Chapter 17: The Apex Predator

"Sending every predator into panic."

"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, Akitka 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 monologued.

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."