Chapter 14: Eosalmo, the Usurper
"The salmonids shall follow where the king shall go."
"Usurper..." Rick snarled as everyone stared at the looming monster that was Sal.
Akikta was at a loss for words. His greatest enemy, Lord Sake, was right in front of him. He hadn't expected to see him anytime soon...
Despite that, he didn't feel an overwhelming amount of fear. Instead, Akikta's anger bubbled to the surface. "I told you not to call me that!" He shouted in irritation, catching when Sal referred to him as A.
At least, he thought he was referring to him.
"Oh, don't worry. I wasn't." Sal answered casually.
It was then Akikta noticed the two large frying pans in Sal's scaly silver claws. Both pans had a bronze handle with a silver rim; the main body's color was black. On the backside of each pan were miniature spikes.
Sal raised one pan, pointing at Eight. "I was talking to her."
Eight's brows furrowed angrily. "Don't call me that." She hissed.
"Come on, Astra. Don't be like that."
"That isn't my name anymore!" Eight snapped angrily.
Sal was clearly pushing some buttons he ought not to press. But who was Akikta to stop him? The more he pissed off the agents, the better. Plus, he was learning something new about Eight the more Sal kept yapping.
"This him?" An unfamiliar feminine voice asked.
Akikta spun around to where the voice came from, seeing Coral looking at Eight. "It is." She confirmed with a nod.
Akikta was still in shock that he heard the captain speak for the first time in... well, ever. So much so, he hadn't noticed Coral's hair abruptly glow, similar to when Eight was up against the Chrome Hog.
Akikta eyed the room, noticing the different looks on each person's face.
Metta, Shiver, and Big Man looked disturbed by Sal's appearance. Judging by the looks in their eyes, they've never seen anything quite like him. Even Little Buddy, who was usually in his own little world, seemed to acknowledge Sal's presence by just...staring. It was creepy.
Frye had a giddy expression as her feet repeatedly stomped on the ground. Akikta could faintly hear her muttering, "Final Boss! Final Boss! Final Boss!", giving the impression that she was excited. However, even her excitement seemed forced, as, despite her grin, the sides of her oversized head were beading with droplets of sweat.
Rick, Misaki, Coral, Eight, Pearl, and Marina looked deathly serious. Akikta found it uncanny for Marina to look serious since she normally had the friendliest/shiest-looking appearance out of everyone else.
And, of course, there was Nakji with an angry look in her eyes, similar to Akikta.
Everyone's face matched what he expected. Well, almost everyone's.
"..." Callie was standing in the back of the room near the door, clutching her roller in a vice grip.
Was she... trembling? Yeah, she was. She was shaking like a leaf with dilated eyes. No one but Akikta seemed to notice. She also mumbled some words, but he wasn't close enough to hear them.
"Tch." The sound of someone sucking their teeth made Akikta turn to Sal. It looked like he had also surveyed the room. "Greatly weakened them, huh? That girl needs to get her eyes checked." Sal grumbled, looking less confident than he had a few seconds ago.
Akikta almost smiled upon seeing Sal's agitated facial expression, but Sal did so first, looking at him. "Come on Akikta. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. You know you can't hide."
Honestly, that's what it felt like, considering how many times he's run into an enemy salmonid at this point. How were they finding them? Were there operable cameras around here or something?
"How do you keep finding us?!" Akikta blurted, wanting answers.
Sal smirked. "That's not really important, now is it? No, I think what's important are those parasites treating your insides like a full-course meal." Sal took a step forward; Promptly, Nakji, Eight, and then Coral, did the same. "It isn't too late to join me, Akikta. Just give me your DNA, and we can be at the top of the food chain, together!"
"Can it, you walking abomination! I'd rather die than help you again." Akikta's eyes lowered. "And to think, I interrupted their splatfest for this..."
Sal shrugged his shoulders. "Look on the bright side; now we'll have a splatfeast!" He chuckled. "Well, I will. But you? By the time I'm done, you'll be speaking with your ancestors!" Sal lunged, and at the same time, Nakji dashed forward.
He clashed one pan with her katana. It took all her strength to hold back his single-handed attack. While laughing at her weakness, Sal raised his other pan and swung downward. Frye came in at the last second, blocking the pan with her own two-handed blade.
Misaki ran up to assist the two, but right when she got to them, Sal lightly pushed Frye and Nakji off, only to spin. His tail whacked all three of them in an arc motion, and they slammed into one another, plus a desk.
Next up was Eight, who charged at Sal and fired a volley of ink from her rifle.
Sal crossed his pans over one another, forming an X shape across his torso. The ink projectiles would splash on the pans, but Eight didn't stop her assault. "Ah, this brings back memories. Doesn't it, Astra?" Eight barred her teeth. "Hey now, don't give me that look."
He broke the X formation and swung horizontally, which Eight ducked. Before she could counterattack, he followed up with his other pan by swinging downward. She swiftly transformed and disappeared into the ink that covered the ground, zipping out of the way just in time and allowing the pan to smash into the ground.
Eight reemerged on Sal's side, but he was far too quick and pounced on her, smacking her weapon away and pinning her to the ground with both pans. Luckily, she used her feet to keep them at bay. Eight's boots protected her from the spikes on the pans' backside, but if the tensing in her legs was anything to go off of, she struggled to keep him from pushing down.
"I don't want to kill you, Astra. But you're making things extremely difficult." Sal said, almost in a pleading type tone.
"Really? Because I want to kill you!" Eight growled as she tried to push back harder with her legs. Her feeble attempts were judged by Sal's unimpressed gaze.
Another shot of ink hit Sal right in the face. He looked over to see Pearl standing on a desk with her dual guns out. "Leave her alone, freak!" She yelled as she rained down ink on him.
Sal moved one pan and used it to protect his face from Pearl's ink, lessening the pressure Eight felt on her legs.
"Oh, I remember you. You're that little goblin who aided in Astra's escape." He recounted before tossing his pan not at Pearl, but at the legs of the desk she stood on. She must've thought he missed, as she didn't move to dodge and just kept firing. The moment the pan slammed into the old desk, the legs snapped like twigs, and the desk collapsed, taking Pearl down with it.
"Pearlie!" Marina called out.
Before Sal could redirect his attention to anyone else, Coral tackled him off of Eight. The two rolled across the office floor, and he dropped his other pan in the process. When they stopped, Coral was on top of him. She threw several powerful punches into the salmonid's face.
Despite not being close to the two, Akikta could literally feel the vibrations of each punch. He wasn't one hundred percent sure before, but now he knew Coral was definitely holding back on him when they fought.
After the sixth punch, Coral abruptly stopped and pulled away to see how much damage she had done to Sal's face.
There was a single bruise on his cheek.
"Huh..." Sal spat a wad of greenish goop from his black lips. It didn't quite have the thickness of ink, so Akikta assumed that was his blood. "I thought you'd be stronger."
He grabbed Coral by the throat with his tail, tossing her off him and into Eight, who was knocked right back down after just getting up.
Sal stood to his feet, looking at the remaining members. "I thought you'd all be tough, but you're nothing like the old Squidbeaks! And to think I've been afraid of you lot from the beginning..." Sal commented, picking up his pan. He seemed angry with himself.
Akikta looked over, seeing Misaki, Frye, and Nakji were incapacitated. He hadn't realized that a single strike from Sal's tail knocked them out!
Marina was tending to Pearl, who fell pretty hard.
That left himself, Rick, Callie, Big Man, Shiver, Metta, Coral, and Eight.
Akikta wasn't sure what to do. He was going to use Rick as a guide, but the salmonid seemed hesitant to fight. That made sense. If anyone knew how strong Sal was, it'd be him.
Metta was the first to act after their momentary standstill. She hurled Little Buddy, and he smacked right into Sal's face, causing him to stagger. The smallfry immediately began attacking and biting the usurper's face, who cried out in surprise rather than pain. "Using a child to fight? That's low!"
Metta didn't respond to Sal's comments. Instead, she ran circles around him, nailing him with her ink-arrows.
While Little Buddy distracted him, Eight and Coral moved in. Eight joined in with Metta and shot more ink at him, whereas Coral threw more haymakers into Sal's torso, slightly ripping his black jacket with each punch.
Sal let out a small roar before grabbing Little Buddy and launching him into Metta's face. The violent impact knocked Metta off her feet and simultaneously knocked Little Buddy unconscious. She fell with a hard yelp as if someone threw a large rock and nailed her.
Coral struck again, only for Sal to catch her fist. He jerked her arm downward and yanked her face into his knee, emitting a brutal, squelching noise. Coral staggered back, and Sal grabbed one of her long tentacles, only to bring her over him and slam her into the ground.
Eight rushed in, which proved to be a bad idea. He faced her and opened his mouth wide. A loud gurgling sound broke from the depths of his throat, only for a ball of greenish ink to eject from his mouth. Eight's eyes widened as she threw her entire body to the side.
Despite her quick reaction, the ball hit her leg, and she fell to the floor with a painful scream. She spazzed around as if the pain from the ink lingered.
Sal focused on Callie, who had done nothing but stood there trembling the entire fight. "Oh, hey. I remember you. You're that pink one." He grinned.
Callie was too caught up in her own little world to notice he was speaking to her.
"Nice seeing you again." He opened his mouth and fired another ink ball like he had done with Eight. Callie did not try to dodge it. "Callie!" Akikta shouted, diving for her. They collided and hit the ground, making Callie drop her roller.
The ball of ink hit the wall to their side; Droplets splattered off, some of which landed on Akikta's cheek. There was a slight burning sensation, and he heard the sizzles clear as day. That wasn't normal ink.
"He can spit out acid now?! What the fuck!" Akikta shouted, turning to Sal, who simply smirked.
"Not exactly acid, but it works like a charm."
"How are you able to do that?!"
"It's like I told you, Akikta. This place can make you better. But you won't listen." He slow-walked to them. "Now, wait your turn. I still have to deal with the others."
Akikta's face morphed into anger.
"A-Akikta?" Callie spoke out. Her voice was weak; It sounded like she was on the verge of tears. He looked to see her eyes were slightly watery, but she stopped shaking and was registering what happened. "W-what's going on?" He could tell Callie was going through an episode. Her mind was only partly here. He remembered Marie acting the same way when she laid eyes on Sal. What did that monster do to those poor squids?
Akikta shook his head. Now wasn't the time to think about that. He had to protect them!
He looked back at Sal, seeing Big Man distract him with his decoys. The teen scanned the floor, looking for a way to fight back, as he knew his punches would not do shit against Sal.
Callie's roller wasn't the only thing to drop on the floor, as the pistol Akikta brought back from the Command Station was also there.
Of course! The pistol! What the hell am I doing?! The weapon had completely slipped his mind. He got off Callie and scrambled for the gun, popping onto his feet right after.
By the time he turned to face Sal again, he seemed to find the real Big Man by sniffing the air. With a single arm, he grabbed Big Man from the ink and hurled him right at Shiver. She wasn't quick enough to dodge.
When Sal laid his eyes upon Akikta, the teen was already aiming his pistol at him. "Eat lead, bitch!" Man, that sounded a lot cooler in the movies... Akikta unloaded what little ammunition was left in the clip into Sal, aiming for the head.
Each bullet bounced right off of his face. "Come on, no need for that Akikta."
HE'S BULLETPROOF?! A flabbergasted expression fell onto Akikta's face.
Sal quickly closed the gap between them. "Besides, didn't I say to wait your turn?" He smacked Akikta right in the head with his pan, sending him spiraling across the floor.
The blunt force trauma not only had him experience a terrible headache, but it also had him seeing stars. But he was down, not out.
Akikta gradually sat up, seeing Sal was now making his way over to Callie, who had balled herself up and pressed her back against the wall.
"This guy... is indestructible... How the hell are we gonna..." Akikta stared intently at Sal, his eyes landing on the black spiked collar around his neck. Of course! How could he have forgotten his one glaring weakness?
Just as an idea formed in his mind, he heard a thump from his side. He looked over and saw Coral slowly getting up. Her tentacled hair was still glowing like it had been at the beginning of the fight. The only time he's seen hair glow like that was when Eight pulled out something special against that mech. Maybe Coral had something just as devastating up her sleeve?
"Cor—" We're in battle. Address her with respect!
He shook his head. "Captain, I don't know what you're holding onto. But I have an idea." Coral looked at him. "I'm gonna give you an opening. If you've got something you think will hurt him, please use it... Even if it'll hit me too." Coral stared at Akikta for a long moment, only to nod at his request. "Perfect." He stood up.
Without delay, Akikta ran over to Sal, jumping onto a desk and then onto his back. He latched on, ignoring the dorsal fin that pressed up against his front. Amidst Sal's confusion, Akikta yanked off the spiky collar, revealing a pair of gills. Sensitive gills. He'd then plunged his fingers in between the openings, firmly holding onto Sal's neck.
In response, Sal dropped his pan and let out a guttural roar. "STOP! THAT HURTS!" Like before, he tried to grab Akikta. Only this time, Akikta twisted and yanked on Sal's head to steer him away from Callie while simultaneously throwing him off balance, preventing the lord from getting a firm hold on Akikta.
As he steered a flailing Sal into the center of the room, he gave Coral a certain look. She nodded before the glow on her head flared up. Suddenly, she took out a massive device about the same size as her, if not slightly bigger. It resembled a megaphone.
Both Sal's and Akikta's eyes widened. Akikta was prepared to sacrifice himself if need be, but he wondered how much this would hurt...
Sal made frantic efforts to get out of the way, but Akikta kept jerking him in place to keep him in the line of fire. Three seconds later, the megaphone weapon ejected a visible stream of sonic waves, hitting the two of them directly.
Surprisingly, it didn't hurt Akikta half as badly as he expected. Not physically, anyway. His ears were ringing after due to how loud the attack was, and so his hearing was muffled.
In contrast, Sal was roaring in pain as it pushed him, and by proxy, Akikta, back a little.
Akikta felt his grip around Sal's neck loosen due to the pressure being exerted by the megaphone, but before he fell off, the floor beneath them cracked.
As Akikta expected earlier, the office wasn't entirely stable. The sudden vibrations from Coral's weapon probably disrupted the components within the floor. And when Akikta fell off Sal, his full weight suddenly crashing down was enough to cave it in completely.
They both fell to the floor below. Instead of hitting the ground, Akikta found himself engulfed in murky green water. He could see, albeit barely. In his daze, he immediately realized the entire floor was flooded.
Akikta was able to get a single gulp of air before something tugged on his ankle, dragging him down into the water. He didn't even have to look to see who it was.
Akikta used all his might to kick Sal's hand off him. It worked, but not for long.
Sal circled Akikta like a shark. His movements were a lot more fluid than they had been on land.
Akikta, knowing he wasn't a great swimmer, was filled with utter dread. He instinctively knew he was at a severe disadvantage.
Sal demonstrated that by repeatedly zipping past him in the water. Each time, he felt a painful sensation in various areas—his chest, face, hip, stomach, thigh, and shoulder. Sal was beating his ass underwater.
Akikta was surprised Sal could still fight so well. It was like Coral's special attack hadn't done anything but smack him on the wrist. If her weapon couldn't hurt him that much, then he knew for a fact his fists, especially underwater, would just feel like love taps to Sal.
So, instead of trying to fight back, Akikta fought through the soreness of his muscles and ascended to the water's surface. Another firm hold on his ankle stopped his ascent; this time, he was too weak to kick the hand off.
Akikta watched as the water's surface got smaller and smaller, and the surrounding liquid grew colder. He looked back to see Sal smiling widely at him, his intentions clear.
Despite his best efforts, Akikta couldn't escape Sal's grasp. To make matters worse, his lungs begged for air as the seconds passed. Shit, he's going to drown me?!
Well, that wasn't quite right. Sal needed him alive. He was probably just going to wait until he fell unconscious. But the agents would surely save him before then!
...
Oh... wait. The others can't get in water... can they? Akikta remembered that inklings and octarians couldn't swim in natural water or they'd dissolve. That meant no one could help him... Or so he thought.
As his vision blurred and his thoughts grew silent, he felt something drop into the water with them. It was a black object with no discernible features.
The object sped past Akikta, and he heard a gurgling roar soon after. He looked to see the black object had bitten down on Sal's neck hard, only to push him into the abyss. It'd then speed back up to the water's surface, dragging Akikta with it.
It took Akikta a while to realize the black figure was Rick. "Now!" He called out to whoever was above. Akikta watched as someone from above tossed down some rope.
With speed unbefitting of a chum, Rick wrapped the rope around the half-conscious human until he was secured. Afterward, Rick tugged on the rope, and Akikta felt himself gradually rising into the air, with the salmonid riding on his shoulders.
His muscles no longer cooperated, so his head slumped over, forcing him to stare at the water.
Bubbles suddenly formed in the water, which could only mean one thing. Rick noticed this and, in response, took out one of Akikta's ear translators. He was too weak to even protest.
Sal lept from the water, reaching out to grab Akikta's ankle. Before he did, Rick chucked the orb, nailing Sal right in the eye. He gasped in pain and missed his grapple, falling back into the depths.
By the time Sal reemerged, Akikta and Rick were too high for him to reach. This sent the salmonid into a flurry of shouts.
In one of his ears, Akikta could only hear unintelligible and violent gurgles; in the other, cohesive words.
"You can run, Akikta. But you can't hide! I will have your DNA! Do you hear me?! I WILL HAVE IT!" Sal hollered angrily.
The only thing Akikta could think about was sleeping. So he did, allowing Sal's obnoxious blabbering to echo into nothingness as his vision went dark.