Chapter 17: Dear Brother
"You can't choose your family. At least not genetically."
Everyone agreed Akikta needed to be treated ASAP, and the best way to do that was to get him to a healing pod in the Rejuvenation Center. Problem was, they didn't have a concrete plan on how to go about getting him there.
Rick said the Rejuvenation Center wasn't as vacant as the Command Station, so they'd undoubtedly encounter resistance this time. With that in mind, Coral signed off on who would go with Akikta.
The chosen candidates were Callie, Marina, Biggie, and Nakji.
Callie and Marina were the only people who remained unharmed from their encounter with Sal, so it made sense that they would accompany Akikta, even if their combat prowess wasn't as high as the others.
Since Callie and Marina were tagging along, Rick stayed behind. They needed someone who wasn't injured to watch over the others. Biggie would be his replacement, seeing as someone who knew how to work the healing pods had to be with Akikta to start the healing process.
There were reasons for each candidate to be with Akikta—except Nakji.
The only reason she was tagging along was because she had woken up during their discussion and threw a fit when she learned she wouldn't be going with her brother. After what happened back at the Command Station, she was extremely reluctant to leave Akikta's side again.
Despite all the valid points the others made on why she shouldn't go, she didn't budge. Eventually, Coral conceded, allowing Nakji to serve as Akikta's bodyguard since Frye was still unconscious.
Now that the members for the mission were selected, their only problem was actually getting there.
After the group relocated, they found that the Rejuvenation Center was quite far from their location. Nobody wanted to make the trek on foot. It would not only take too long, but it was also dangerous, as the whole place was crawling with enemy salmonids.
During the planning process, Rick remembered a series of interconnected roads leading straight from the Residential Zone to the Rejuvenation Center. That was their ticket.
Of course, the group didn't have any vehicles on them. They'd have to make one. Luckily, there were surprisingly a lot of materials scattered around the Residential Zone, so building resources wasn't a problem for the expert scavenger, Metta, to find.
After all the needed materials were gathered, Rick and Marina worked together to build a vehicle from scratch. Construction didn't take long at all.
They ended up making a pickup truck without a roof, except the wagon was instead a trolly cart connected via a sturdy chain to the back of the four-passenger vehicle. Akikta hadn't seen an oil tank be built to go along with the truck, but he wouldn't dare ask what they used for fuel.
Marina would be the driver, and Callie the front passenger. Akikta and Nakji would sit in the back. Marina and Rick failed to account for Biggie's size, so he'd be riding in the trolly rather than the actual truck.
With the seating arrangements figured out, Marina equipped some headphones she'd use to contact the rest of the group if need be—they weren't much different from her regular headphones appearance-wise. Afterward, the five drove off in their makeshift truck, with the others bidding them good luck.
A few minutes later, Akikta found himself staring out the side of the truck with a bored expression stuck to his face.
He didn't expect the ride to be so dull. There were few bumps in the road, so he wasn't jostled around, which would've made the ride a little less boring. There wasn't much to sight-see either, as all that surrounded them were broken-down buildings and destroyed shops.
The roads were luckily empty, but that didn't help with Akikta's boredom.
He looked over his shoulder at Biggie, seeing the salmonid was enjoying the breeze. The Big Shot noticed his gaze and gave a friendly wave. Akikta would ask more questions regarding salmonid culture, but right now, he didn't want to talk about anything involving salmon.
He turned to look at Callie, who was quietly observing the road alongside Marina. Inkling culture was still foreign to him, and although he wished to learn more, he wouldn't know where to start with the questions.
Akikta's eyes darted to Nakji, who was occupied with polishing her katana. Now, an octarian was also something he knew little about. But he felt a lot more comfortable asking questions about them than anything else. Though Nakji probably wasn't the best person to ask.
Finally, his gaze landed on Marina. She was an octarian, and given her intelligence, she probably knew a whole lot. "Hey, Marina."
"Y-yes?" Marina stuttered, not expecting Akikta to break the quietness that enveloped them.
"Can I ask you a question? About your race?"
"Oh, of course! What would you like to know?"
Akikta thought about what to ask her first, only to have difficulty coming up with a question. It wasn't that he couldn't think of anything to ask. The problem was he had too many questions to pick from.
What's with the eye markings? Why do most octarians not get along with inklings, despite resolving their differences? What is the average lifespan of your species? Is your copulation method more similar to a human's or an octopus's?
What? Akikta hails from a family of scientists—someone had to ask the question. Though, maybe that wasn't the best question to start off with.
But he had to ask something. There wasn't a limit on how many questions he could ask her, but he'd feel like a hypocrite for becoming a chatterbox, so just a few would do.
After a long moment of silence, Akikta opened his mouth. "Who's Octavio?"
Marina fidgeted with the steering wheel, nearly swerving the car to the side. Callie then turned to him. "How do you know about him?" they both asked, surprised.
"M-Marie mentioned him in passing once... Is he not an octarian?" Akikta had assumed Octavio was an octarian name, and considering Marie knew about him enough to mention him by name, he guessed Octavio was an important figure of some kind.
"N-no. He is." Marina clarified. "He's actually the leader of the octarians. DJ Octavio, that's his title."
"Oh, that's neat." Akikta blurted out, thinking how cool it was for someone to be both a DJ and a leader. "So he, like, governs your whole race?"
"No, just the ones in Greater Inkopolis." She corrected. "I should clarify, he isn't my leader. Not anymore anyway..."
Akikta raised a brow. "What's that mean?"
"I don't know how it was for you in Alterna, but in our underground domes, life was hard."
"Really? How so?"
"Oh, y'know. Lack of power, low morale, food shortages, constant accidents. Just to name a few."
"Oh..."
"Yeah, Octarian society isn't all it's cracked up to be. So, I left in search of a better life. And I got it after I met Pearlie!" Though he couldn't see it, Akikta felt Marina had a happy expression on her usually shy face.
After a second, she sighed. "I do miss my people, though. Truly, I do. But I don't regret defecting. The way Octavio does things is...for lack of a better word, dumb. If only he could see what me and so many others are experiencing."
"Actually, he just might be!" Callie said with a smile. "Gramps said Octavio started acting differently ever since that Alterna incident. And he meant that in a good way!"
"Really?" Marina looked at Callie, who nodded happily, before focusing her attention back on the cracked road. "Well, I hope that means he's turning over a new leaf. I'd be thrilled to see him get set on the right track. Eight would be, too."
Akikta perked up. "Eight was part of your octarian society, too?" He questioned, originally thinking she was more so in the same boat as Nakji.
"Mhm, she was. I can only assume she defected for the same reason I did."
"Assume? She didn't tell you?"
Marina chuckled nervously. "Well, I'm not entirely sure of the details, but I know Eight suffers from amnesia. She can't remember much of anything past a few years ago. To her, her life back home is like a hazy fog of vague memories."
Akikta frowned. "Jeez, that blows."
"It's not all bad! I was able to extract some information from her personal files once. She got to learn—or I guess relearn some things she couldn't remember on her own. So it isn't like she completely forgot who she was... It's more like she chooses to be the person she is today."
Akikta made an audible "ah" sound to show he understood what Marina was saying.
Honestly, it explained a few things for him. He had always wondered why Eight was so mad when Sal called her Astra. Maybe that was her old name, one she didn't go by anymore. Or perhaps she only got angry because Sal used to call her that? He wouldn't be surprised if both were the case.
"Well, at least she's—" Akikta's head suddenly thrust forward, causing him to smash his nose into the back of Marina's seat.
For some reason, Marina slammed on the brakes, and somehow, he was the only one who hit his head when she did. "Ow! What's the matter with you?!" He rubbed his nose while gripping his head.
He got no response from anyone. When he looked up, he saw Callie, Nakji, and Marina had their eyes glued to the road ahead. His gaze followed theirs, and he understood why Marina abruptly stopped the car.
Standing a short distance away from the front of the truck was a pitch-black figure with beady white, pupilless eyes. Akikta immediately recognized who it was: Chaska.
No—That was Subject 7. But he was sure Chaska was still in there somewhere. He had to be.
"Is that..." Marina stammered with wide eyes.
"Yeah. That's him..." Akikta confirmed.
He had mentioned what happened to his brother to the rest of the Splatoon, so they knew this black ink monster was related to Akikta. It was still hard for them to believe. He couldn't blame them. Even he still couldn't accept what Chaska had turned into.
Subject 7 stared the passengers down, like a lion watching tourists in a safari vehicle. Akikta felt if any of them exited the truck, they'd be attacked instantly.
The two groups sat in complete silence, staring at one another. One with fear and anxiety, the other with unknowable intent.
Without warning, Subject 7 charged at them like a raging bull. In response, Marina shifted the gear to reverse, but the truck moved slower than Subject 7.
Akikta knew what needed to be done, and he couldn't believe he was about to say it. "Go full throttle!" He shouted.
"W-what?!" Marina looked over her shoulder at him.
"RUN HIM OVER!" He demanded, startling both Marina and Callie.
Without being told twice, Marina threw the gear into drive and blasted forward towards Subject 7. Akikta muttered an apology to Chaska as he squeezed his eyes shut right before impact.
A loud splattering noise filled Akikta's ears, and when he opened his eyes, Subject 7 was no longer in front of them. Even so, Marina didn't let off the gas; the truck only accelerated as it sped down the ruined road.
He breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Subject 7 hadn't jumped onto the car's hood.
Just as Akikta thought they were in the clear, he heard Biggie shout from behind.
He turned, seeing Biggie was looking behind them. Because of the salmonid's size, Akikta had to hop onto the trolly and shimmy beside Biggie to see what startled him.
Gripped onto the edges of the trolly were two black, inky hands. The arms extended further down to reveal Subject 7 gliding across the ground—trailing behind the trolly as if he were wakesurfing. The worst part was Subject 7's black arms reeling themselves in like chains, gradually pulling the ink monster closer to the truck.
Against his better judgment, Akikta smashed his bare foot into the palms of Subject 7's hands in an attempt to kick him off the trolly. Luckily, Subject 7 was unable to grab Akikta's feet like that. Unluckily, his kicks didn't do a damn thing to the ink demon.
Akikta backed up, unsure of what to do. All their weapons were ink-based in some capacity, and he knew from experience that would only strengthen Subject 7.
The sounds of rattling chains caught Akikta's attention. He turned around and remembered the trolly was connected to the speeding truck thanks to the chains.
He suddenly got an idea. "Biggie, get on the truck!"
"Huh?" Biggie voiced his confusion. "But if I do, there'll be no room for you or Nakji in the back..."
"I know that! Just get in!" Not wanting to fight, he urged Biggie onto the truck, practically shoving him into the back. Nakji had to climb on his shoulder just to stay in the truck.
Akikta would then squeeze himself onto the truck, nearly falling off as the ride grew increasingly bumpy since Marina did not slow down.
After everyone was off the trolly, Akikta did his best to unhook the chain from the truck.
He wasn't fast enough.
A wet plop reverberated right in front of him, and he looked up to see Subject 7 now standing on the trolly, towering over Akikta.
The color in everything around him faded, and his world immediately turned quiet. Akikta was utterly horrified at the sight, but not because Subject 7 was so close.
Sure, Subject 7 was now only a few feet away from Akikta. But due to the many close calls he's had with the ink monster in the past, Akikta has more or less become desensitized to being near Subject 7.
No, it was something entirely different that made Akikta's heart sink into the pits of his stomach.
Every other time he'd encountered Subject 7, the inky creature had taken on a generic humanoid form. Something akin to a pitch-black mannequin with a gaping mouth.
But now, that wasn't the case anymore. Subject 7's features were more pronounced. And when Akikta got a good look at him, he came to a horrifying realization.
The ink demon looked exactly like Chaska.
The revelation shook Akikta to his core. So much so, he hadn't noticed Subject 7 reaching out a hand to grab him until Nakji shouted.
"AKI!" She jumped to action, slicing the chain in two. Instantaneously, the truck and trolly separated quickly, causing Subject 7 to whiff his grab by a hair. He attempted to jump on the vehicle directly, but fortunately, he narrowly missed.
Now, the group was speeding away from Subject 7 and the trolly. Subject 7 let out a terrible, distorted, bloodcurdling scream.
It sounded so human...
It sounded like Chaska.
Why was this happening? Why did Subject 7 resemble Chaska almost perfectly now? Did it have something to do with his ink consumption?
Whatever it was, Akikta was mentally locked from reality as he closed his eyes and covered his ears, curling into a ball with streams of tears traveling down his face.
Biggie held Nakji and Akikta so they were both secure in the truck. That was all the salmonid could do for Akikta.
Nakji and Callie's attempts to communicate with him were drowned out by his thumping heartbeat and dizzying headache. The only thing he could think about was how close he was to dying by his brother yet again.
