Chapter 2: The Exiled
"Tides turn, lives burn."
After Akikta caught Nakji up to speed on everything, there was a discomfiting level of silence between the three.
This was probably the part where the two should've asked questions, but Nakji didn't particularly feel like talking to a salmonid, and Akikta felt uncomfortable enough. A salmonid willing to help them out? This was probably a painfully obvious trap. But... maybe it wasn't.
Akikta desperately hoped for the latter, but the pestering feeling of awkwardness continued to rise for as long as the silence between them lasted. With the silence came skepticism.
"So...I noticed earlier you kept referring to Sal as usurper. What's the deal with that?" Akikta blurted, unable to bear the awkwardness any longer.
"Because he is," Rick answered without explaining further.
"Can I get some sort of context?" Rick let out a warbled sigh, lowering his head and slowing down a bit. After a moment, he picked his head back up and continued leading them through The Bowels.
"He came to our tribe one day, alone and without a name. We had never seen a creature such as him... But he insisted he was one of us," Rick said, giving Akikta a brief breakdown of Sal's origins from his point of view. "At the time, we had seven chieftains. Most of them were untrusting of the outsider, rightly so." Rick paused.
"But...?"
"One of the chieftains favored him. Said he had some untapped potential, but, if you ask me, it was out of pity."
"Let me guess the rest. He climbed his way through the ranks, killed the seven chieftains, then took over your clan?"
"No." Rick quickly disproved Akikta's assumption. "The usurper had mingled with us for a few months. At one point, he was even offered to join our tribe...but he refused. Instead, he left." Rick corrected.
Nakji softly elbowed Akikta to get his attention. She wanted to know what Rick was saying, so as the salmonid spoke, Akikta translated for her.
"A few years later, he came back to us, worn down and beaten. Someone must've really done him in. Whoever it was, I wish they had finished the job, because from that day forward, everything changed." Rick looked up at the destroyed and cluttered buildings that formed the ceiling of The Bowels. "The idea to trade with the octarians? Invading the shores of those cephalopods? Moving into this place? It all came from him. His worst idea yet was for us to reign supreme."
"Doesn't look like the others thought it was a bad idea."
"Well, of course they didn't think so. The idea might've been his, but it was the chieftain who favored him that pitched it to us."
"Sounds like that chieftain really liked him."
solemn"Perhaps. I'll never understand why she helped him, but he ascended the ranks solely because of her. And now, with you here, the whole world is at stake." Rick lowered his head. "To think I once considered her to be the wisest of us all..." Akikta looked down, a solemn expression taking over his face.
Rick felt betrayed. He could tell. Even if the salmonid didn't directly say he was backstabbed, he could hear it in his voice. Akikta understood the tone all too well.
Still, there was one thing Akikta did not quite understand. "It sounds like you know Sal's plans. Not saying that he's right or anything, but, why are you so against it? Wouldn't your clan be the one to benefit from it?"
"Because I've worked with Eosalmo. From the first runs he set out on, I witnessed what type of creature he is. And he is nothing like us." Rick stretched out his fins. "We care about each other. But more importantly, we care about our ecosystem. We, the Tidal Wave Clan, bring balance to it. Yes, it is true the colorful cephalopods have been overfishing us. But we encroached on their borders first. They are merely defending themselves, as all living beings should."
Rick stopped, turning to face Akikta and Nakji. "But Eosalmo? All he knows is to attack and fight. Death scares him, so he uses us like pawns to prevent his own! He doesn't care about our way of life or keeping balance! He only cares about being at the top, and he'll eliminate every threat to get there!" The salmonid almost let out an irritated roar, but instead, he grumbled. "He plans to use you to achieve his goal. But I won't let him ruin the clan more than he already has."
With that, Rick turned and headed towards an oddly shaped circular wall. Before Akikta could question what the salmonid was doing, Rick pulled a small lever that was cleverly hidden amongst the garbage. The oddly shaped wall then slid apart, allowing a bright yellowish light to beam into Nakji and Akikta's eyes, flash-banging them.
"We are here," Rick announced, waiting for the two to look.
After their vision adjusted to the brightness, they became enamored by the view.
In front of them was a large city, which, at first glance, looked made of trash and debris. Actually, that's exactly what the buildings were made of. But the garbage was structured so sophisticatedly that you'd never be able to tell—Akikta only could because he's been surrounded by lots of it recently. It was unique enough to be beautiful in his eyes.
"Come," Rick said, heading toward the city. Akikta and Nakji followed, only to have the door close behind them in the process.
As they followed, Akikta did his best to look around without straining his neck or slowing Nakji down. The area was enormous compared to the cluttered halls of the ruined buildings. Interestingly enough, the area had an actual ceiling curved into a dome shape. All around the dome's walls were circular panels. Akikta felt like water should've been spilling out of them, but nothing did.
"What is this place?" Akikta asked.
"The home of the exiled," Rick answered.
Akikta faced forward to Rick. "The exiled?"
Rick nodded. "Not all of us agreed with the usurper's rise to power. It split the clan apart... The disagreement amongst the clan turned into petty infighting, then full-out war. We, the ones who're against Eosalmo's reign, lost. And so, we were branded exiles and driven away." The salmonid explained, only for Akikta to realize they were now walking through the trash city.
He looked around, seeing huts and skyscrapers of various sizes all around them. Furthermore, there were other salmonids of various shapes and sizes out on the streets.
When the human and octoling came within view, a majority of salmonids stopped what they were doing and stared. This caused Nakji to tighten her grip around Akikta, though he wasn't sure if it was because she was scared or if it was to keep him secured around her. Probably both.
"I found this place hidden within The Bowels. So I helped make it our home."
"So, you're like their leader, then?"
"Down here, we have no sole ruler. We simply help each other as a community. Though the Goldies do aid most of our intellectual efforts."
"Goldies?" Before Rick answered Akikta's confused statement, a small squeak-like noise came from the right of them. Nakji and Akikta turned to see a salmonid with horizontal pupils glaring at them. The salmonid was bright due to the light reflecting off their golden fish scales.
"They're the smartest of us all," Rick added. Akikta turned to see more of those Goldies glaring at him and Nakji. He doesn't recall seeing this many of them back in the darkroom where he met Sal.
After a minute of straight-staring, the goldies eventually resumed their duties.
"I believe this place was once an area to dump one's trash. It was the goldies' idea to use that trash as construction material." Seeing salmonids working together to improve their otherwise bleak situation was heart-warming. Maybe they weren't the terrifying beasts they were made out to be.
"Where are we going..." Nakji questioned in an exhausted tone of voice.
"Somewhere to get you patched up," Rick responded, leaving Akikta to translate for Nakji.
Shortly after, the group made their way over to a large shack. "Come in," Rick instructed, pushing the makeshift door open.
The door was big, even when compared to Akikta. It wasn't just the door, either. The whole place was spacious. "Jeez, you got alotta room here, don't you?"
"We need the space." The use of 'we' told Akikta that Rick didn't live here alone, assuming this was his house. Then, the thought of Rick's brother popped into his mind. Though, the snatcher wasn't that much bigger, so why all the space?
Akikta got his answer when something large entered their view, startling him and Nakji. "Risky Tinkerer of Scrap and Machines, you're back!" The large round salmonid said loudly, its mouth curled upward into what had to be a smile.
"And I've brought company." Rick gestured over to Akikta and Nakji before turning to them. "Human, octarian, this is Sharp Shooter of Tentacled Intruders. He is someone I trust more than you, and he will be helping us."
Nakji bared her teeth at Rick, not appreciating the disrespect. Akikta understood Rick's way of thinking. After all, he couldn't really say he trusted the salmonid that much, either.
"Take a seat." Rick pointed a fin over to a nearby bed made of more trash. The two did as told and sat down while the eight-foot-tall salmonid quietly watched them.
"Question, what kind of salmonids are you?" Akikta asked, already knowing they weren't the same subspecies. He was just curious as to what they were called.
"I'm what you'd call a Chum. He is a Big Shot."
"Big Shot?"
"That's what I said."
Akikta looked over to the bigger salmonid. Even though his pupils were not at all looking at him, Akikta felt the giant was eyeing him intensely. "Hey, uh, Sharp Shooter. Do you mind if we call you Biggie for short? No offense, but your name is kinda too long..."
Akikta's question was met with silence, making the teen feel he might've crossed a line with the Big Shot. That was until the salmonid let out a hearty laugh. "Biggie! I like the sounds of that. It's neat, ain't it?" Biggie said, while turning to Rick. He took a liking to the name much better than Rick, who responded with another small grumble.
"Patch them up," Rick instructed before moving over to what appeared to be a stove. He then set a small empty can on top of it, only for Biggie to block their view and begin wrapping Nakji's and Akikta's bruises in crude bandages. The process took three minutes, partially because Akikta had to convince Nakji to trust Biggie with her wounds.
By the time Biggie was done, Rick had also finished whatever he was doing, moving over to Akikta and Nakji with a warm can in his fins. "Drink this." He handed Akikta the can filled with a steamy green liquid.
"What is it?" The teen asked after taking the can.
"A remedy to help you two with the pain you feel. It'll numb the worse of it." Rick explained.
Akikta wasn't sure if he fully believed him, but he relayed this information to Nakji, who quickly took the can from Akikta's hands. Apparently, she wanted the first sip. She gulped down two mouthfuls of the liquid, only for her face to contort in disgust as she stuck her purple tongue out.
"Now, time for some questions of my own. What's going on with you?"
Akikta perked up. "What do you mean?"
"I doubt puking blood is a common thing for humans." Rick clarified, making Akikta click his tongue in realization.
"I'm not entirely sure, but... Sal says I'm currently the host of some parasites." His expression changed as he avoided Rick and Biggie's gaze. "If I don't find a solution to this soon... I'll die." Nakji looked over to Akikta, and the room fell quiet.
Biggie suddenly turned to Rick. "Oh! Risky, don't one of those towers have pods for things like that?" Akikta nearly lunged off the bed.
"WHAT?!" Biggie jumped, only for Rick to mumble.
"Sharp Shooter is talking about the Rejuvenation Center. The place has pods that can heal almost any injury. It's saved so many of us from the brink of death... It even has the capability to fully regenerate lost limbs. A marvel." Yeah, that definitely sounds like something humans would make. "It might be able to remove those parasites and reverse the damage already done to you... Might."
"Might is all I need." Akikta wobbled off the bed, with Nakji still sitting down but holding his wrist to keep him from going far. "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"Slow down there, human." Rick gently sat Akikta back down. "That Rejuvenation Center is on the other side of Atlantis. And it's crawling with the usurper's supporters. We can't go in there without a plan."
"Then what are-"
Rick placed a fin on Akikta's lips. "Do not worry, Akikta. I've already considered it. We will go there soon. But first, we need you to rest."
Akikta was expecting Rick to give him the whole spiel on how it was dangerous or overly stupid, even if he knew he was dying. But surprisingly, the salmonid was on board with it. "Why... are you so willing to help me? Didn't you just say you don't trust us?"
"One, I didn't say that. I said I trust Sharp Shooter more than you. Two, because I... The clan needs you." Akikta tilted his head in confusion, only for Rick to turn away. "Ever since the usurper came into our lives, only bad things have been befalling upon us. And now that he is in power, he has effectively divided us. I want to make us whole again." The chum turned to Akikta. "I could care less about you or your affinity towards those colorful cephalopods. But the usurper deemed you a necessity to his plans. Thus, I have reason to believe you are the key to beating him."
Rick took a few strides closer to Akikta. "So, here's the deal. We help save you from certain death, and in return, you help us kill the usurper." Rick stuck out a fin for Akikta to take.
"And then...?" Akikta squinted his eyes, believing this to be too good to be true.
"And then we go our separate ways." Skepticism filled Akikta, but the more he stared into Rick's eyes, the more genuine his deal felt.
Unlike Sal, Rick was blatant about using Akikta and what for. Besides, it wasn't like Akikta didn't want the same thing. But for him to be so open about it... It didn't seem like Rick was lying.
After considering it, Akikta shook his fin. "Deal."
"Good. Now rest. You must gather whatever strength you can." Rick and Biggie both turned to leave Akikta and Nakji. Then Akikta realized something. "Wait a minute, you just shook my hand. You know handshakes?"
Rick turned. "It is an inkling thing. My brother learned it. I used it right, didn't I?"
Akikta paused. "Well... yeah."
Rick nodded before moving out of sight.
Afterward, Akikta took the can Nakji swiped from him and smiled. "Maybe the new world isn't that bad after all." He removed the cylinder translator and took a sip of the green liquid. An immense bitter flavor overwhelmed his tastebuds, making Akikta cringe almost instantly. "Oh, yeah. That's bad."