Chapter 1: The Splatlands
"Last, but not least."
"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 familiar 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."