Chapter 30: The Plan

"World about to blow—SQUIDBEAK, LET'S GO!"

Akikta shot up in bed, finding himself in... his room?

Yeah, there was no mistaking it. The various movie posters on the walls and the lonely blue lava lamp on his desk were dead giveaways. But why was he here? How was he here? Wasn't he chasing Eight around the ruined Residential Zone? That's what he remembered last.

Could this have all been a nightmare? Was it over? Was he finally—

"You're awake!" A voice boomed, interrupting his thoughts and thus ending his visual hallucination.

Akikta's room abruptly morphed into a decayed luxury suite, and instead of being on his bed, he was on a decently comfortable queen-sized bed. The blue light from the lava lamb gradually dimmed, being replaced with white ceiling lights.

Akikta looked to his left, seeing that part of the suite wall had been destroyed. Its destruction gave him a gorgeous view of the Residential Zone and another tower in the distance.

He then looked to his right to see most of the Splatoon conversing with each other about...something. They were too far away to hear anything coherent, but judging from their facial expressions and body language, it was a serious conversation.

Finally, Akikta looked ahead to see the voice that had spoken earlier was Nakji, perched over him like a watchful owl. "You really gotta stop doing that..." he said, getting a fright from how close she was, but managing to hold back any screams.

"O-oh, sorry." Nakji apologized and leaned back.

Akikta noticed she was on the bed with him, sitting on her knees while holding his fractured mask. After a moment of staring, he looked down at his body, seeing most of the ink he used was gone. Only his left inky arm remained. "How long was I out?"

"Twenty minutes," a new voice answered. He looked to his side to see Nakji wasn't the only one watching over him. Marina, Pearl, and Inka were also huddled around his bed. The one who answered his question was none other than Marina.

"You ok, dude?" Pearl asked, concerned. Akikta couldn't blame her for sounding worried. He did just attack them less than half an hour ago.

"No, I'm not." He answered honestly with a frown. "Sorry... I didn't mean to hurt any of you."

"But it wasn't you, was it?" Nakji said, staring into his eyes with a knowing look. He didn't respond, but his silence told them enough.

"Then who was it?" Inka asked curiously.

Akikta opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He realized he shouldn't tell them about Aku. Not only would it be too complicated to explain, but how would they look at him afterward?

No differently than now. They already hate you.

Akikta grabbed his head, mentally telling the voice within to shut up. He didn't need or want Aku spouting his nonsense. Especially not now.

After a short delay, he responded to Inka. "Nobody. Just an episode." Inka and the others frowned at his response, clearly not believing him. "Don't worry, I know how it happens now. I can control it... Promise." He half-assedly reassured them, looking back down at his left arm.

Akikta couldn't help but chuckle at his predicament. Of course, the one means he has to fight back is also the deadliest risk he could take. He was certain he could control his little problem so long as he watched his ink consumption. But that was easier said than done—especially in the heat of battle... The Great Spirit was evidently not favoring him right now.

"Hey, uh, Aki?" He looked up to see Pearl step closer to his bed. "Thanks."

Akikta raised a brow. "For what?"

"For protecting Marina." She clasped her hands together. "There was a lotta salmonids out there, and Marina ain't one for direct combat. N-not anymore anyway." To Akikta's surprise, Pearl suddenly bowed. "So, thank you for keeping her safe!"

Akikta waved his hand. "Hey, hey! It was nothing. Really, don't think much of it." He grabbed his mask from Nakji before continuing. "I mean, come on. I wouldn't feel too great about myself if I let something happen to your girl. Especially if I could've prevented it."

Pearl's head shot up, a slight blush on her usually pale cheeks—no words needed to be exchanged for her to understand what he meant. "Was it that obvious?"

Akikta nodded. "Very."

He laid down, staring up at the cracked gray ceiling. "Honestly, after our first meeting, I thought about what Shiver said. I'm not sure how it is for you guys, but if I knew my best friend could regrow their arm, I wouldn't be so pissed that someone sliced it off. I mean, yeah, I'd be mad. But not that mad." Akikta turned his head over to face Pearl and the other two cephalopods. "But see, if that friend happened to be my girlfriend, then oh yeah, I'd be furious."

He raised his hand. "Aside from that, there's also the special nickname you only let her call you by, how you're constantly looking out for her, and the time when you ignored literally everyone but Marina when we got back," he raised a finger after each point. "So, yeah. I'd say it was pretty obvious."

Akikta put his hand down as his lips curled into a frown. "There's something I don't get, though. I listened to a few of your songs before and didn't see a hint of you guys being a couple—Just a duo band."

"Well, that's because we haven't announced it," Marina said with an awkward chuckle.

"Oh. Trying to keep your relationship secret?"

Pearl shook her head. "Nah. Everyone we know personally is already aware."

There was a slight pause in the conversation.

"Then you're trying to keep your relationship a secret from the public?" Akikta guessed.

Marina chuckled again, this time less awkwardly. "Not at all! I believe our fans deserve to know, and we want to make an official announcement. We just haven't gotten around to it..."

Now it was starting to sound like an excuse—a pretty lame one at that. "How come?"

Pearl let out a frustrated sigh. "Because Marina over here doesn't wanna hurt her fan club's feelings!"

"Come on, Pearlie. You know that's not true!"

"How isn't it? You're always worrying about how the fans will react!"

"Of course I am! What if our announcement causes our ratings to go down? What if people start hating you because of me? What if—"

Pearl stopped Marina's rambling by taking both her hands into her own. "I already told you, I don't care bout none of that!"

"S-sure... You say that now, but then when it happens..." Marina couldn't maintain eye contact with Pearl, clearly flustered from them holding hands.

From Akikta's perspective, Marina seemed to have some self-esteem issues and was worried about public opinion. Or maybe she was concerned about how their eventual announcement would affect their duo group.

He's never seen it live, but Akikta has read many documents and watched many more archived videos on how certain human celebrities went through hell and back over revealing their personal relationships. Perhaps that was still a thing in today's age?

Even with all of that, Akikta still hadn't touched on the biggest elephant in the room: their species.

He couldn't imagine it was similar to being a different race. Marina was an octopus, and Pearl was a squid... At least they were categorized as the same class in the animal kingdom, though he wasn't sure how much of a difference that made. They couldn't possibly mix together as more than friends, right?

Well, no. That couldn't be true. He and Nakji weren't in the same animal kingdom class, let alone phylum, but they acted as though they came from the same mother. If that told Akikta anything, then it was that the issues plaguing Marina were all in her head.

Sure, as far as inklings and octolings go, he could tell there was some hatred between the two species. He had seen it firsthand. Said hatred may negatively affect their duo group, thus impacting Pearl's career. He could see why and how Marina would find some guilt in that.

Even so... "I think you're too worried about the what-ifs." Akikta started, making Marina and Pearl look at him. "Sure, maybe not everyone will respond positively to your announcement. Or maybe no one will care at all. But why should you care?"

"Because! Pearlie has worked so hard on our group! If her life's work came undone because of me, then—" Pearl shook Marina by the shoulders.

"Heeelllllooooo? Are you even hearing yourself right now? My life's work? Off the Hook wouldn't even be a thing if not for you! This is as much your work as it is mine." She shook her head. "And besides, he's right. Why should we care what others think?"

Before Marina could respond, Akikta added to Pearl's question. "I'm not sure how it is with you guys...y'know, being a different species and all, but the way I see it, you're both sentient creatures with feelings, ambitions, and thoughts. Love is love, and if you're happy with each other, that's all that really matters."

Pearl gestured to Akikta with an open palm. "See! That's what I've been saying this whole time!"

Marina looked unsure, darting her gaze between Pearl and Akikta, before finally landing on the latter. "I just don't want our relationship to cause any issues for Pearlie... How do I know announcing it is even the right decision?"

Akikta turned back to the ceiling. "Well, that's the thing. You don't." From his peripheral vision, he could see Marina looking confused.

He closed his eyes and recalled something from the past. "Y'know, back when I was in school, I would cry to Father Axe over each upcoming test. I always dreaded how hard it'd be, fearing I'd fail before even starting. You know what he told me?" With his eyes closed, he could almost perfectly play out exactly how the memory went. "If I keep fearing the possibility, then I'll never experience what could be." He chuckled as the silence somehow intensified. "Yeah, I didn't get it at first either. But I'm not like him, so I'll give it to you straight."

He opened his eyes while sitting up, seeing the four cephalopods staring at him intently. "Sure, you can keep fearing the possibility of your fans disliking you and Pearl for your relationship and not make the announcement. But then you might not ever experience what could've been your popularity skyrocketing because of the announcement."

Akikta patted his chest. "Take me, for example. I was so ready to skip that class and miss the test, but after Father Axe told me that, I sucked it up and took it like everyone else. And you know what? I did so well that I beat out everyone else's score!" He explained excitedly, being very proud of that achievement.

Akikta calmed down, reminding himself that this wasn't about him. "Anyway, all I'm saying is don't overthink it. Just live in the present instead of worrying about the future. That's all you can really do. I mean, look on the bright side. Pearl cares about you way more than her reputation, so whatever issues y'all bump into, I'm sure you'll be able to handle them together." That got a smile out of Marina and Pearl, making him smile as well. "And who knows? That announcement might be the best decision you've ever made in your life."

Pearl smirked. "Who woulda thought you'd be so good at giving out advice?" She patted his back. "You must've been in a lot of relationships."

Now it was Akikta's turn to give out an awkward chuckle. "Haha...right..."

His attention shifted to the other Splatoon members, who were still engaged in their serious conversation. "Oh, that looks interesting!" he said quickly before hopping off the bed, leaving no time for the others to stop him.

Akikta placed his fractured mask back over his face as he approached the group, moving to stand beside Eight. "What's going on over here?"

Him suddenly speaking made Eight whip her head in his direction and jump. "Y-you're awake?"

"I am." He raised a hand to stop her from speaking further. "Before you ask about earlier, I'm sorry. Let's just say these new abilities come with an...unwanted side-effect. I think I know how to control it now though, so I'll be fine. Promise."

Eight raised a smooth brow. "You think you know?"

"I do know." He corrected.

Eight turned her head, side-eyeing him for a moment longer before sighing. "I trust you," she said tiredly.

By now, Pearl and the others had rejoined the group. Afterward, Eight answered Akikta's question. "We're currently discussing our next plan of action."

"Oh? What have we come up with?"

"Nothing. We're still trying to figure out how the salmonids keep finding us."

"What? You mean we still haven't found out how they're tracking us?" Eight shook her head in response.

Akikta thought the agents had solved that mystery by now. How many ways could the salmonids track them anyway? "Have you guys ruled out cameras?"

"Yes. Most, if not all, of the cameras in the bowels are non-operational. There's no way they could be using those to keep an eye on us."

"And you're sure their sense of smell isn't strong enough to track us all throughout Atlantis?"

"If it were, Ricky would've been able to find us just fine without Rick's help."

"Fair point." Akikta rubbed his chin. He was at a loss.

"Maybe they're tracking us through Marina's computer?" Metta suggested.

"Impossible. My encryption is top of the line!" Marina argued.

"Even if it wasn't, hacking isn't our strong suit. It is more of the usurper's thing." Ricky added. With Sal riding on Boris right now, he couldn't be the one tracking them. "The only electronics the loyalists could track are their own."

Just then, something clicked in Akikta's brain. If he was to believe what Eight told him earlier, then the salmonids haven't been tracking the Splatoon. They've been tracking him.

Akikta snapped to Nakji, holding his hand out. "Nakji! The translators!"

Nakji flinched at his raised voice. After a brief pause, a nervous expression overtook her face. She put her hands together and looked away shyly. "I... um... f-forgot them...back at the splicing chamber," she murmured with a shameful facial expression.

Akikta wanted to tell her not to worry about the translators since he was going to tell her to get rid of them anyway, but he was stumped. If the translators were back at the Superiority Complex, then what could they be tracking him with?

Then it hit him.

Akikta froze, then awkwardly patted himself down. He cringed when he felt a belt beneath his jacket.

"What's the matter?" Asked Callie, who saw him cringe.

Everyone turned to Akikta, and he exhaled in defeat. "They haven't been tracking you guys. They've been tracking me... And I think I know how." He unzipped his jacket and undid the fastener on his utility belt, pulling it out like it were a snake. Nothing was on the belt, nothing but a lonely little radio.

Of course. How did he not think of this sooner? From the start, even before they became enemies, Sal had always been tracking him through the radio.

In Akikta's defense, the radio was always more of an afterthought to him. It was one of the first few things he found in Alterna upon awakening from cryostasis; He only had to use it occasionally throughout his journey.

He remembered stuffing the belt underneath his jacket at the Manta Maria before the fight with the New Squidbeak Splatoon. He was concerned one of the agents might try to take the radio from him, so he kept it hidden.

Between doing that and up until now, it was easy to imagine how he forgot about the radio. But not everyone was willing to accept Akikta's forgetfulness so easily.

"WHAT?!" Metta shouted, "You mean to tell me they've been following us through that radio from the start- AND IT'S BEEN WRAPPED AROUND YOUR WAIST THIS WHOLE TIME?!"

"Well..." Akikta groaned, unable to come up with a valid excuse. He doubted Metta would believe the "I couldn't feel it underneath my jacket" line.

"Y'know what, whatever!" Metta stomped over to him. "Let's just get rid of it." She reached out to grab it, only to have Akikta raise it away from her. Since he was taller than her, she had no choice but to step back. "What are you doing?!"

"We can't just get rid of it!"

"Huh? Why not?!"

"Because..." Akikta mumbled something to himself before bringing the radio to his lips. "Orca, you there?"

Suddenly, a familiar chime played out from the radio. "But of course." O.R.C.A responded, startling the whole group.

"W-what the—" Metta stumbled over her words. "O-Orca? Is this the same Orca from Alterna?"

"Indeed." The AI confirmed. "It is good to see you again, Agent 3."

Akikta side-eyed the radio from his mask. He never said that to me.

"Wait, how is Orca even here?" Marie questioned, snapping Akikta from his thoughts.

"I downloaded him onto this radio before I left Alterna. I figured I could use him on the surface." He explained, leaving out the part where he also forgot about O.R.C.A up until now. "So, as you can see, we can't just get rid of the radio. Not with Orca still in it."

Metta huffed. "We can do without the AI, y'know."

"This AI is not only the last thing I have of my home, but it also contains thousands of years' worth of human history and knowledge. We are not getting rid of it."

The agent crossed her arms, looking unamused. "If you downloaded Orca onto that radio, then that means you can download it onto something else, right? Just install it on Marina's computer or something."

Akikta hesitated. "I mean...would she even be ok with that?"

He turned, seeing Marina nodding excessively. "Of course! Having a human-made AI on my laptop? It'd be an honor!"

Metta clapped her hands. "Great, then once we do that, we can chuck that thing out the window and—"

Inka raised a hand. "M-maybe we don't h-have get r-rid of it. We could use i-it."

Metta gave Inka a "Are you serious?!" look, spooking the dark blue inkling. However, Marie placed a hand out to deter Metta's aggressiveness. Afterward, she spoke. "What did you have in mind, Inka?"

Inka fiddled with her fingers before continuing. "W-well, that Sake guy has been following us through the radio. S-so we could have someone else take the radio and lead him away from the rest of us...?"

Inka's idea was met with silence, making her lower her head in embarrassment.

"That's actually a pretty solid tactic," Marie answered, and Inka perked up with a happy expression.

"But wait," Akikta interrupted, "Sa- Er, Eosalmo can see through the other end of the radio. He'll know the radio isn't on me."

"Aki, he's been seeing nothing but the darkness of your jacket ever since we got here." Nakji pointed out.

"Oh, right..." Akikta, slightly embarrassed. He then cleared his throat. "Well, as long as we keep it covered, it shouldn't be an issue."

Marie smiled. "Now, all we need is someone to be the bait."

Eight stepped up. "I'll do it."

"Maybe not this time, Eight. You've already done a lot for us."

"If not me, who else could?"

Marie gestured over to the two salmonids. The brothers looked at each other, then at the group. "I suppose this makes sense... If anyone knows this place from snout to tailfin, it's us," Ricky said, looking out the window. "I shall be the one to go. I've evaded worse threats, so I should be able to buy you all ample time to escape."

Rick crossed his fins. "But it'll all be pointless so long as the dome is still up."

Right, the dome.

The one thing that kept Akikta and the others trapped in Atlantis. "Well, obviously there's something here that controls the dome. Maybe a lever or something? All we have to do is find and undo it."

"It's not so simple," Rick grumbled.

"What do you mean?"

Rick stared at Akikta for a good while before uncrossing his fins. "The mechanisms that control Atlantis's submersion capabilities isn't a button or lever. It's a protocol."

"A protocol?"

"Like a set of codes." Rick clarified, then moved over to the broken wall in the suite with Akikta following. "Your people set the codes within Atlantis's main system, so the only way to access the protocol is through the central terminal, which is at the Chain of Command." He pointed to the largest tower in all of Atlantis, located in the center of the metropolis. "The place is crawling with his loyalists. Plus, I doubt you or that big-headed octarian know how to access the terminal anyway."

Akikta stared ahead before grinning mischievously. "Well, we might not. But we won't have to." Rick turned to him, confused. "This entire vessel is manmade! Orca could take control of it if we install him onto the central terminal." Judging by Rick's expression, the salmonid was surprised. But Akikta wasn't done. "I'll do you one better! You said the submersion protocol was a set of codes, right? Well, if that's the case, then without them, that bastard can't submerge Atlantis!"

He turned to the Splatoon. "He won't be able to hide anymore! Once we delete the code, he'll be a sitting duck forever."

"That's a good idea. A shame, though." Ricky said.

"What do you mean a shame?"

"If I had to guess, the submersion protocols were vital to the Atlanteans. So much so that they made the code...for lack of better words, complex." Akikta stared at Ricky like an idiot, making the salmonid sigh. "The code can't be deleted. Believe me, we tried during the revolt."

Akikta tapped his foot for a moment. "Well, that's fine. We can still remove it from Atlantis's main system. Orca could download it on Marina's laptop."

"Well... We've never tried moving the code. So that could possibly work."

"It's going to work. It has to work." Akikta turned to face the Chain of Command tower once more, standing near the edge of the broken wall.

"So, that's the plan." Eight moved beside Akikta. "Bait Eosalmo away from the tower."

"Install the AI onto the central terminal," Ricky said, and one by one, members of the Splatoon came up to the broken wall, staring out at the tower.

"Leave this place..." Inka murmured, standing beside Akikta next to Eight.

Nakji and Marie came to his other side, with the latter speaking. "Gather reinforcements."

Akikta narrowed his eyes. "And kill Sal."