Constantine felt ecstatic. Giddy even, for today was the day in which all his planning, all his efforts of designing and building would finally pay off. Only 4 weeks ago did construction officially begin on his project, but the jellyfish workers employed by Grizzco proved to be ridiculously more efficient than the eel had anticipated.
There were bumps in the road of course, budget concerns and an initial lack of resources chief among them, but while Jade spent her time gallivanting around in the salmonids territory— while Grizz directed his legions in search of the mutant—, Constantine was allowed to do as he pleased, guiding the glossy little workers toward completion of his project. His very own Harvester.
Of course, it was only a prototype at the moment. Many details still needed to be ironed out before the machine could reach its full potential, but the mere fact that the team had been able to finish its very robust skeleton in such a short amount of time was nothing short of satisfying for Constantine. With a job well done, it was time for the next step.
It was time to begin the experiment.
With fins behind his back and a focused expression on his snout, Constantine overlooked the humongous machine from where he stood. There wasn't much to its crude appearance: a wide glass dome with a sliding lid on top, supported by a quartet of short steel pillars that sprung from a gunmetal base comprised of panels and bricks. Rows of monitors and consoles flanked the main dome, and cables hung from the dark ceiling, with crane-like claws and hooks jutting out from the tips of each and every one of them.
Constantine turned to one of his colleagues, a satisfied smirk gracing his features. "Let us begin, shall we? Bring in the first one!"
With the press of a button, the machine whirred to life. [rows] of hooks hanging from the ceiling began to move, sliding in and out of the room until one holding a plastic bag stopped right above the dome. The bag opened and out slid a single salmonid, falling right into the dome. Confused and disoriented, it lay there for moments.
The lid sealed shut soon after. With the subject now in place, all Constantine had to do was start up the procedure, and with a single pull of a lever the machine instantly got to work.
A dozen tendrils suddenly sprung from small orifices littered around the dome, all latching onto the helpless salmonid in an instant and binding it in place. Constantine almost wanted to laugh at the poor thing; did it really believe that it's manic squirming would do it any good?
The salmonid squirmed and cried out in pain as it's body was wracked by jolts of electricity sent from the tendrils. Greenish liquid began to flow through the tubes within the tendrils, squeezing the salmonid out of every drop of blood its body could hold and weakening it further. It's thrashing subsided, and as the machine drained more and more blood the salmonid's body deteriorated.
"S-sir, the subject's destabilizing!" One of the scientists warned, "Maybe we should—!"
"Hold that thought! I must see this procedure through!" Constantine cut off with a raised finger, his gaze never leaving the decaying animal. If it looked as healthy as it could be before, now the salmonid appeared no better than a decrepit fish on its last days.
The salmonid continued it's squirming and spazzing until it suddenly collapsed, it's body reduced to a puddle of ink in an instant, and with it's death the tubes fell to the ground in turn. The blood within them began to leak all over the dome's surface.
Like wildfire, hushed murmurs echoed across the room, its chorus of voices all filled with disbelief and disappointment at what had just transpired. Constantine himself only croaked out a huff of frustration, and he stepped closer to the dome to inspect the remains of his former subject.
"No no, this will not do…" The eel surmised, putting a fin to its chin, "If our would-be guest dies before she can produce anything, the machine is as good as useless."
He glanced at a glass capsule placed near a monitor left of the dome. The tubes have done their job well enough, he could see most of the salmonid's blood sloshing about inside the canister. But that's all there was; No hint of any golden egg having formed within, or even a simple power egg.
Constantine shook his head. A dead patient with no egg to show for it's struggle might as well count as a failure. His machine still needed some adjustments..
Then again, first drafts rarely— if ever— work properly.
"It seems we must make a few changes around here, gentlemen. Martin, see if you can adjust the output of the tubes' electrical shocks. Lehran, rearrange the settings on the splicing chamber, we need it at maximum capacity if we want to start making eggs around here. Boey, would you mind redoing the calculations for the harvester's startup sequence? We might need to iron out a few more kinks on this thing.."
Just like that, Constantine continued to call out orders and suggestions to his colleagues all the while pacing from one corner of the room to another and observing every nook and cranny of the machine along the way. His subordinates got to work, either tapping away at their keyboards or tidying up panels and pieces of the machine at a time.
"The harvester is nearly ready, sir. Our engineers are making the last few adjustments left," One of the scientists informed, walking up to the eel.
"Excellent. This next test should go off without a hitch, if everything functions as intended," Constantine praised with a smile.
"Sir.. are you sure this is going to work?" The scientist asked, her tone laced with nervousness.
"It must. We wouldn't want to get fired now, would we?"
He spun around to face the machine once more, an icy glare etched onto his face. Indeed, everything appeared in working order just like the previous test; The blueprints he designed were impeccable after all. But whether or not the machine functioned was not the question concerning Constantine, no.
It was a matter of whether there was a salmonid that could survive the procedure or not. With a nearly theatrical sweeping wave of his hand, Constantine issued his next command.
"Bring in the next one!"
The sunny glow of noontime had graced Inkopolis, and by then Khal and Yzel had arrived at the doorstep to an orange apartment. They had both mellowed out considerably after several minutes on the road; Yzel was back to his usual self soon enough, and though Khal still held a lingering feeling of dread in his heart, his friend's laid-back presence helped him calm him down enough to push it toward the back of his mind. Those eccentric cops along with whatever kinds of danger they could both face were gone. For now at least.
Yzel approached the front door in a leisurely banner, the soles of his shoes sliding against the pavement and his posture slightly hunched. He rang the alarm once and lay waiting, with Khal positioning himself right behind him.
"You've still got your backpack, right?" Yzel asked, sparing a glance at the shorter inkling. Khal nodded and proceeded to sling his backpack from his shoulders and onto Yzel's waiting hands.
"So.. what is this place?" Khal asked tentatively, looking over the slightly tall building.
"Oh yeah, you haven't been here before. This is Salem's place," Yzel replied, giving an over the shoulder glance at a wall. "Huh, didn't notice it was orange until now."
"It looks nice!" Khal complimented as he took a couple of steps back to get a better look at the building. "Really tall too…"
He turned his sights toward Yzel once more, "Hey Yzel, what's your house like?"
Yzel's lips formed a thin frown.
It was a simple, curious question. Nothing more than a topic of conversation they could use to pass the time, yet as soon as the words came out Yzel's demeanor changed in an instant. His posture stiffened, his expression looked as if he had been suddenly splashed with a cold bucketful of ink, and for several seconds words would not leave him.
"M-my, uh.. my house?"
Khal nodded, seemingly ignorant of his friend's changed mood. "How does it look?"
"Well, um… it's.. I—"
"After ringing my bell, the least you could do is greet me."
They both perked up at the sound of the new voice, and turned to see Salem tapping his foot impatiently by the door. How long had he been standing there?
"W-well! I can't really greet you when you're as quiet as a mouse, can I?" Yzel quipped in turn, slipping on his easygoing face once more.
"I suppose not.. do you have it with you?" Salem proceeded, his voice gradually lowering to a volume hardly above a whisper.
"The pronoun makes it confusing but sure," Yzel answered in a similarly hushed tone before handing the backpack to Salem. "Have a look."
The blue-colored inkling unzipped the top of the backpack and peeked inside. Sure enough, a smallfry lay within, sleeping soundly. Gently, he slotted his hands in and pulled the infant salmonid out of the bag, careful to keep it close to his chest.
"Huh, you actually found it all on your own. Color me surprised," Salem admitted as he continued to look the infant over.
"Actually, Khal did most of the heavy lifting this time. You should thank him."
"Is that so?" Salem asked, sparing a glance at the orange-haired inkboy who stood a few meters away, still by the car's side. He merely gave a sheepish laugh and a wave in response.
"I suggest you hide that car somewhere, just to be safe," Salem added once he noticed the vehicle parked right outside the porch.
Just as he was in the midst of turning around and heading back inside, however, Yzel caught Salem by the shoulder and whipped him back around toward himself.
"What, not even gonna say hello?" Yzel taunted with
"Hello. I'm busy, can't talk right now. Goodbye," Salem responded all at once, and without skipping a beat he turned around again and entered the apartment, Smallfry in hand. The last thing Yzel saw was a lazy wave from Salem before he was out of sight.
"That was odd.. What's his problem?" Khal asked as he walked closer to Yzel's side.
"Being a mind reader would come very handy right about now…"
Salem sighed, his posture slouching as he walked up the stairs. He wasn't in the mood to strike up a conversation, for as harmless as it would've been. He had things to do; a cure to make and a child to keep somewhere that wasn't out in the open, for one. Still, holding the infant salmonid in his hands brought no shortage of relief to his lethargic limbs. Surely Jade will be overjoyed at this as well.
He still did not know why the smallfry was of such importance to the girl, but... he supposed he could ask her that in a moment, seeing as how they had scheduled to meet in his home today in order to run some blood tests.
And how she was currently lounging about in his own couch as he entered his room and closed the door.
He stopped his approach to glare at her sprawled out form. Had she seriously not moved from that spot after he went outside? How surprisingly lax of her. This wasn't her home, the only reason she could even stay here was because he allowed it. The least Jade could do was behave herself instead of acting like she owned the place!
Especially when it's her own life that is at risk of being irreparably ruptured..
"I'd like you to sit up straight right now. And to stop drooling on the couch."
Jade only gave a slurred whine in response, but she still did as told and readjusted herself. Salem could see hints of grogginess in her swaying posture, however.
"Is it noon already? I kind of nodded off…" Jade asked tiredly, putting a gloved hand to her forehead.
"Ya think?" Salem snarked with a roll of his eyes. "I figured you'd be more alert, seeing as how it's your health we're dealing with here."
"Oh c'mon, a girls' gotta relax sometimes. I'd rather not get stressed, thank you very much," Jade defended, rubbing her temples for a few moments to soothe her head.
It was only once she fully regained her bearings that she noticed the salmonid held in the inkling boy's arms. Instantly, her mouth formed a wide smile, and in a flash Jade snatched the smallfry from Salem's arms.
"Skipfin!" Jade cheered as she held the smallfry close to her cheek. "Thank gosh you're alright! I was so worried when I woke up and didn't see you in my room!"
"Please don't let him wander off again, I'd rather not have you freaking out on me a second time," Salem bemoaned, turning his gaze away from the girl.
"Right, sorry. It won't happen again! Hopefully…" She assured him with a nervous grin.
Salem could only shake his head as he moved toward his desk and sat down. If that was meant to reassure him, then Jade did a very poor job at it.
Salem looked back to find Jade continuing to coddle the smallfry in her arms. The sight made him ponder on such a strange bond Jade's found with that thing; Salem supposed that interaction with the creatures was a given, seeing as how he sent Jade to their den in the first place. Partnering up with them —even for a short time— was bound to happen as well, and probably made for a powerful alliance if the stories he heard of a Grizzco shift gone awry due to Jade's presence are any indication.
Yet the notion of Jade going out of her way to befriend a salmonid somehow never crossed his mind. It was ridiculous— potentially dangerous, even for her— and Jade still went ahead and did it. He could not think of why, or what she had to gain for it; it was a stupid move and yet Salem found himself far too intrigued to not ask Jade about that.
He turned his attention back to the equipment on his desk, however. Even if he felt curious, now was not the time to indulge in his silly questions. For now, business took priority over curiosity.
And that business was figuring out just how was he going to create a cure for this annoying mutation.
He took a look at the glass vial placed onto the stage of his small microscope and adjusted the lens through which he could look inside, all in an effort to better observe its contents. He could see the myriad of particles and blood cells that flowed within Jade's blood, and there were no odd effects or changes he could spot, either. For better or worse, it looked to be completely unchanged from when he observed it yesterday.
Which probably meant that the recipe for a cure he came up with did nothing at all.
Salem sighed wistfully, already reaching for the notes that lay on the right corner of his desk. He took the small sheets of paper in his hands and promptly tore them to pieces, a mask of frustration slipping onto Salem's face. Only an idiot would believe the first draft would be successful, but even with this failure Salem at least expected to learn something—anything that could bring him closer to figuring out a method to reversing the mutation.
But it looked as if he had taken no step forward, learned no clue that could lead him to the answer he seeked. And that brought no more than a sour mood and a slap to the face.
Already, Salem had taken another sheet out of his trusty notepad and began writing on it whatever idea entered his mind.
His pointed ears picked up on the sounds of approaching footsteps, and a sideways glance confirmed who it belonged to: Jade was now beside him in a crouched position, peering over the paper clutched in his hand curiously.
"Do you mind?" Salem asked, halting any movement of his hand as he gave Jade a look of annoyance.
"Aw, don't be such a sourpuss. I'm just curious," Jade pouted playfully.
"There's nothing of note here. Just random ideas that probably won't work," Salem explained, looking down at the paper once more, his orange eyes skimming over the few words he's written so far.
"What were you thinking of, anyway?"
"Well, since your mutation was the result of salmonid ink mixing with the inkling ink in your own blood, I figured that one way we could cure it was by reversing that process. If I could somehow split apart the salmonid ink from the inkling ink and eliminate it, then maybe that would put an end to the transformations. You'd be fully inkling again."
"That doesn't sound too bad," Jade affirmed as she mulled it over. "But it almost sounds too easy to be true."
"No kidding," Salem added. "I don't even know where to start. I've already tried coming up with one formula and that failed, who knows how many failures I'll have to go through before I find a solution that works? Or if I can even do anything before it's too late.."
First drafts rarely— if ever— work out. Failure was to be expected, if Salem were honest with himself. but by the Great Zapfish did those failures not inspire any sort of confidence in his heart..
"Sheesh, you sound as if it's your life that's on the line. Not everything is hopeless."
Salem's eyes narrowed as he spoke, "And you sound awfully lax about this, considering it's your life that's at stake."
"And? I know that I'm in danger, I don't need any constant reminders about it every day."
"Then stop fooling around and at the very least try taking care of yourself."
The shrug he received as a response only aggravated Salem further, something he expressed by way of an aggravated huff. This girl… this airheaded, reckless, fickle girl. How dare she display such a nonchalant attitude toward all of this?! Every minute, her body grew closer and closer to completing a total metamorphosis that would prove irreversible past a certain point and would leave her a freak of nature, and all she could think to do was to gallivant around and lounge on his own abode without a care in the world, all while mingling with one of the creatures that caused her mutation in the first place!
It almost gave Salem the desire to slam his head against the desk, or to dump all his work onto Jade's lap and leave her to figure things out for herself.
"Nothing but trouble.." He muttered off-handedly. Having written nothing of use on his notepad, Salem turned his attention toward the microscope once more, and intently observed the sample of mutated ink on it.
He never noticed the hurt look on Jade's face upon saying the words out loud.
For as much as he analyzed and tried to figure out the ink's properties, however, Salem remained stumped on how he was supposed to reverse this. 'Split the salmonid half of her blood from the inkling half'… what was he thinking? To even come up with a plan for such an action would require extensive knowledge on genetics and whatnot, and he'd have to be a master chemist if he had any hope of creating a potion that could cure the mutation.
Constantine was the expert on matters such as these, not him. Perhaps they could make progress if he were here.. if he bothered to talk to him. Salem didn't know why, but the new job he spoke of had been keeping him far busier than usual, and the inkling boy could only wonder as to what the reason could be. His busy schedule was not what bothered him; only that he was uncharacteristically silent. Were they not on good terms anymore?
He could only look away from the microscope and rub the temples of his forehead, fatigue already settling in his nerves.
He felt a touch on his shoulder again, and glanced behind him to see Jade once more, pursed lips and relaxed brows displaying a mix of bemusement and concern.
"Maybe it's time you took a break?" Jade suggested in a playful manner.
"Not when I've yet to make any progress," Salem brushed off.
Jade grabbed his right wrist before he could make any more movements.
"Nuh-uh, If you're gonna scold me the least you could do is follow your own advice."
"We can't afford to waste time, not when we don't know exactly how long it'll take for your mutation to become permanent."
"Going for lunch isn't wasting time you dummy. You've been doing this all morning, any more time spent cooped up in here and I'm sure you'll fall over at the drop of a hat," Jade argued with exasperation.
She wasn't exactly wrong in her jab toward him. Salem was feeling burnt out after looking over the sample ad-nauseum, and even if he hated to admit it he did feel a pang in his stomach that would only go away with a good snack.
"Fair enough," he relented as he stood up from his seat. "But I'd prefer it if we made it quick though, just to be safe."
Jade merely rolled her eyes at that, and soon enough the pair of inklings were off into the streets.
Lunch came and went without much fanfare, but it at least allowed the pair of inklings more time with one another. It was an uneventful but ultimately pleasant experience, and at the very least they weren't faced with some out-of-nowhere problem to divert their attention to. Jade took the opportunity to make a trip to her home apartment, and upon arriving at her doorstep, the inklings were surprised to find a box lying on the floor, complete with an attached note.
"What's that?" Salem asked as he observed the box from where he stood near the door.
"Weird. I never ordered anything.." Jade said with confusion as she gingerly picked up the small box in her hands. The pair promptly entered Jade's room. She set the box down again and plucked the stickied note from its wooden surface, and with Salem by her side she read it aloud.
'A little gift to help you with shifting blues. Wear it under your regular clothes.
-Lena'
"Who's Lena?" Salem asked with a glance at Jade.
"Khal's mom. We met a little while ago, and I.. sorta spilled my secret to her?"
"Of course you did," Salem sighed as he facepalmed.
Upon opening the box, both inklings were puzzled to find various pieces of clothing inside, all sharing a color scheme of varying blues. Jade took the first one— a sleeveless crop top— and held it out before her."What's this supposed to be?" The girl asked aloud.
"Probably an outfit of sorts. I can't tell what kind though…"
"Can't hurt to try, right?" With a shrug and the box in her hands, Jade entered her bathroom. She closed the door, and from the sounds Salem could make out, it was easy to assume she was putting on the clothing she just received. Salem waited outside, and hardly two minutes later Jade exited the bathroom. She didn't look any different from before.
"Wait, what'd you do in there?" Salem asked with a puzzled expression.
"I put the outfit on. It's actually underneath the jacket, like the note said," Jade clarified as she adjusted the gloved sleeves of her silver tentatek jacket.
"Right. If there's nothing else you have to do here, let's be on our way," Salem responded impatiently. Soon, the pair of inklings were out on the streets once more.
"Hey Salem?" Jade called, slowing down considerably in her pace during their walk. The inkboy eyed her with a raised brow.
"Is what you said about me how you really feel? About.. me being nothing but trouble?"
Salem blinked and came to a stop. "Oh, that? I.. look, don't think too much about that, alright? I was just frustrated and let that slip. Sorry."
"It's fine," Jade waved off. "But it's got me thinking."
"..What did I just say?"
"Hear me out, alright?" Jade pleaded. She began pushing the boy along with a hand on his back, and lowered her volume to that hardly above a whisper.
"Every time I transform, the only thing I manage to do is hurt those around me. The people who live here, the salmonids, you, Yzel. Even.. even Khal and his mom..." Jade trailed off, a pang of hurt washing over her. "Why does this keep happening? Many people have been attacked by a salmonid before, and the worst they had to deal with were a small injury and a medical bill. Yet out of all them, I'm the only one who became a freak of nature. And no matter what I try, I can only bring chaos wherever I go."
"To be honest, things could be a lot worse than they are now," Salem replied,eyeing a speeding car as it passed them by for a moment, before returning his attention to Jade. "I'm actually surprised that we've been doing as well as we have, but.. yeah that last phrase isn't far off."
The inklings stopped near a bench and took the opportunity to sit down for a breather. As they continued to speak, the twilight glow of the afternoon sun shone down on them.
"Is that all I can do, though? All I'll ever amount to be; just a tool to destroy and hurt others?" Jade asked once more, turning to Salem with pleading eyes.
"I.. wouldn't go that far", Salem admitted. "Yes, your blunders might have gotten people hurt, inkling or otherwise, and you might have been very careless at times.. but that doesn't mean you can only ever do those things. A person isn't defined just by their mistakes."
"Then what am I defined by?" Jade pressed.
"I don't know.. and I doubt whatever answer I give will satisfy you," Salem responded with a shake of his head, "But what I do know is that you're more than just another mindless monster, or some helpless girl. And if you put your mind to it, you might be able to find a purpose for your other form."
He turned to the orange sky as he pondered aloud, "Who knows? Maybe you'll get a chance to do something other than harm people as a salmonling."
"That would be nice…" Jade trailed off, following Salem's gaze to the sky. They stayed like this for some time, content to merely take in the peace and quiet of the area and allow themselves to be mesmerized by the sky above.
The inkgirl stood up suddenly, and began to look around the area, as if in search of something.
"Jade? Is something wrong?"
"I smell something.. it's faint but it's coming from there," She explained, pointing a finger north of her.
"It could be anything.. I don't think following it is a good idea," Salem cautioned, sparing an uneasy glance in the direction Jade was pointing.
"Look, if it's a trap or whatever it is you're worried about, we can always run away."
"I'd rather not risk any trap, but then again this could end up being nothing at all..."
"Then it's settled!" Jade exclaimed just as she shifted into a squid and superjumped away. Salem could only let out yet another exasperated sigh before superjumping after Jade.
The teens touched the ground just a few seconds later, and a quick glance around showed them both the street they arrived in. All was quiet in the dead of night, but even that did not dissuade Jade from continuing her curious search of the scent's source as she took off in a seemingly random direction. Yet as Salem chased after her, he found it harder and harder to ignore the feeling that they were approaching something. That the farther he went along with the girl, the more clearly he could hear a very faint noise fill his pointy ears. Perhaps Jade was right to follow her instinct..
First there were the wisps of smoke that entered his vision. There did not seem to be any factories or passing cars nearby, yet he could see them all floating in the dark ahead of him, enough for Salem to surmise that something else must have occurred for them to appear so frequently. Then there was the noise. It was unintelligible at first, faint even, yet it still filled his pointy ears, whispering nothings. Only as he and Jade got closer did Salem realize that what he heard was not just random sounds from a vehicle or a loud device.
It was a bundle of hurried, panic-filled shouting from multiple disparate voices.
The beating of Salem's hearts quickened in pace. Just where were Jade's senses taking them both?
He soon found his answer in the form of a distant light, flickering and unruly. He hadn't brought his splattershot or any ink bombs with him, so he could only resort to running as fast as he could toward the light, with Jade still keeping a steady pace ahead of him.
And again his dread rose once he and Jade finally came upon the source of all the commotion and slowed to a stop. Jade let out a startled gasp, while Salem merely looked on in disbelief, orange eyes as wide as dinner plates.
A large two-story house in the process of being consumed by a raging inferno. A squadron of marine firemen in all shapes and sizes working in tandem to contain the flames. An anxious crowd gathered outside the front gate, looking on in bated worry.
And here they were, just two youths with no real clue as to how they managed to discover the unnerving sight before them.
Salem approached cautiously with Jade behind him, both weaving through the crowd of onlookers and making sure to stay close to each other. With a bit of effort they managed to reach the front of the crowd giving them a clearer view of the house on fire. There was no inch of it that wasn't already scorched by the flames, and though the assembled firefighters were doing all they could to keep the situation under control, Salem knew there was no way the house could be completely salvaged.
"This is.. I can't believe it…" Jade babbled, putting a hand to her mouth.
"Yeah…" A downtrodden nod was all Salem could respond with, too enraptured with the sight before him as to focus on anything else.
Two figures emerged from within the house: a large shark-like fireman, and in his arms an inkling woman in tattered clothing. The shark kept a firm grip on the woman's shoulders as he guided her out of the ruined building, making sure she didn't trip while she took wobbly steps toward the front gates.
Salem and Jade immediately rushed to the woman's aid once she was outside the fence, taking her off the fireman's arms and into their own, and together they led her to the nearest bench they could find and set her down.
The woman's sorry sight combined with her sniffling tugged at Salem's heartstrings. He could only look down at her with pity and say a few words of half-hearted reassurance.
"This'll be over soon, miss. There are people taking care of it right now…"
He heard her mumble something, but he was unable to discern the words.
"Uh.. what was that again?"
"My daughter.. have they found her yet?"
"Wait, your daughter's trapped in there?!" Jade asked, her voice filled with panic.
"Yes..! Oh Olette, sweet little Olette.. she's probably scared and alone surrounded by all those flames…" The woman whimpered with a shudder. "Someone please save her.."
"I'm sure the firemen are searching for her right now, madam—"
"Please! The house could collapse on her at any moment!" The woman pleaded, latching onto Salem's shoulders in a desperate hold. The boy flinched at the touch, startled and confused as to how the woman could react this badly to whatever had transpired in that house, and very gently tried to push her off him.
"Just.. stay put, alright?" Salem requested stiffly even as he slowly stood up and crept farther away from the crying woman. Jade followed behind him, not before giving the inkling woman one last look of pity.
"Are we not gonna keep her company? She's.. not taking it well at all…" Jade asked with worry.
"We're not babysitters. Besides, anyone else could join her on that bench and nothing would change. We've got other things to do," Salem waved off.
"Like looking for her baby?"
"Wh—no! That's the last thing either of us should be doing right now!"
"C'mon man, she was pleading! You can't say no to a pleading mother!"
"I can, and I did," Salem affirmed. He turned his sights toward the burning house nearby once more. "We shouldn't be here. It isn't safe."
"Really," Jade deadpanned. "You see a flaming house and your first thought is to walk away?"
"Jade, we can't just barge in there and get a child out without getting caught in the flames ourselves. There are people who handle this sort of thing, and we're not them."
Jade's gaze was downcast, and a frustrated huff escaped her throat. Her hands clenched tightly into fists.
"We're not.. but maybe the salmonling is," she declared in a low voice.
Just as she spun around and took steps toward the gates of the house, Salem immediately grabbed her wrist from behind and forced her in place. "Don't be stupid! Whatever you plan to do in there is not worth exposing yourself in front of a crowd!" Salem hissed.
"Who said I had to do it in front of a crowd?" She asked with a bemused expression. In one swift motion she snatched the vial containing her blood from Salem's pocket, spun around and darted toward the frontal fence of the house.
She could hear Salem yell after her even as she vaulted over the fence and sprinted closer and closer to the house, though it did not deter Jade in the least. She wasn't about to stop now, not when a life was in danger and for once she had a chance to help. A chance to use her power for more than chaos.
Salem let out a huff of exasperation, "You just love to make things difficult, don't you?!"
She quickly tore off a sleeve of her jacket and poured the vial's contents onto her wrist, feeling the liquid seep into her skin, and without skipping a beat she used all the speed and strength she could muster to charge at the door and bash through it with a bit of force. Such a brusque action did result in a sore right shoulder, but that did nothing to deter Jade from pressing onward with her mission.
The house looked even worse from the inside. Whatever furniture she could see had already been charred black or left a burning heap of rubble, with hardly anything that could still be salvaged save a few photos and items strewn about. Paint was peeling off the walls, and electronics were letting out sparks of electricity every few moments. Worst of all, the stairway to the second floor on Jade's left had collapsed, something which would undoubtedly make the process of searching the house more difficult than it already appeared. But again, such sights did little to discourage Jade from delving further into the house.
The wooden floor strained with every hurried step Jade took, and the flames around her made it hard for her to breath as she rummaged through the wreckage. Every so often she felt pangs of pain course through her along with her knees growing weak, and try as she might Jade could not shake off the feeling of lightheadedness that came over her.
She was unable to notice the roof above her crack and break apart, until it finally collapsed on top of her. The inkgirl was left buried in a mountain of wooden and concrete rubble, and for several minutes, all was still amidst the flames.
Until a webbed, scaly claw suddenly rose from the rubble, and the gathered pile burst apart. Where the inkgirl once stood, now lay a beast from the depths. A salmonling once more, Jade discarded the rest of her clothing, leaving her in only the attire that Lena had lent her; A form-fitting crop top and some sporty shorts, along with a pair of rubber demi-gauntlets and ankle guards to adorn her wrists and feet.
"They actually worked.. thanks Lena!" Jade praised as she gave a brief look at herself. She regained her bearings soon enough, however, and with her objective clear Jade proceeded to comb through the flames in search of the child.
Outside, Salem was fuming as he stared at the household. He cautioned her, warned her, tried to stop her from doing something short-sighted. But did Jade listen?
No. Of course she didn't, she was too busy holding on to some misguided belief that she could do good in her mutated state. And here she went and risked her safety once more in a bid to prove a point. It almost made him want to rip her ear off.
He tried to rush inside as well, but was forced to take a step back as the flames continually lashed out and grew in intensity. He looked on in dismay; there was no opening he could find, no true entrance into the household. He really didn't wish to deal with a dead person, not when he still had a job to do..
He dashed toward the nearest water hose he could find and snatched it off the rack of the truck it belonged to. If he couldn't go in and be at Jade's side, the least he could do is aid her from outside the thrall of the flames. He'd create a path for her, and hopefully she would find that blasted child that whimpering woman was so concerned about.
"What are you doing kid?! Get outta there!" A fireman behind him yelled, beckoning Salem over to the other side of the fence.
"... Not without my friend!" Salem declared, turning a determined glare toward the house once more.
With a hose and nozzle in hand, he ran back toward the house. He took a stray stone off the grass lawn and chucked it toward one of the windows, shattering it on impact. He repeated this with three other windows, and once that was done he aimed the nozzle toward each of them and blasted water into the holes left behind.
Inside, Jade used her heightened agility to weave in and around the flames; hopping, vaulting over and even swimming in her fish form in search of the child. Jade resorted to spitting out her own salmonid ink in frequent bursts in an effort to quell the fire, but after the 10th instance of such an action, a gut feeling warned her that perhaps it wasn't working as well as she'd hoped. Or at all.
Though the sound of shattering glass along with the sight of a gust of water soaring overhead and dousing the fire around her did relieve her somewhat, and through the hole in the window Jade could see Salem desperately spraying as much water as he could into the house. It elicited a smile from her; good to know Salem wasn't completely heartless.
Using whatever puddles of water she could spot to swim and move around even faster, Jade tore apart every room she could find, looked under every spot that wasn't already touched by embers, yet still she found no trace of any squids inside. The kitchen looked to be the source of the fire; utterly scorched beyond repair and therefore unexplorable, and the wide living room she was traversing had been thoroughly singed.
Suffice to say the woman's daughter was not on the first floor.
Jade was struck by coughing fits every so often, and her stamina had drained to the point that she had to take a moment to breath. Yet even that proved difficult with ashen air surrounding her and suffocating her with every step. She fell to her knees upon climbing a set of stairs toward the second floor, desperately coughing out whatever cinders had snaked through her mouth and nostrils.
She glanced around. Everywhere she looked there was no sight or sound that indicated signs of life still present amidst the inferno. Not even the faintest of scents was discernible from the overpowering haze she was drowning in. Nevermind that the walkway toward the bedroom area was practically gone, probably collapsed into another pile of rubble.
Even as Jade felt herself suffocating, she screamed at her body to move; to stand up and jump over to the other side just to check the remaining rooms. Fatigue be damned, she had a child to help! No way was she gonna let some stupid fire and some nagging from Salem stop her from doing even one decent thing this week.
"C'mon.. I have to find them.." Jade grunted, picking herself up. She took wobbly steps back, took one, two, three deep breaths to steel herself…
And ran. She pushed herself to run as hard as she could, until she reached the edge of the platform and made a big leap to the other side. The girl landed with a thud, her feet leaving small dents on the wooden surface, and with no time to waste she barged into the first room she could find.
It was dark inside, seeing as how the lights were off, yet upon turning them on Jade was surprised to find the room mostly untouched. For the fire to have not reached this place seemed like a miracle, and Jade felt glad to see at least one thing going right.
Her ears caught a faint noise all of a sudden, and the salmonling forced herself to remain still just to listen to the sounds more clearly. Come to think of it, it almost sounded like whimpering..
Whimpering from a very young voice.
She took cautious steps so as to not alert whoever was in the room, and on the other end of the room she came across a crib. And in it…
"A baby?"
They looked to be asleep, it's tiny purple body curled into itself. She could see some tossing and turning, and the whimpers from earlier did not stop, but beyond that the child looked to be fine. Jade sighed in relief; not only was this child safe, it was also small enough for her to easily carry him out of the house. And she didn't have to waste time trying to calm them down either. Much easier than she expected..
She tenderly took the sleeping infant in her arms, taking care not to crush them under her monstrous strength. "This must be Olette.. she's just as small as Skipfin. Though at least she isn't constantly moving, unlike him.."
With Olette in her arms, Jade turned around to leave. Yet as soon as she took one step toward the door, the floor beneath her feet creaked and shuddered harshly. Then she felt it: The wooden planks cracking apart and giving out beneath her.
"Gah!" She managed to leap away from an untimely fall with only a second to react, and Jade took a moment to adjust herself. There was nothing left here now that Jade had what she came for. All that was left to do is escape, and luckily for her there still was a window not too far from where she stood.
The salmonling braced herself once more, and with the baby in tow she broke into another running start before jumping out the window, and promptly landing on the grass with a soft thud.
"Ow.." Jade winced, as she sluggishly stood up on tired legs. She brought the baby in her arms close to her face, placing her beside her ear to check for a pulse. Jade could still hear the beating of the child's diminutive hearts, and it elicited a sigh of relief from the salmonling. But the hearts of a sleeping child were not the only sounds that caught her ears.
Jade could feel loud murmuring all around her, and looking up to see just how many eyes were all trained on her almost made the girl seize up on the spot. She couldn't deny that small gut feeling that maybe she should've listened to Salem's pleas for once and made an effort to conceal herself before barging in.
The aforementioned inkling was among those in the crowd, having joined them behind the fence after his brief bout of support in quelling the fire, and panic swelled up within him as he continued to witness Jade's dumb 'self-parading' for all to see.
The pair of friends caught each other's concerned gaze from where each of them stood, but they both knew: chaos would erupt if they didn't act now.
A terrified gasp could be heard from the crowd, and both Jade and Salem found that it came from the mother they found earlier, having somehow made her way to the front of the crowd without them knowing. Jade continued to be standing in place—as if overcome with sudden stage fright— while Salem silently cursed himself for not keeping an eye on the woman earlier. To say she was struck with terror at the sight of her child held in the arms of a mutant would be an understatement.
The inkboy was the first to move; he weaved through the crowd as fast as he could and reached the woman before she could so much as scream. He stood protectively in front of her, an action that confused Jade, yet a silent nod from Salem was enough for her to gleam on his true intent.
"Maybe I can show them I'm not just a monster," Jade reminded herself as she trained her gaze onto the mother, and slowly she took a step forward.
Immediately the crowd moved back, with some of the firemen even moving in to put themselves between Jade and the civilians.
It even roused the mother into action, as she began to push out of Salem and others' way, thrashing about and screaming when anyone dared to hold her back from coming any closer toward the salmonling.
Such a sight tugged at Jade's heart, and even prompted her to slow in her advance, but she did not stop. She could not stop now while she still had control of the situation.
Any other who tried to approach were swiftly cowed with either a quick glare from Jade or one of the other people moving to hold them back out of fear. One step after another, Jade came closer and closer to the woman, never taking her determined eyes off the mother's own terrified pair. She was shaking so much, neither Jade nor Salem were sure if she'd have a spasm or what.
The salmonling came to a stop upon reaching a close enough distance to the crowd and refused to move a muscle even as a panicked mother scrambled toward her in desperation.
"Please, don't hurt her!" She yelled with a mix of outrage and fear, "She's innocent, she has so much left to live for!"
Jade gave no response. She wasn't sure if words could convince the woman of her intention, and displaying herself as intelligent would surely drive her and everyone here into even more of a panic. So she stayed put and listened.
"Please.. let her go. If you want to feast on someone tonight, t-then t-take me instead!" The mother declared, tears already clouding her vision. Gasps and shouts of surprise rang all around them both, and even replaying the words in her mind caused slight shock to the salmonling. Did they truly think so low of her alternate form so as to believe her to be a cannibal?
No one moved for a time that felt longer than a minute, and the mix of sea creatures that surrounded Jade looked at her with fear and scorn alike. She gazed upon her once more with a softer expression. She shook her head as if to deny the mother's request, and gently Jade raised the baby in her arms higher and held it out toward the inkling woman.
"What..?"
Jade nudged the baby toward the woman again, as if beckoning her to take it. Her hesitation upon seeing this was to be expected, and Jade could almost see the gears turn in the inkwoman's head probably pondering whether to trust the fish monster or not.
After enough time, the woman took one step, then another, and one more after that. Jade stood as still and relaxed as she could as she handed over the miniature squid over to the woman. When they looked up from the baby to one another, Jade couldn't help but offer the mother a small reassuring smile.
"I don't understand.." The mother said, taking a step back and staring at Jade in confusion. "Why would you… what kind of salmonid are you?"
At that, Jade could only let her eyes wander to the side, and after seconds of deliberating she merely gave a playful shrug in response.
Salem allowed himself a sigh of relief as he looked on at the scene. If all went well, perhaps he and Jade could come out of this with nothing to worry about.
That is, until he heard a certain set of words from someone in the crowd.
"H-hello? yeah, I'd like to report a salmonid sighting."
"Oh yes, of course, go ahead!" Constantine encouraged a bit too eagerly over the phone.
While sitting on the desk of his personal office at Grizzco HQ, He continued to listen carefully to the caller's plea, nodding every few seconds in response to their words.
"... Hmm, in the yard of a burning house, you say? What is your current location?"
His grip on the telephone was tight as he listened to their next words, and once the person on the other end finished, a wide grin slowly formed.
"Excellent. An extermination team will be sent your way shortly. Stay safe~," the eel finished. The call ended soon after.
Author's Note
Welcome again to any and all readers. Firstly, I'd like to apologize if I've kept anyone waiting for long. I tend to be a very slow writer, and at times it's hard to motivate myself to keep writing. Once again, I can only hope that this latest chapter was to your liking after all the wait. Sadly, this might be my last upload of the year unless I manage to pull off a miracle in less than a month. Eh, not likely.
To random flower/OminousBlueBell, thank you for your kind words and your concern. I'm doing fine at the moment, so no need to worry. Again, I just tend to be very slow when writing.
Without further ado; Until next time, whenever that may be, and happy holidays. Stay safe y'all.