Chapter 10: Love and Anger
"Love is beautiful. Anger is empowering."
Back at the Superiority Complex, Inka and Marie spent the majority of their time conversing with one another. During which, they learned quite a bit about each other.
Their quiet chatter faded when the familiar footsteps of Sal echoed across the room. "How's the repairs coming along?" he asked, snacking on a bowl of severed tentacles. Inka shuddered, imagining where those appendages came from.
"Slowly..." Clod replied, shaking his head.
"Huh, well, put a little pep in your step. I need that console fixed ASAP," Sal said, biting into and ripping the flesh off a tentacle with ease.
The radio on Sal's belt buzzed amidst his lip-smacking. "Father? Father, are you there?" Masu's voice broke out from the static.
"Oh, there you are, Masu. I was wondering when I'd get an update." Sal answered, using his tail to grab and hold the radio up to his ear. "So, I take it Mahy was able to take down those squidbeaks, yes?"
Masu whimpered. "They...killed Mahy..."
Sal stopped chewing and immediately broke into a coughing fit. He cleared his throat before speaking. "You're joking... Right?"
"No..." Masu confirmed.
Inka and Marie watched Sal's face shift from neutral to furious in the snap of a finger. "NO!" he shouted, tossing the bowl of tentacles at Clod, who ducked and narrowly avoided it. The bowl hit the ground with a clang. Most of the tentacles came out; some even fell off the platform entirely. "NO, NO, NO, NO!" Sal yelled, jumping up and down with each shout. "Do you have any idea how long it took to condition Mahy?! And don't even get me started on the modification process!" He grabbed the radio with his hand, practically screaming into it.
"I-I'm sorry, father. But there was nothing we could do to help..." Masu responded, her voice timid and spooked.
Sal grabbed his head. "You've trained for years to prepare for a situation like this, and so far, you have failed three times, consecutively!" He huffed. "If you can't do the one thing I asked, then maybe Boris will."
Clod shot up from the terminal, his slightly irritated expression changing to horrified.
"No! Anyone but Boris!" Masu shouted in a panic, her tone matching Clod's look. Inka and Marie looked at each other, already disliking how Masu and Clod reacted to the name as if it were the Boogeyman.
"T-the human is heading for the second tower! Me and Hucho can intercept him right now!" she pleaded frantically.
Sal's facial expression changed again. This time, he looked curious. "He's heading for the Command Station?" He rubbed his chin quizzically, only for his eyes to widen in realization. "Oh, I get it." Sal abruptly laughed. "Akikta wants to fight back, eh?" He smirked. "Let him reach the command station. Assemble the salmon rangers while you're at it. The squidbeaks will no doubt be with him, so they'll need the Chrome Hog for this one."
"What about us?"
"Oh, I want you and your brother to fight alongside the rangers, obviously. It's about time we end this farce." Sal smiled. "This time, I want you and Huchen to use your weapons."
"Wait, really?" Masu sounded excited.
"Of course. Just don't go overboard. Remember, I need Akikta alive."
"Roger that, father! We'll get the human this time!" The transmission ended as Masu hurriedly left.
"You better." Sal placed the radio back on his belt. He'd then look to Clod. "I didn't tell you to stop working, did I?" Clod jolted and immediately went back to repairing the terminal.
Sal looked down at the bowl he had thrown earlier and sighed. "There goes my snack." He shook his head in disappointment before turning and walking off through the catwalk.
When Sal disappeared from view, Marie let out a sigh of relief. "Glad all that didn't make him change his mind," she said with a chuckle.
"Y-yeah, me too..." Inka kept her head lowered.
Marie could tell she was nervous. "C'mon, he won't actually change his mind on eating us. If there's one thing I know about Sake, it's that he doesn't let up once his sights are set on something." She said, attempting to reassure Inka.
Inka just kept looking down, tapping her feet quietly. It was then that something clicked for Marie. "You're not worried about us, are you?" Inka shook her head, confirming Marie's suspicions. "Let me guess, you're worried about your friends?"
"Y-yeah." Inka sounded unsure, which confused Marie.
After some silence, Marie spoke again. "Y'know, I don't get it."
"Get what?"
"You say you're a big fan of me and my cus, but from what you told me, it doesn't seem like your new friends did much convincing to get you to join them." She folded her hands together and leaned back. "So, I'm just a bit confused. Why'd you help them so easily?"
"Well... I was lonely..."
"Oh, don't give me that." Inka looked at Marie, confused. "You're a smart squid. I don't see you being dumb enough to go down a path riddled with crime just because you were lonely. There's another reason, isn't there?"
Inka turned away, making Marie lean in closer. "Come on, you can tell me. I promise I won't judge. I leave that to the cats anyway."
Inka continued looking away, and her cheeks darkened with a hint of blue. "Well, people do crazy things for the sake of love..."
Marie raised a brow. After several moments of thinking, her jaw dropped. "No." Marie's mouth made a strange shape as she didn't know whether to smile or to leave her mouth agape. "You like that human, don't you?" Inka nodded, still avoiding eye contact with Marie. "So that's why you kept staring at him so intensely..."
The jar became a vacuum with how quiet it got, as neither said a word for what felt like hours.
Marie would eventually break the silent atmosphere with a question. "Did you start liking him before or after you found out what he was?"
"B-before," Inka answered honestly, figuring there was no point in lying.
"How'd it start?"
Inka took a moment to formulate a response in her head before actually speaking. "I don't know, really. It just... did. I think it might've been his mysterious nature that drew me in."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when he and Nakji came to my apartment, they claimed to be siblings. I could tell she was, but him? Something was up. Not only was he taller than your average octarian, but he was also covered from head to toe. Well... almost." Inka waved both her hands. "He never covered his hands."
Marie became dumbfounded. "Now that you mention it, his hands were always uncovered..."
"And did you see the way they looked? Definitely not an octarian's." Inka rested her head on her hand. "But I didn't want to pry. They both were so nice to me... He even stood up for me, despite only knowing each other for a day and a half at that point." She smiled as she reminisced. The smile didn't last long.
"That night, he broke down right in front of me when he saw those flowers—The Old Lillies. Though, he called them The Purple Death." She shook her head. "He said lots of things, even came clean about what he and Nakji were plotting. I didn't understand a lot of what he was saying then, but now that I know he's human, it makes so much sense. Poor Aki..." Inka sighed and slumped down.
There was a brief pause in the conversation before Marie responded. "I'm surprised your feelings for him haven't changed after all that's happened."
"How could they? Sure, he kept some secrets from me, but I always suspected that. I mean, I never would've guessed he was human, but... that doesn't change the type of person he is." Inka smiled again, thinking about all the good Akikta had done for her. Even though he hasn't been in her life long, he's done more for her than a lot of other people have.
"Not that I'm judging your exotic tastes, but are you sure? I mean, it's one thing to be in love with a fossil. But does the fossil love you?"
At first, Inka thought it was a ridiculous question. But after thinking about it, the realization that her love might be one-sided mortified her. She was a historian wannabe and didn't know the first thing about humans other than their love for technology and weapons.
Marie saw she had scared Inka, leaning in to hit her arm playfully. "Hey, I'm messing with you. I'm sure he'll come around if you tell him how you feel!" she encouraged, which somehow made Inka more anxious.
Despite that, seeing the genuine support in Marie's eyes eased her a little. "T-thanks, Marie."
Marie smiled and crossed one leg over the other. "Besides, it's not like he has a lotta options anyway."
Inka giggled before turning to Clod, who was hard at work fixing the busted terminal. "I just hope the others get here in time..."
