Chapter 9: Weapons

"Use more gun."

The group arrived at their destination, some more exhausted than others.

So this is gonna be our hideout? Huh... Akikta couldn't lie—he was a bit disappointed. Last time, they had a camp, albeit shabby, it was still a camp. Now they were holed up in a run-down office-type building.

At the very least, they were inside now. Though, Akikta would've preferred if they didn't have to go up a flight of unstable stairs to get to their designated floor.

Their room was as bad as the rest of the building: dripping wet, dimly lit, and somewhat warm. The only neat thing about their new hiding spot was the scenery from the window, giving them a bottom-to-top view of a slum-type area and two massive towers bellowing red rings of smoke in the near distance. Still, this place was no five-star hotel.

Akikta groaned as he took a seat in an old but surprisingly sturdy office chair.

Everyone else meandered about, moving aside various decayed human objects and setting up their gear. Akikta thought the group would've been interested in the human items they carelessly tossed, but the only one who looked invested was Marina.

The need for arranging defenses was low due to the lack of salmonids in the area. Regardless, the thought of more salmonid hordes rushing at them concerned Akikta, partly because he couldn't help if that were to happen again.

"Can I be level with you guys for a sec?" Akikta announced, gaining everyone's attention. "We're not really making any progress on defeating Eosalmo nor finding Marie and Inka. And my... condition is only getting worse. We gotta come up with a plan."

"You are mistaken," Rick said, waving his fin. Eight turned, translating Rick's words for the rest of the group.

"Mistaken? On what?" Akikta questioned.

"We know where the two colorful squids are."

"We do?"

Rick nodded. "They are being held in the Superiority Complex. Apparently, the usurper plans to clone the green one before eating either of them. Fortunately for us, the terminal is damaged, so that buys us a few hours."

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on. How do you know all of this?"

"Through my brother."

"Since when have you been speaking with him?"

"We salmonids have our way." Rick brushed off Akikta's puzzled expression.

"You know what? Forget I asked." Akikta shook his head. "Well, at least we know Marie and Inka are still safe. But how are we gonna rescue them?"

"Simple! We beat up that lord and send him packing!" Frye exclaimed, all amped up and ready to fight.

Akikta scratched the back of his head worriedly. "Not that I'm doubting your skills or anything, Frye, but the guy's like twice your height. He'd probably snap you like a twig. Hell, he folded me and Nakji without even trying..." He sighed, realizing he never factored in how tough Sal was. "Besides, we have no way of getting to him anyhow. Not when he has an entire clan of salmon as bodyguards." Akikta leaned forward in his chair.

"Akikta is right." Eight added. "We don't have many supplies, and aside from Rick's brother, everyone here in this room is all we have. If we want to rescue Marie and Inka, we have to be smart about this."

Metta patted her chest proudly with a grin. "C'mon Eight, me and lil buddy battled a bear in space and won."

"Wait, what?" Akikta turned to Metta, who waved her hand nonchalantly.

"Long story. I saved the world, basically. I'll tell you about it some other time." She bragged, placing both hands on her hips.

"And let's not forget the captain single-handedly dismantled great octarian machines!" Metta gestured towards Coral before pointing to Misaki. "And she rescued Callie from deep within enemy territory! With this fresh team, we can take down some measly fish."

Eight narrowed her eyes, unimpressed with Metta's arrogance. Before she could announce her displeasure, Akikta suddenly let out a painful groan while holding himself. He shut his eyes tight as he felt his entire body ache.

At this point, he was certain there was more than just parasites afflicting him. He probably had fractured bones, and maybe even internal bleeding. That's what it felt like... Not that he's actually ever experienced either before. What he did know was that the effects of Rick's bitter drink were gradually wearing off by the hour.

When the painful episode passed, Akikta leaned back in his chair. He saw confused, but mostly concerned, faces glaring back at him. "Oh, don't mind me. Just some parasites treating my insides like an all-you-can-eat buffet while Metta brags about your achievements..."

Rick turned to Eight. "The human's condition is worsening. We must get him to the Rejuvenation Center immediately!" He pointed out the window towards one of the two giant towers. The tower in question had green exterior lights with a massive plus sign on the front.

"Eight, what's he saying?" Callie asked, hearing the frantic tone in Rick's voice.

"Rick is saying we need to heal Akikta by getting him to that tower."

"Heal the human? Our priority should be saving my cousin!"

Nakji stepped up. "Your cousin has time; Aki does not!"

"And?! We've been doing pretty fine without the human race thus far. Who cares if he dies?"

"I care!" Nakji exclaimed, only for Marina to raise her hand.

"I don't condone what Aki has done, but the existence of a real living human could do so much for our society. To let him die would make us no better than the thing that has Marie!"

Pearl nodded. "I'm gonna have to agree with Marina on this one. Dude can come in handy in the future."

Frye lept up onto an office desk, now towering over everyone. "And since he's human, Akikta will smite our enemies with his super strength once he's fully healed!"

Akikta looked around with slight confusion written all over his face. "Uh, humans don't have super strength..."

Frye looked down at him. "...Super-speed?" Akikta shook his head. "Telekinesis?" Akikta continued shaking his head. "Ok, but you guys can regenerate, right?"

"Why do you think we can do any of that?"

"If you can't do any of that, what can you humans do?"

Akikta rubbed his chin. "Well, we are good at killing things. I should know, we damn near killed each other to extinction."

"Hmph. And this is the person you guys want to save?" Callie questioned, sparking anger within Nakji.

"What more do you want from him?! He's trying his best, ok!"

Akikta waved his hand. "I hate to say it, guys, but Callie's right. We shouldn't be prioritizing me over Marie. I don't know how credible Rick's info is, but that maniac lord could change his mind about eating her and Inka at any second." He sighed heavily, slumping in his chair. "Besides, even if I get healed, what could I do? Without a weapon, I'm basically cannon fodder."

Rick perked up. "A weapon, you say?"

Akikta nodded. "Don't suppose you have any human-made guns lying around here after all these years, do you?"

Rick tapped the tip of his snout, turning to stare out the window. "Well, the usurper does keep strange devices in the Command Station."

"Command Station?" Akikta shot up in his seat.

Rick pointed to the second tower, which was all gray and had dried-out markings on its sides. "If I remember correctly, the usurper uses it as a storage facility for our vehicles. It used to be some type of human fortress. Those strange devices I mentioned are incompatible with our biology, but they might work with yours."

"Then that's where we're going." Eight declared, grabbing a few ink-type gadgets off the desk.

"Wait a minute. Shouldn't we head for the Rejuvenation Center first?" Akikta suggested.

Rick shook his head. "While that would seem best, we'd have a better chance of finding you a weapon first. The Rejuvenation Center is crawling with the usurper's loyalists. Plus, the Command Station is often vacant since we don't use it for anything else. If all goes well, we'll be in and out."

Usually, when people say that, all doesn't go well. Akikta crossed his arms. "Alright, well, who's going?"

Nakji turned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we all can't go. A good number of us should stay here and hold the fort down."

Shiver nodded. "Akikta has the right idea. Don't want what little we have to get snatched from us while we're gone."

"Or worse, have an ambush waiting for us!" Big Man added, a worried expression plastered on his cartoonish face.

Coral closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. The group remained awkwardly quiet during this moment.

"W-what's she doing?" Akikta stuttered.

"Thinking," Marina responded.

Sound seemed to disappear from the room as everyone stopped talking.

After a minute, Akikta coughed, and in that same moment, Coral nodded her head. "Alright, I guess that settles it then," Marina said with a smile.

"Settles what? She didn't say anything."

"Captain says you, Frye, Eight, and Rick should go."

"Ok, one, I didn't see her open her mouth, not once. And two, shouldn't I be here resting?"

"Well, I thought the whole point was getting a human weapon for you. You'd be the only one who could identify one."

Akikta raised a finger and opened his mouth, but after some thought, he realized her points were valid. "Yeah, fair point..."

Marina pulled out her laptop—wait a second, where was she keeping that? "Rick and Eight can communicate with each other while leading the way since they both have knowledge of this vessel, and Frye can act as your bodyguard!" She explained excitedly.

"Shouldn't I be his bodyguard?" Nakji interjected.

"We need you here as our lookout!"

"What makes you think I'd be a good lookout?"

Marina turned her laptop, showing Nakji surveillance footage of when she snuck around Inkopolis prior to the concert. "When we were tracking Marie, I examined some video files from Inkopolis's security feeds. You were quite the shadow! Only a keen eye would've noticed you." Marina complimented, though Akikta was a bit perturbed.

"Is that... legal?"

For the first time since he's known her, Marina's nervous expression turned confident as she smirked. "If you can cover your tracks, it is."

Eight came from behind a desk, interrupting their conversation. "Let's go. The sooner we get this done, the better." She turned and grabbed two pairs of earphones from a nearby desk, tossing one of them to Frye. "We'll be in touch." Eight said to Marina before placing her pair on.

Since the cephalopods didn't have any holes in their ears, they attached the earphones to the outside of their ears as opposed to sticking them in. Akikta still wasn't used to their anatomy.

The teen huffed, only to see Nakji's unsure expression. He hadn't realized it until now, but this will be the first time they stay separated from one another for an indefinite period. "Don't worry, Nak. I'm sure we'll be fine. Hey, maybe you can use this as a chance to get along with the rest of the members."

Nakji pouted. "Yeah, maybe..." She side-eyed Callie.

"Alright, let's go." Eight said hastily, making her way toward the door.

Frye hopped excitedly right behind Eight. "Soon, that lord will fear us!"

Akikta stood up, feeling something bump against him from inside his jacket. "Oh!"

He turned to Marina. "Before I go... I know I have no right to ask this, but...can you do me a favor?" Marina tilted her head, watching as Akikta pulled out the handheld tape recorder from earlier. "Watching you build that hyperbomb was pretty amazing, especially having done it in such a short amount of time. So, I was wondering if maybe you could fix this?"

Marina carefully took it from him. "What is it?"

"It's a tape recorder. Y'know, those devices humans used to record what you're saying."

"A human tape recorder?!" she shouted in his ear unintentionally, making him wince.

"Y-yeah. It's pretty busted though, but if it's as old as I think, it's in pretty great condition! I was hoping you might be able to restore it?"

Marina looked the device up and down. "Well, I can't promise anything, but I'll certainly try!"

"That's all I need. Thanks!" He bowed respectfully, noticing Nakji was watching the whole exchange. Akikta gave her a small wave.

"See you later." He reassured and headed for the door.

Before he made it out, Rick grabbed his arm. "A-Akikita." He stammered.

Akikta noticed how fidgety the salmonid appeared. More importantly, Rick only ever said his name if things were serious. "Whoa, what's the matter with you?"

Rick looked towards the group, who were now conversing amongst themselves, before gesturing for Akikta to follow him. They walked to an isolated corner of the room.

"Akikta, there's something I need to tell you." If Akikta wasn't fully listening before, he definitely was now. "With everything going on, it completely slipped my mind. It may not be a real concern if the usurper continues to see us as a nuisance, but—"

"Come on, Rick! Spit it out!" Akikta said sternly, feeling discomfort with how out of character the salmonid was acting.

"If we encounter the Steel Twins again, it is important we do not seriously injure them."

Akikta blinked a few times. "Did... you hit your head?"

"Akikta, I'm serious!" He raised his voice but remained hushed.

"The big-headed one- Frye. She said we would make him fear us. We must ensure he still believes his own spawn can handle the job. Otherwise..." Rick gulped, adding to the suspense that Akikta should not be feeling.

"What, Rick?" Akikta whispered, concerned.

"The usurper has another enforcer. One who slumbers at the very bottom of this vessel. He rarely comes out, so I completely forgot about him."

"The way you're describing this other enforcer makes me feel like he's worse than the twins..."

"Much worse. The demon could capsize this whole vessel if Eosalmo gave him the order to." Akikta felt a shiver run down his spine. "The usurper only calls upon the slumbering beast when he truly believes things are out of his control. Until we have him cornered, we shouldn't make him escalate things to that measure. We already cost him a king salmonid. So, no more major victories." Rick seemed to beg, which Akikta could only nod to. The salmonid gave him an awkward pat on the shoulder before heading towards the exit.

Akikta turned, staring out the window at the Command Station. "That might be easier said than done..."