Chapter 1: The Bowels

"When smoke rises from the seven rings, the pinkfish will emerge from the sea, devouring all the creatures of the land."


How long had it been since they started walking? Minutes? Hours? It was hard to say, especially since he couldn't tell time when the sun was nowhere in sight.

Towering mechanical constructs had blocked off the sky; the area was so cluttered and packed together that it looked like there was a ceiling.

Light was scarce, with the only source being the flickering bulbs connected to the cracked walls and wet ground.

As Akikta limped down the slightly narrow pathway, he looked over at Nakji, who helped him along. She looked exactly how he felt, terrible. He didn't enjoy using her as a crutch when she was just as wounded as him, but he couldn't walk straight otherwise.

Akikta sighed, disappointed in himself. How could he have been so blind? All of this was entirely preventable had he not been stuck on stupid. But no, he just had to trust a man on the radio. Or rather, salmon on the radio.

Just as Akikta was about to berate himself for his stupidity, Nakji yelped in pain and fell. She took Akikta with her as she tumbled down. Luckily, he landed on his side, albeit with a pained groan.

His vision blurred for a few seconds after impact, but when it cleared, he noticed something in a nearby garbage pile. He'd mentally make note of it for now.

Akikta sat up and faced Nakji. "You alright?" He asked, assuming she had tripped over something. However, he realized there was nothing for her to have tripped over, as everything was cluttered to the sides or on the walls.

Regardless, the octoling lightly rubbed her foot as if it were in pain. "Yeah. It just... stings..." Nakji responded, wincing softly.

Akikta looked down, figuring she stepped on something. All he saw was a tiny puddle of water.

He recalled Nakji mentioning how she couldn't swim. Something about the water splatting her... whatever that meant. She did exaggerate, saying she'd die. Though, maybe it wasn't an exaggeration.

The water used by the cephalopods was always heavily filtered. He could tell because of its strong smell and weird taste. Maybe something about normal water was dangerous to them? Come to think of it, water hurt Chaska too...

Akikta would put that thought on the back burner for now. He needed Nakji to keep walking, and if these puddles were going to be a problem, they wouldn't be getting anywhere. "Here." He started shifting over to his feet. The pain caused by simply bending his joints made him grunt. It was similar to being painfully sore after an intense workout, but he was thankful for the sensation. It told him the parasites hadn't eaten his nerves... yet.

Nakji watched as Akikta unbuckled the straps on his black boots, only to slide them off and hand them to her. "They may be a little big, but they should protect your feet better than those cloths you call socks."

Her eyes narrowed in response to Akikta's comment. When she realized he was being serious, her eyebrows curled upward. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine. I like walking barefoot anyway." He assured. This was partially true; otherwise, he'd wear socks with his shoes.

After a moment of hesitation, Nakji took his boots and began putting them on.

While she did that, Akikta's attention returned to what he saw underneath the small garbage pile. It stuck out to him because it wasn't the usual trash they came across, like scrap metal or broken pipes. He leaned over, noticing it had a rectangular shape, but looked busted. Akikta gripped the top half of the item, easily pulling it out from underneath the pile. Smaller pieces of debris, dust, and water droplets fell from the object. There was no smell, thankfully.

Akikta shook off any excessive liquid and garbage that clung to it. After which, he flipped it over. Bold dried-out letters at the top read "ler's log." Part of the first word was completely faded out. Akikta's eyes trailed down to what appeared to be buttons.

The English letters and familiar format made it clear what it was: a handheld tape recorder—no doubt from when humans still occupied Atlantis. It was strange. For a device from a bygone age, it was in much better shape than the surrounding environment. Maybe it could be restored. That slimmer of hope would irk Akikta's curiosity. Now he was determined to discover what was on the tape. Probably nothing useful, but if he could restore it, he wanted to know either way.

He placed the tape recorder in his black jacket pocket, only to see Nakji standing over him with a hand extended out. Akikta accepted the help and stood with a slight wobble, accompanied by a light exhale.

Before they could continue their walk, Nakji suddenly took a defensive stance and unsheathed her blade. "Whoa- what's the matter?" Akikta questioned, confused about what brought on her sudden aggression.

He followed her gaze and noticed a small silhouette ahead of them. When it got closer, he realized what it was, a salmonid. Its fishy appearance and green pants became clear when it entered the light.

"S-shit!" Akikta stuttered, reaching for a nearby pipe in the garbage. He nearly fell during the few moments he was out of Nakji's grasp. When he stood back up, the salmonid was a few feet away from them, squinting its bulging eyes at him and Nakji.

It did not approach any closer, but it was studying them. The salmonid was no bigger than Nakji, so Akikta tried to intimidate it, seeing he was a foot taller. He raised his pipe, about to fake swing at it, but stopped when it raised its fins.

"Put the pipe down!" It said sternly, as if it were his father. Akikta almost listened out of pure instinct.

"I'll kill you before I put this down!" Akikta responded angrily, earning a side-eye glare from Nakji before she focused her attention back on the salmonid.

"Not here to fight!" The salmonid waved its fins, only to back up from the two. Akikta raised an eyebrow, confused at what this salmonid was trying to do.

"What's it saying?" Nakji asked, further confusing Akikta.

"What do you mean?" He looked at her. "Can't you understand it?"

Nakji shook her head without taking its eyes off the salmonid.

"Not surprised." The salmonid responded. "Why would Octarian take the time out of their day to learn to speak with us anyway?" The salmonid sounded almost offended at Nakji's ignorance. "Unless we had something to offer..."

After a moment, Akikta suddenly remembered the translation devices in his ears and mouth. That explained why he could understand the salmonid.

But it didn't explain how the salmonid understood Nakji, yet she couldn't understand it. "Wait, you understood her just now, though. Can't you speak her language?"

The salmonid shook its head. "Brother was the one to learn their language during his many runs. He taught me how to understand them, but I am still unable to speak their dialect properly." The squint on the salmonid's eyes eased up as it stared at Akikta. "He was the one to personally deliver those devices to you. Back at the desert." It said, causing Akikta's eyes to widen.

That snatcher from the Splatlands was this salmon's brother? That seemed like too much of a coincidence. But if it weren't true, how else would it know that?

Before Akikta could wrap his head around the information, the salmonid continued. "When he told us the usurper found an actual living human, we didn't believe it. But now I do... and I'm telling you, I'm not here to fight!" It barked, causing Nakji to raise her weapon.

Before she could strike, Akikta placed a hand on the blade, lowering it. She looked at him in confusion. "It...says it's not here to fight." He said, still not believing it himself. Though, he'd prefer it if Nakji didn't kill the salmonid before he learned more.

The salmonid lowered its fins before grumbling. "About time."

Akikta pointed his pipe at the fish. "You better start talking, 'cause I'm about ten seconds away from letting Nak have at you!"

"Alright!" The salmonid growled. "So aggressive..." Its eyes squinted before it continued. "My name is Risky Tinkerer of Scrap and Machines. And I–"

"I'm sorry, what?" Akikta interrupted.

"What?"

"Your name is what?"

"Risky Tinkerer of Scrap and Machines."

"That's... that's not a name."

"It is, and it's mine!" The salmonid hissed, clearly annoyed.

"Can uh...can we just call you Rick for short? I feel like Rick fits better..."

The salmonid mumbled angrily. "Whatever!" Rick reluctantly accepted the name change.

"As I was saying... I've come to retrieve you."

"Retrieve me?"

"Yes. When we learned you refused to join the usurper and ran off, we knew this would be our only chance to finally take action..." Rick said, confirming Akikta's suspicion that the usurper he referred to was Sal. Though Rick was vague on what he meant by taking action. "Take action in what?"

Rick remained silent, only to turn and wave his fin, gesturing for them to follow. "Come, we must go before they find us."

"Hold on. We're not just going to follow you! How can we trust you?"

"If I wanted to do you harm, I would've done it already!" Rick turned to face them again.

"For all we know, you could be leading us into a trap."

"You must believe I am on your side. I am risking a lot by just coming out to get you!"

"Sorry, but the last person I believed to be on my side threatened to eat me. I'm not tryna take that chance again." Akikta said firmly, staring down at Rick.

The salmonid's red mohawk fluttered. "Any questions you have, I will answer on the way. But as of this moment, we really should get moving. If they find you, then it is over!"

"Relax, Rick. We can handle some fish–" Akikta inhaled quickly upon feeling a sharp pain course through his ribcage. He gripped his chest tightly in response, followed by Nakji looking at him, concerned. "O-ok. Maybe only Nakji can right now..."

"An octarian won't keep you safe. Not from the twins."

Akikta paused. "The twins?"

"Yes. The twins. They're the ones who enforce the usurper's rule. They are wicked, ruthless, and admittedly, efficient." Rick grumbled and looked down. "I no doubt he'd entrust his children in finding you."

Akikta's brows furrowed. "Children? Is that like a figure of speech thing?"

"No. They are his spawn. Like him in every way. Abominations."

Akikta shook his head. "N-no, that can't be true. He told me he was incapable of having kids."

"And you believed him?" Rick turned and eyed Akikta, who couldn't help but frown. "If anything, the usurper is deceitful. I am not the usurper." Rick assured. "There are others like me. But they are further in the bowels."

"The bowels?"

"Yes, it is where we are right now. An elaborate labyrinth to most, but I know how to navigate through it. Just follow me." Rick turned his body, still eyeing Nakji and Akikta. "Once we've reached the others, we will tend to your wounds as best we can. Then, I will answer whatever questions linger... Akikta."

Akikta jumped when Rick suddenly said his name. He never once said it. However, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Every salmonid in Atlantis probably knew Akikta's name by now. And every salmonid under Sal's reign was probably looking for him.

Rick turned, beginning to lead the way. Akikta started to follow, but Nakji held him back. "What are you doing?"

Rick stopped, seeing Nakji was not as convinced as Akikta.

Akikta had forgotten Nakji was unable to follow along with the conversation. "We're um... we're gonna follow Rick here."

"Follow the salmonid? Did you hit your head during the fall?" Nakji said worriedly, looking his head over for any injuries.

"W-what? No! I'm fine. It's just... look, I'll explain everything to you on the way. But right now, we need to follow Rick's lead."

"Aki! You remember what happened the last time we trusted a salmonid, don't you? Or did you already forget?!" Nakji persisted.

"Nakji, please–" Before Akikta could speak, he puked blood on the ground, followed by violent coughing and wheezing. Nakji's face paled, and Rick looked surprised.

After his little episode finished, Akikta composed himself and eyed Nakji, then Rick, then the floor. There was a brief silence before he sighed and whispered to Nakji.

"I don't trust the salmonid anymore than you do. But I can't play it safe anymore. I don't..." Akikta hesitated, not wanting to face the facts. But he had to. "I don't have the time..." He finished with a soft whimper.

After another moment of silence, he'd look Nakji in the eyes. "This salmon claims he can take us to safety for the time being. That's better than aimlessly walking around." Nakji, although worried, still showed reluctance to go with Rick. Akikta could see it in her eyes, even if she didn't say so. "You don't have to trust him, Nak. I'm not asking you to. But trust me..." He grabbed her shoulders. "Please..."

Nakji's lips curled into a frown as she looked down. Two seconds later, she sighed and sheathed her blade. "Ok..." She gave in.

"Thank you." Akikta leaned in to give her a small side hug. He'd then give Rick a nod, telling him they were ready to follow.

Rick's squinted eyes glared at Akikta, then the ground covered in vomited blood. No words were exchanged. Rick just turned around in silence and began leading the way. Akikta and Nakji quietly followed from a safe distance.

Please, Great Spirit. Don't let me make the same mistake twice. He prayed, hoping the outcome would be different this time around.