyed our games of predator and prey, but I say it's time to face the music."     Akikta's eyes kept darting between Sal and Marie, only for him to let out a heavy sigh. There wasn't anything he could do to change her fate. And to be honest, he wasn't all that motivated to change it. Why would he go against Sal? That seemed like a death wish. Still, Akikta wished he had known what Sal had planned for Marie sooner. Otherwise, he would've made up some excuse on why he couldn't kidnap her.     "I'm not going to eat her."     "Oh? Shame. Well, more for me." Sal turned around.     Akikta looked around again, thinking about Marie's dire situation optimistically. "You know those agents will probably bust in here any minute to save her, right?"     Another chuckle escaped Sal. "Unlikely, I sent a Cohozuna and a Horrorboros to deal with their platoon."     "A what and a what?"     "King Salmonids." He reiterated. "The mightiest warriors one could ask for. Those squidbeaks won't beat two of them. The Grizzco employees can rarely beat one, and they're trained to fight us salmonids." Sal shrugged. "Besides, even if by some miracle they do, they won't stop what's coming."     Sal's statement left Akikta concerned. "What's coming?"     "You."     Akikta's concern turned into confusion. "I don't think I follow."     Sal turned. "I mean, literally, you. A whole lotta of you."    His disturbing clarification left Akikta bewildered. "What are you..." He looked around at the pods, seeing they glowed from white to red. "Hold on." Akikta looked at the terminal's screen, noticing a sentence of coherent words stringed together across its display. It was asking for DNA. He continued looking around, spotting various tubes, wires, and contraptions. Then it hit him.    This wasn't a massive cryo-chamber. This was a cloning facility.     "That's your plan? You're just gonna make a clone army of me to eradicate those cephalopods?"     Sal nodded with a smile. "Pretty much."     Well, at least it made sense why he needed Akikta. Or, more specifically, a human.     "You couldn't figure out a different alternative?"     "I've tried all alternatives."     "Like?"     "Tried recreating a version of me with other members of my clan. Though, turns out I have no idea what made me to begin with."     "Why not clone yourself, then?"     "Don't be silly, A. There's only room in this world for one of me. Besides, if I did, my clan would never be able to tell who the original is." He answered with a slight chortle.     "At one point in time, I thought I'd be unable to use this facility. So I was going to make an army out of my kin. But as fate would have it, most of my genes aren't compatible with other salmonids."     Some salmonids came onto the platform during the conversation. A few stood behind Inka and Nakji.     "A, back when the mammalians ruled this world, your kind hunted all types of creatures—ones I couldn't even fathom. You hunted my people's ancient enemy, for ring's sake! You are the real apex, not them." Sal placed both his hands on Akikta's shoulders. "It has to be you, A." He declared, putting his hands behind his back again.     "Don't worry, the process will be painless... as far as I'm aware, anyway." He said unconvincingly, though that wasn't what worried Akikta.     The teen felt uncomfortable with the fact that versions of him would be used to genocide two entire species, maybe even more if Sal hungered for conquest.     "Then what? You gonna rule the world after?"    "Rule the world? No, that sounds like too much work. I simply wish for people like us to be at the top of the food chain. Not imitators."     "Sal, I think that's going a little too far."     "Oh, but those cephalopods unjustifiably attacking us aren't?"     "I didn't say that! It's just..."     "It's just what?"     "We don't have to eradicate them! We could coexist and be friends!"     "There is no such thing as being friends with a meal." Sal gently grasped Akikta's shoulder. "You might think I'm harsh on their kind. But it's just the circle of life."     Even when under the mask, Sal seemed to tell Akikta was saddened by his true motives.     "Come on, A. They're not like you and me. Think of it as natural selection... If it makes you feel any better, their kind will be around for at least the next few decades. Maybe as livestock for their betters, but they'll still be here." He whispered, somehow making the teen feel a little better.     Akikta's head lowered, avoiding eye contact with Sal. "Just... Don't hurt Nakji and Inka, please."     Sal smiled. "Not a tentacle of theirs will be touched. You have my word."     He stood up straight again and clapped his hands together. "Now then, time for-"     "Wait." Akikta interrupted. "My brother." He looked up at Sal. "We go help my brother first. Then you can clone me."     Sal's face froze, and his tail stopped swaying, making Akikta become more alert. "What?"     A brief moment of silence passed before Sal exhaled slowly. "Right... Your brother. You said he was, uh, what was it again?"     "Turned into a monster. And I need you to turn him back!"     Sal put his hands together. "Well, you know A, I really do appreciate all you've done for me. But uh... well... do you really need your brother back?"     Akikta's posture straightened out. Suddenly, it no longer felt like a group of squids mauled him an hour ago. "What... Are you saying...?"     "What I'm saying is, I'm not really sure if any of Atlantis's facilities can undo what was done. Assuming your brother was changed on a molecular level, anyway." Akikta took a step back. "I mean, think about it, A! You'll have thousands- no, millions of more brothers! All who'll look exactly like you. They may even think like you, too! That's a whole lot better, isn't it?"     Silence followed behind Sal's words. "A?" Sal reached out to Akikta, only for him to back away.     "You... You used me..." Akikta mumbled.     "Used you? No, no! I didn't use you. I merely... borrowed your extremely unique talents!" Sal said cheerily to downplay the severity of the situation, baffling Akikta further.     He had clung to whom he thought was a human for support since the first moment they spoke to each other. Akikta desperately believed in Sal's intentions moreso than he believed in Nakji at one point.     All the pain he endured, the grimy shit he had to put up with, all the enemies he made, he did it all for a promise.     A promise that wouldn't be kept.     "You... lied to me..." Akikta's voice cracked, his eyes looking back at the ground. He wondered if he had been on the wrong side this whole time.     "A-aki?" Nakji murmured, concerned.     Akikta began hyperventilating; As a result, he became dizzy. The beats of his heart grew faster and louder, drowning out whoever else tried to speak to him.     "You..." His shaky hands raised to his face, clutching tightly into fists. Akikta's trust for Sal ran deep, or rather, used to. Now that trust was replaced with unrivaled wrath.     "YOU LIED TO ME!" Akikta lunged at Sal, tackling him off the platform.     "AKI!" Nakji screamed, attempting to jump with them, but was held back by the other salmonids.     Akikta threw a few rage-filled punches into Sal's face during their fall before they crashed onto a circular platform that had no pods.     The impact separated them from each other momentarily, but Akikta quickly got up and charged Sal, seeing nothing but red. "I TRUSTED YOU!" He swung an uncalculated strike, and Sal dodged by backstepping away. "I BELIEVED IN YOU!" He threw another punch, this one being caught by Sal. "I PUT MY LIFE ON THE LINE FOR YOU, AND YOU USED TO ME!" Akikta swung his other fist, and Sal caught that too.     "A! Calm down and listen to me!"     "I'M NOT LISTENING TO YOU ANYMORE, YOU SLIMY BACKSTABBING BASTARD!" Sal's teeth gritted before he raised the screaming boy to his level. Akikta then harshly kicked his chest, being dropped right after.     Once free, Akikta threw more wild punches at Sal, though he didn't seem to react much, if at all.     "Stop and listen for a second, A!" He backhanded Akikta, sending him tumbling across the platform with a hard roll.     Akikta was disoriented from the strike, so he didn't recover immediately.     "You're dying, A!" Sal announced.     "Y-yeah, let me guess... You're gonna kill me, is that right?!" Akikta assumed, with Sal shaking his head.     "You're dying as we speak!" He elaborated, which made the teen freeze.     Akikta was still furious with Sal, obviously. But something told him Sal wasn't saying this to distract him. "What do you mean...?"     Sal sighed. "I wanted to deal with it quietly, but since you're getting so jumpy, I might as well tell you now." He took a step forward. "Are you aware you're infected?"     Akikta sat up, confused. "Infected?"     Sal solemnly nodded. "You're being eaten alive from the inside. By parasites." Though Sal couldn't see, Akikta's face completely paled at the news. "I'm sure you've noticed it by now. The system scanned you on your way in. They've been gnawing at you for a while now."     As much as Akikta wanted to chalk it up to Sal lying again, he knew it was the truth. His stomach aches, chest pains, fits of coughing... that didn't just come from nowhere. But how? How did he...     That crab! It was after he ate that damn claw! That's when he started feeling discomfort. How could he have been so stupid? That claw was way too big for him to have overcooked it in such a short amount of time. It was probably undercooked... How did he not notice?     No, more importantly, how far along were the parasites? It's only been a week! They shouldn't have done this much damage to his body, but the symptoms he experienced told a different story.     "How far along are they..." Although Akikta didn't want to ask that question, he had to know.     "Pretty far. They're already giving some of your organs a little taste." Akikta felt his heart drop at Sal's response.     Iso Padre was right; he should've been frightened by his own appetite. He wouldn't be in this situation were it not for his hunger.     "But that's fine! You'll be fine. We have facilities here that can treat you in no time. Just give me your DNA, and we can go cure you right now."     Sal extended a hand to Akikta, only for the teen to slap it away. "Once you clone me, you'll kill me anyway!" He guessed, standing up to his feet and backing away from Sal.     "I know I may have lied to you about a few things, A. But this is not one of them. I promise." Akikta turned away from Sal, not wanting to look him in the face. "There's few I see as equals, let alone as friends. But you're one of them, A-"     "My name is Akikta." He cut off, only for Sal to shake his head.     "You don't have a lot of time left! If you're not treated soon, you'll be dead by this time... tomorrow."     Akikta hesitated. Were they eating him that fast?     He didn't want to die; he just woke up! His grandfather's efforts would've been for nothing if he died now! And Chaska... he still needed to save his brother! But he couldn't possibly side with Sal. He'd be dooming Inka and Nakji's people if he did.     Akikta looked over his shoulder at Sal, his hand once again out for him to take. "I can help you, A. Just... just take my hand..." He pleaded, waiting for Akikta to take it.     Everything seemed to quiet down, with only the soft hums from the pods making noise. Akikta turned to face Sal, looking down at the man's hand.     Sal was the reason he made it this far. Had it not been for him, Akikta wouldn't have had much desire to leave Alterna, nor would he have been able to befriend Nakji and Inka. Akikta would be without hope were it not for Sal...     But, at the same time, Sal was the one who put him through this makeshift Hell. He lied and manipulated him. Akikta got innocent people hurt, killed even. And plenty more blood would be on his hands if he allowed himself to be cloned.     His people have already caused themselves and countless other species to go extinct. He would not let them be the culprit behind the new life's end.     "I'd rather die than trust you again," Akikta said sternly, staring at Sal. He wished he had listened to that octoling sooner.     Sal's hand gradually closed before his arm lowered. His happy demeanor fell away into a blank expression. "So...you can't see through to my way of thinking either, huh?"     Akikta took a step back. "No, Sal. I cannot."     Sal chuckled somberly.     "Just so you know, Akikta, my comrades call me Sal. My name is Eosalmo. But you?"     His horrid smile returned as he stood up straight, casting a shadow over a somewhat defiant Akikta while exposing his sharp teeth. Sal's claws extended and his chest puffed out, making him appear bigger than before.     "You can call me Lord Sake.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Hail! Hail! Hail! Hail!" The surrounding Salmonids chanted as their lord took an offensive stance.     It was here that Akikta questioned why a fish had claws. Even if it was a mutant, it was unrealistic. Then again, his lineup of enemies has been unrealistic thus far. There was the ink monster he called brother, an overgrown pirate crab, and those absurdly strong cephalopods. Sal shouldn't be much worse than those, right?     That's what Akikta told himself to get hyped for the battle, but things took a turn for the worse when he suddenly felt his legs give out on him. He tumbled to the floor, barely catching himself. Dammit! Not now!     Akikta grumbled as Sal shook his head in a disapproving manner. "Tsk, tsk. Can't even stand on your own two feet. It pains me to see you like this, Akikta." He taunted, only to suddenly kick Akikta across the platform. The teen painfully yelped as he rolled across the little arena.     The salmonids cheered at Sal's attack, whereas Nakji kept shouting profanities that were drowned out by the crowd.     Akikta groaned as his body throbbed with pain. He wasn't in any position to fight Sal. Those agents had taken a lot out of him; Embers and sparks were all he had left in the tank.     But if that's all he had left to give, then so be it.     "Come on, Akikta. Don't make this harder than it needs to be! Just give me your DNA." Sal yelled as he approached him.     "No!" Akikta yelled back. "I won't let you kill those people!"     Sal bared his teeth, snarling in agitation. "Why do you care what happens to them? Those creatures don't care about you! They only care about themselves!"     Akikta scoffed. "You're one to talk! You used me to get what you wanted!" He shouted, standing with a slight wobble. "And you're wrong. They do care about me. In fact, one of them is my sister!"     Sal suddenly stopped in his tracks, only to burst out laughing. "Sister? Please, don't say something so ridiculous! They're nothing like us."     "Stop saying that! There is no us!" Akikta pointed. "You and I are nothing alike!"     "Wrong. We are both apex predators of the highest order. We have more in common than you realize."     "No, we don't!" Akikta dashed and punched Sal directly in the stomach, using every ounce of strength he could muster. He then looked up, seeing his punch had no effect.     "You may be an apex, but you're still just a child," Sal commented before grabbing Akikta by the throat, raising him to his level, which started choking the teen. "That's what makes you weak." Sal's grip tightened, causing his nails to dig into Akikta's neck.     Akikta tried to pry Sal's hand off with no success, the pricking sensation growing worse by the second. "Go ahead then... kill me!" he choked out, figuring death was better than allowing Sal to achieve his goal.     "Kill you? I don't want to kill you. But you're making things very difficult." He brought Akikta closer to his face. "My patience for you hasn't run out. Listen to reason and join me already!" Sal's grip loosened, allowing Akikta to speak.     Before he responded, the spiky collar around Sal's neck slipped down a little, revealing a pair of gills. There were four slits on each side of his neck, with a large scar being gauged across the set on the left side.     "I already told you... IT'S NOT HAPPENING!" Akikta yanked Sal's collar off with one hand, then dug his fingers into the scarred slits with the other. Immediately, Sal roared and tossed him away. Akikta braced for impact, slamming into the platform and rolling across the ground.     He stopped himself midway through the roll, then looked up to see Sal holding his neck, coughing violently. "Dammit, Akikta! Why are you so stubborn? Don't you see we both could live the good life? Why throw it all away for these cephalopods!?"     There was a pause in the fight as Sal recovered. Akikta took this time to think of a response.     Honestly, why didn't he join Sal? Was it because the man wouldn't save his brother? Because he was manipulated and lied to? Because he almost died multiple times? All of those would be valid reasons to deny helping Sal.     However, one thing stuck out to Akikta that made him despise Sal more than he did before. "Because you're not telling me the truth!" He replied as he got up. "You say this is just the circle of life, but really, it's genocide." He exclaimed, making Sal fall silent. "That isn't right, and you know it! You can't just kill billions!"     "How is it wrong? Those cephalopods are killing millions of us! Your people killed billions, did they not?"     "Yeah, and you see where that got us, don't you?!" Akikta pointed out. "We failed to understand that taking life... it's wrong!"     Sal's fishtail slapped the ground. "Don't give me that! When you hunted prey, was that not you taking life?"     "There's a difference! The people I knew only took life because it was necessary for our survival. You take it to satisfy your ego!" Akikta looked around, stretching his arms. "You say you want apex predators to be at the top, but the truth is, you want to be at the top because you can't stand the fact that there are people out there better than you!" Sal frowned.     Wanting Apex Predators to be at the top? Yeah, that was a load of bull. Sal's word choice and endgame made little sense if it were true. Why eradicate just the cephalopods at that point? There were far more dangerous marine life out there aside from them.     No, Sal had some personal vendetta against the inklings and octolings. Maybe he disliked the fact they mimicked the creatures he looks up to? Or maybe he was envious that their people were greater than his? At this point, who knows. Sal was too deceitful to take anything he said at face value. All Akikta knew was that taking life needlessly was not only selfish, but evil.     "My people brought about the end on themselves. They... we were too ambitious." He looked down, accidentally reminding himself of what happened in Alterna. Akikta quickly snapped out of it. Now wasn't the time to feel bad. "It's one thing to backstab me; It's another to kill hundreds of thousands when you don't need to!" Akikta balled his hands into fists. "All life is precious... so I won't let you take it away from them!"     Sal's scales fluttered as he gritted his teeth. "Fine then. Have it your way. Perhaps your clones will accept my offer instead!" He charged, closing the gap between them faster than Akikta expected.     Sal diagonally swiped at him. Akikta barely ducked under the attack. Before he could swipe again, the teen jabbed him right in the crotch. Sal let out a muffled wince, clearly holding back a pained yell. "That was a low blow!" He said through closed teeth, recovering from the attack much quicker than Akikta thought was possible for a man.     Before he could scram, Sal pulled back his hood and grabbed him by the braids, yanking him upward. Akikta screamed as immense pain pelted his scalp. Then Sal punched him in the chest. Instantly, blood ejected from Akikta's mouth. Some of it got past the cylinder translator and through his mask's mouth hole, getting on Sal's cheek.     Afterward, Akikta was tossed yet again, except this time, he had difficulty getting back up. Damn... I thought Coral punched hard... If he didn't have any broken bones or fractures before, he was sure he did now.     Akikta looked over to see Sal licking the blood off his cheek. His tongue was long, orange, and slimy. "I always wondered what human flesh tasted like." A crooked smile formed on his face. "After I'm done with you, I'll have an answer." He said sinisterly.     "Like hell I'll let you eat me!" Akikta shouted defiantly. Unfortunately, when he tried to stand up, a tightening pain made him vomit liters of blood. So much so, the translator fell out of his mouth. Akikta heaved, feeling himself get lightheaded.     After catching his breath, he put the translator back on his mouth, noticing nothing had obstructed his face that entire time.     Akikta looked over, realizing his mask had fallen off when he was thrown. It was right next to Sal's foot.     Sal followed Akikta's gaze, his own landing on the mask. He looked back at the teen, smirking.     Akikta's face widened in fear. "D-don't!" he pleaded, reaching his hand out to the mask.     "Consider this the end of our partnership." Sal declared, gripping the mask with his talons. Then, with one hard slam, he smashed it into splinters. The wood chunks made a loud crack-like noise as the mask broke apart; Akikta's body suddenly went numb.     He became incredibly weak, as if his very spirit just shattered. "No..." he croaked, his voice barely a whisper. Akikta's eyes stuck to the broken mask. Memories of his grandfather filled his vision as his surroundings became hazy. The salmonids' chants cut off into silence. Even the red lights seemed to fade. It was like he couldn't process reality anymore.     Meanwhile, the three girls on the triangular platform witnessed everything that happened.     Marie, who had been confused by the duo's back and forth, was stunned when Akikta's mask came off. When she saw his hood get flipped off, his hair reminded her of those fuzzy octolings back at Alterna; so she assumed that's what he was until his face was exposed.     Inka had grown pale in the face, more so than she already was. Watching the fight made her queasy, especially when Akikta started vomiting blood.     For Nakji, she had been trying to wrestle out of the salmonids' grasp ever since the fight started. She hated seeing Akikta getting hurt.     Once Sal broke Akikta's mask, Nakji hurled into a fit of rage. With a shout, she finally managed to break free from the salmonids, only to kill them instantly with a single slash. They popped like balloons.     Before more salmonids could rush and grab her, she jumped off the platform towards Sal.     She swung downward once she got close enough, attempting to slash him in half vertically. Unfortunately for her, Sal blocked the attack with his arm. Nakji's blade tore right through the arm of his leather jacket, but his scales proved incredibly durable.     "Ugh, you agai-" Sal started to complain, only to be shut up quickly with a swift kick to the face. He staggered back, allowing Nakji to drop on top of the broken wood chunks.     After regaining his balance, Sal stood with a hand over his mouth. Greenish-red blood dripped from between his fingers as he grunted in pain. Nakji must've made him clamp down on his tongue when she kicked him.     She thought about what to do next while his attention was elsewhere. The urge to go for a killing blow tempted her, but after finding out her blade couldn't pierce his scales, she knew she couldn't take him on alone.     Her only concern, for now, was getting Akikta out of harm's way.     Nakji bent down, swiping up as many pieces of wood as she could before dashing away from Sal.     The salmonid looked up to see what she was doing. At first, he was confused. Then Nakji tackled Akikta off the platform, making Sal's eyes widen. "NO!" He shouted, but it was too late.     Nakji held Akikta tightly as they fell into the abyss, disappearing.     An unknown amount of time passed before Akikta came back to the land of the living. His eyes opened to a blank canvas of darkness. He wasn't where he last remembered being; The only thing he could recall was Sal tossing him. Did he fall? He must've... wait, what about Nakji and Inka?!     Akikta immediately sat up, then a sharp pain shot throughout his body, mainly through his hip and chest. When the pain subsided, a terrible soreness caused his muscles to ache and pulse. On the bright side, the pain told him he wasn't dead... not yet, anyway.     Akikta held himself with an exhausted groan before eyeing his surroundings. The place had minimal lighting, barely illuminating much of anything. However, he could see mountains of trash everywhere. In fact, he was on top of one. Surprisingly, there was no foul smell.     How far did he fall? The dim lights of the Superiority Complex were nowhere in sight, and these trash piles were sky high. The garbage must've luckily softened his landing. Otherwise, he'd be a stain on the floor right now.     Akikta grabbed his head, trying to remember how he lost his balance and fell. Everything after being tossed was a blur. How did he lose focus during such an important battle in the first place?     He gently rubbed the bridge of his nose with two fingers, only for the sensation to make him jump. Hesitantly, Akikta felt his face a little longer, then abrupt memories came back to him. Now he remembered why he lost focus—Sal destroyed the last thing left of his grandfather.     Akikta felt like breaking into tears. He was angry, livid even. But he was also sad. And the worse part? He had no one to blame but himself. If he had listened to that octoling, trusted Nakji's skepticism, or at the very least, used a modicum of common sense, he wouldn't be down in the dumps... literally. Guess Nakji can say she told him so.     Wait, Nakji and Inka are still up there! At least, that's what Akikta thought until he heard a soft, pained moan in the distance. He looked down from atop his trash pile and saw a small silhouette nestled amongst the garbage. Akikta's eyes squinted. The silhouette was... Nakji!     "Nakji!" He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the aches and pains he felt. After carefully sliding down his trash pile, he limped over to Nakji, only to fall right next to her.     He sat up and took her into his arms. Her skin was cold. "Nakji? Nakji, wake up." He gently shook her, which didn't seem to do anything. "Please, Nakji..." He pleaded. She remained unresponsive. Tears welled up in his eyes, only for him to let out a weak whimper.     Suddenly, Nakji's eyes opened, as if she heard his cry. "Aki...?" she mumbled. It was exactly like back at the Deepsea Metro, except this time was worse. Way worse.     With a pained gasp, he pulled Nakji in close, hugging her tightly with every bit of strength he had left. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He stammered, tears streaming down his face. "I-I should've listened to you. I should've-"     "It's ok! It's ok..." she assured, patting his back while returning the tight hug. Akikta sat there for a minute, bawling his eyes into Nakji's shoulder.     For a second, he thought he lost her... He couldn't stop crying.     After he calmed down, she spoke. "Why didn't you tell me...?"     Her question left him confused. "What?" He pulled back, breaking the hug.     "You said you weren't dying..."     Oh. Akikta had forgotten Sal revealed what was going on with him.     "I... I didn't know I was at the time." Akikta avoided eye contact with Nakji. "The symptoms got worse when we were on the ship. I knew it was bad then, but I didn't think it was that bad..." He felt Nakji's eyes drilling holes into him, but that didn't stop him from continuing. "I didn't mean to lie to you, Nakji. I just didn't want you to worry..."     A soft hand landed on his cheek, only for his head to forcefully turn and face Nakji—the two locked eyes. "Please, Aki. No more secrets..." She didn't sound mad like he expected. Just concerned, like a true sibling.     "No more secrets." He repeated, a smile spreading across his face. Nakji returned the smile before pulling her hand away from his face.     It was nice to know that even if he didn't have his blood-related family, he still had Nakji and Inka.     ...     Wait a minute. "W-where's Inka?" Nakji's smile disappeared. She didn't respond verbally. Instead, she gazed upward. That told him all he needed to know.     "We have to go back for-" He stood up quickly. A bit too quickly. Akikta grabbed his sides, huffing and grunting in pain.     "Aki, I want to go back too...but look at us," Nakji commented while searching for her katana amongst the pile of trash.     As much as he wanted to disagree with her, she was right. They were in no shape to fight Sal, let alone the whole clan of salmonids. They'd be handing themselves over, and by proxy, the entire world on a silver platter if they went back now.     Akikta looked up, wondering how long they'd been out for. It probably wouldn't be long until Sal sent those propeller hat salmonids or snatchers to look for them. "We have to get out of here." He said, Nakji agreeing with a nod before finding her katana.     "We'll hide out and come up with a plan to save Inka... Marie, too." He began limping away from the trash piles, only for Nakji to sheathe her blade and help him walk.     "What about you?" She asked, referring to the parasites.     Akikta wasn't sure if Sal was being truthful when he said he'd be dead by tomorrow evening. Knowing Sal's deceitful nature, he wasn't even sure if parasites were what was really killing him. What he did know was that something was causing him internal pain and making him weaker by the day. He didn't want to take any chances.     "Sal said he could cure me... Atlantis has to have something that can help." He huffed, out of breath due to the pain. "After that's dealt with, we can save Inka, Marie, my brother..." He groaned, leaning onto Nakji for support.     Part of that plan was banking on the probability that Sal wasn't lying. Atlantis was enormous, so there had to be something that could save Akikta.     "And then?" Nakji questioned, figuring Akikta had more to say.     "Then... I'm gonna kill the lord of the salmonids."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A short time passed after Nakji escaped with Akikta, leaving Sal to stare at the abyss from one of many catwalks.

As he waited patiently, two Cohocks beside him grumbled to each other.
     The tip of Sal's tongue had healed during the wait, but his bruised ego did not. The fact that an octarian actually hurt him and got away with it caused an itch he couldn't easily scratch.
     Sal's stomach growled loudly as he wrapped the collar Akikta had yanked off back around his neck.
     Soon after, two Chums came up to Sal, respectfully bowing before handing him a large bowl full of squirming shrimp. It took both of them to hold it, but Sal was able to hold it with one hand. The chums bowed once more before leaving him.
     Normally, Sal would cook whatever he planned to eat, but the unscratchable itch paired with the short wait starved him. He could wait no longer.
     "Where are they..." He mumbled while greedily devouring handfuls of shrimp at the time. His lip smacks and loud chewing disturbed the peace, with squeals from the shrimp contributing.
     Sal stopped eating once he saw a group of Chinooks slowly rise from the darkness. He shoved the bowl of shrimp into one of the cohock's grasp.
     While he wasn't looking, the cohock attempted to eat some shrimp, only for the other to slap them out its fin.
     Sal's black lips curled into a smile when the chinooks reached his level. "Tell me you found them!" He said eagerly, only for most of the chinooks to nervously divert their gaze from him. The rest looked down, shame in their eyes. "You didn't..." His smile took an awkward shape as it grew a bit wider.
     Sal let out a nervous chuckle before waving his hand. "Go." He ordered, and the chinooks flew away.
      He'd walk along the catwalk into a different area of the tower, with the two cohocks following close behind. A hand covered his mouth while the other rested on his hip. He almost freaked out, but if the chinooks couldn't find Akikta, that had to mean he moved. Which also meant he was still alive, fortunately for him.
     Though, the problem now was catching Akikta while he was still alive. After all, the clock was running out of time for him.
     As he walked, a small circular platform descended to his level. It was completely detached from the other catwalks and platforms, hovering like an Octarian UFO. "L-lord..." A scratchy voice called out nervously.
     Sal looked up to see Clod, another king salmonid. Clod was unlike the two he had sent out earlier; As far as king salmonids go, he was on the smaller side, being a mere fifteen feet tall. "What?" He answered, annoyed.
     "I apologize for the interruption... but we have a situation..." Clod informed, moving up his binocular-like goggles to reveal his green pupilless eyes.
     "Oh, what gave you that idea, Clod?" Sal barked, continuing down the catwalk.
     Clod's platform followed from the side. "I understand things didn't go well with the human, my lord, but it isn't about that... It's worse."
     "What could possibly be worse than this?!"
     "Our forces at the Manta Maria have been... vanquished."
     Sal stopped in his tracks. "What?"
     "Their assault has stopped, and they are not responding to our transmissions."
     "None of them? Not even the kings?"
     Clod shook his head solemnly while readjusting the brown straps on his waist. "Scouts have already spotted the ship heading this way."
     The sudden information caused Sal to jolt out of shock. He was aware at least some members of the New Squidbeak Splatoon knew of his existence, but he thought them to be a cautious bunch. Coming straight here immediately after a salmonid attack? Were they crazy... or did they have something he didn't know about?
     Either way, Atlantis had no exterior defense systems. There was only one thing they could do. "Well, submerge us then!" Sal demanded.
     "The mechanisms haven't recuperated yet! Another immediate submersion might cause irreparable damage." Clod exclaimed worriedly.
     "How long do the gears need then?"
     "At least another hour..."
     "The ship will have reached us by then!" Sal shouted before angrily kicking the catwalk's railing, causing a piece of it to break and fall. He'd then roughly take another handful of shrimp and stuff them in his mouth, nearly making the cohock drop the bowl.
     Sal couldn't believe this was happening to him right now. Not only was he that close to ridding himself of those awful inklings and octarians, but now the New Squidbeak Splatoon would be right on his doorstep any minute! Things just kept getting worse and worse.
     After giving their circumstance some thought, Sal started to calm down. "You know what? This is fine. We'll have the advantage if they come to us," He reasoned with himself, nodding in satisfaction.
     "T-there's more, my lord..." There was slight hesitance in Clod's voice. The king salmonid flinched when Sal's head snapped towards him. "Before we lost contact with our forces, they reported being attacked by... something."
     Sal stood up straight. "What do you mean something?"
     "The way they described it was...questionable." Clod readjusted his goggles. "Whatever it was, it wasn't part of the Splatoon... I doubt it was even a mollusk."
     Sal's problems continued piling onto each other. First Akikta, then the platoon, and now this unknown assailant. What was next?
     Actually, before any of that, he needed to find a way to track Akikta. This all was meaningless without the human. But how would he be able to find him? Most of the clan could barely operate Atlantis's systems, let alone read its words; So cameras were out of the equation.
     Right as Sal pondered how to handle his main concern, he spotted Clod's radio hanging from his waist. He thought for a few moments before extending an open hand out to Clod. "Give me your radio," he ordered.
     Clod hurriedly unhooked his radio and handed it to Sal.
     "Put all sectors on high alert. I want Akikta brought to me immediately!"
     "Akikta?"
     "THE HUMAN!" Sal yelled, making Clod jump.
     "Yes, lord, of course." Clod nodded repeatedly, making up for his dumb question. "And what about them?" He pointed a fin towards a jar.
     While one cohock held Sal's bowl full of shrimp, the other dragged along the jar containing Marie, now joined by Inka. "Take them to Sector Eden. But don't cook either of them until I say so."
     Clod nodded before placing the jar onto his platform with some help from the cohock. The king salmonid then hurried off, leaving Sal with the cohocks.
     Sal left the Superiority Complex, returning to the Chain of Command tower. He'd send the two cohocks off before heading up a flight of steps to a room adjacent to the gladiator chamber.
     The round door slid apart, opening up to a dark room. "Masu, Huchen. Wake up!" Sal hollered. Two heads popped up from the darkness, followed by two pairs of footsteps approaching Sal.
     The first pair was heavy and clanky; The second pair wasn't as metallic sounding, but still equally as heavy.
     Two figures gradually emerged from the darkness. The first to appear was Masu. She was a slender girl, though it was hard to tell due to her being clad in metal armor. A stinger mask obscured most of her face, with only her right red eye being visible. Regardless, Sal could tell she was groggy.
     Appearing beside Masu was Huchen, her older brother. He wasn't clad in heavy metal armor like her, but he was covered from head to toe. Even his face was concealed by a hockey mask.
     "Things have gone south," Sal revealed, snapping Masu from her groggy state.
     "How bad is it?" She questioned, her tone waspish and crude.
     "The human has rejected our clan and escaped into The Bowels. And that group of agents is right on our doorstep."
     "Group of agents? You mean the Squidbeaks?"
     "Yes, the Squidbeaks. The ones I warned you about..." He replied, not being as aggressive as he was with Clod.
     "The time has finally come for you to prove yourselves to the clan." Sal patted their heads, their reddish-orange hair squishing beneath his claws. When he lifted his hands, their hairs formed back into the style of a Steel Eel's mohawk.
     "Take this." He handed Huchen a handheld radio. "Use it to track down the human. Bring him back to me, alive." Huchen nodded. "Remember all your training, for your destinies will be decided once this is all over."
     Masu looked at her brother. "Smoke of Seven Rings," she started.
     Huchen looked back. "Eat... or Be Devoured." he finished, his voice low and muffled due to the mask.
     Sal smiled, knowing the Steel Twins' recited oath meant they'd accomplish the mission given to them through any means necessary, even if it meant death. "Now go, my enforcers. The clan's hopes and dreams rest on your shoulders." He pointed outward, and the twins walked passed him, their matching capes flowing with determination.
     "We'll get it done," Masu called out. "Anything for you, Father."