Chapter 15: The Ink Demon
"Don't refrain. This ink will stain."
While Akikta and the others were busy fighting for their lives, Inka and Marie were busy avoiding recapture.
After escaping Huchen and Masu's pursuit, the two squids lurked around corners and maneuvered through Atlantis without being seen. The snatcher that saved them managed to lead them out of the tower that made up the Superiority Complex, so all they had to do was follow him as he navigated through the labyrinth that made up the sectors surrounding said complex.
The three trudged through empty, dimly lit halls. The atmosphere was relatively quiet, with only the occasional grumble and gurgle of a distant salmonid being heard here and there. If it weren't so cold and eerie, Inka would've found the walk pleasant.
She looked around, realizing how painstakingly slow their walk was.
There didn't seem to be any patrolling salmonids nearby, so Inka figured now was a good time to start up a conversation. "H-hey, snatcher... What's your name?" She choked out. It was a lot harder to speak than she thought it'd be, though, the fear of being caught brought on anxiety that definitely didn't make it easier for words to come out.
Without turning around, the snatcher responded in a meek voice. "My true name is Risky Retriever of Precious Golden Eggs."
"True name?" Marie caught.
"Y-yes. When the usurper came into power, he had all of us adopt what he considers proper names."
"What name did you pick?" Inka inquired.
"I didn't want to disgrace our traditions by choosing one... but the others refer to me as Ricky, anyway."
Ricky, I like that name. Inka said internally, not wanting to say it out loud in fear of unintentionally disrespecting salmonid tradition.
"Well, I'm Inka, and this is Marie." She introduced, which Ricky acknowledged with a nod.
"So, Ricky. If you're not on Sake's side, why're you here?" Marie wondered.
"Brother wished for me to maintain friendly relations with the usurper and his loyalists, as he did not want me to suffer any consequences if we lost our revolt against him. Which we did..." Ricky informed sorrowfully. "Despite my relation to him, I was able to avoid exile. Now I work from the inside."
Ricky grumbled. "The usurper has adopted many of your people's ways. Claiming they are better or more efficient than ours."
"Wait, I just realized something." Inka interrupted. "Sal—er, Sake... Eosalmo?"
"Usurper."
"Whatever you want to call him!" She pouted. "Marie, have you noticed he only speaks in our language?"
Marie's face blanked into a neutral expression. Then it morphed into a confused look. "He's always spoken that way... Even from my earliest memory, I don't remember him ever speaking in a different language."
"Huh...I thought salmonids had their own?"
"We do," Ricky confirmed. "But the usurper swears yours is more convenient than ours, so he had us all learn it. Some of us still struggle with it today..."
Marie frowned. "I'm not a big salmon person, but even I can see how messed up that is. He's replacing your culture!"
"And using us as pawns," Ricky added.
"Which is why I'm helping you. The usurper wishes to have you and the human. But we won't let him take either of you. Not without a..." Ricky's sentence trailed off as they turned and entered a wider hall.
In the distance was a large group of salmonids charging right at them.
"...Fight..." He solemnly finished, probably wishing he had kept his big mouth shut.
"Shoot! We need a weapon!" Marie yelped and turned to Ricky. "Where's yours?!"
Ricky jumped. "What do you mean?"
"What do you mean what do I mean?! Don't you salmonids have weapons?!"
"O-our frontline combatants do! But I'm just an egg retriever. We're not equipped to fight!" Ricky fumbled around in his green pants before pulling out a net. "All I have is this!"
Marie snatched it from his fins. "It'll do!" She faced forward, getting into a defensive stance. "Inka, get ready to fight old-school!"
Inka nervously jolted and looked down at her shaky hands. She clenched them into fists and got into a stance of her own, albeit a very amateurish stance.
Ricky would slowly waddle behind the two squids. "M-maybe we should run." He suggested.
"We're not running. There's only a couple dozen of them. That's way less than what they usually come in. We can take 'em!" Marie said confidently, raising the net like it were a bat.
The three held their ground and braced for battle. However, what happened next wasn't something they could've prepared for.
When the large group of salmonids got within striking range, they continued to run. They didn't swing their pans, bite their prey, or even acknowledge the three's existence. They just kept running.
The three of them turned, watching as the group of salmonids continued their charge down the hall. Some even toppled over each other as they tried squeezing into the smaller halls.
Marie and Inka were reasonably shocked by the scene.
"What was that?" Marie asked, though no one was able to provide an answer.
"Have you ever seen salmonids run away like that before...?" Inka asked Marie, who shook her head no.
Salmonids were creatures who lived and died by the pan. Death wasn't something that scared them, so they always charged in without a care in the world for their well-being. Never has Inka seen a salmonid so desperate in the way they fled.
"They looked terrified..." Ricky commented.
Inka thought they seemed scared. She wasn't certain at first since a salmonid's expression wasn't always easy to read. But now that she knew for sure, she wondered...What were they running from?
A single, wet, slap-like noise came from behind the group.
They turned, and a freakishly tall humanoid stood half a yard away. The figure dwarfed all of them, as it was eight feet tall. The form it had matched that of a human.
Through its semi-visible appearance, Inka could've sworn it was an older version of Akikta. However, she knew it was most definitely not a human.
That predatory presence, the dripping pitch-black ink it had for skin, and those eyes—those soulless white eyes... They were the same ones she had seen back at the Manta Maria.
There was only one creature those eyes could belong to.
"T-the I-I-ink D-demon..." Inka murmured while trembling. Crippling fear seized control of her entire body as she stared back at Subject 7—Akikta's brother.
"Inka... Marie..." Ricky whispered.
Subject 7 continued to stare at them. No identifiable emotion could be seen on his hollow face.
His gaze suddenly fixated on Inka, making her jump. Did he recognize her?
Subject 7's head tilted up, only for him to look around. It was like he had become aware of his surroundings. The display confused Inka greatly, but she didn't dare utter a word.
Marie grabbed Inka's arm, gently pulling her back as the group slowly backed away.
Subject 7 brought his inky hands up to his face and wiped his eyes. After a few wipes, he pulled his hands back and stared at them for a long time.
"We should..." Ricky whispered again, picking up the pace at which he moved backward.
Subject 7 started making strange noises, akin to grumbles or growls. He gripped at his head, clutching his face with what Inka assumed was a fierce grip. He shook his head repeatedly, only to let out an ear-deafening shriek that echoed through the halls.
"RUN!" Ricky shouted, and the group bolted in the opposite direction of Subject 7.
The moment they took off running, Inka heard violent wet slams reverberating behind them. She knew she shouldn't have, but she looked over her shoulder, being greeted by the horrific sight of Subject 7 charging at them on all fours like some feral beast.
A surge of adrenaline shot through Inka, pushing her to run faster.
Were it not for the series of twists and turns, Subject 7 would've caught them ages ago.
After a while, Ricky shouted. "There!" He pointed up ahead to an opened blast-door-looking structure. "There's a checkpoint! On the other side is a panel to seal the door!"
Marie turned to Inka. "Seal that door!" she ordered as if they were soldiers, and she was her superior.
Inka would've teared up at the loud and stern voice ordering her around, but presently, nothing was scarier than the inky abomination chasing them down.
Without being told twice, Inka shifted into her squid form and, after a short delay, blasted off through the hall. She landed on the other side of the door, skidding to a stop before transforming back into her humanoid form.
She'd then look for the panel Ricky was talking about. Inka found it, but she didn't understand any of the words on the screen. Panicking, she smashed a couple of buttons until one of them eventually got the door to begin closing.
Now that it was about to shut, it dawned on her that she didn't know how to stop it. "Guys! Hurry!" Inka called out.
Marie picked the pace, scooping Ricky into her arms and carrying him bridal style. With a loud groan, she tossed the salmonid, and he rolled onto the other side of the blast doors. Then, Marie jumped, transforming into her squid form mid-air to slip right between the vertical slit of the closing doors.
The blast doors sealed, blocking Subject 7 from the rest of them. Although they couldn't see him now, they could hear him banging on the door and screeching.
Marie transformed back into her humanoid form, turning to Inka. "That was clo—" A loud bang cut her off.
The group watched in sheer horror as the metal on the door jutted towards them.
Furiously, Subject 7 pounded on the blast door from the other side; Each time he did, the dent grew worse and worse. The door would not hold him back for long.
Ricky quickly surveyed the area, spotting something in the distance. "Over here!" He called out, leading Inka and Marie over to an intersection.
To the right and left were just more halls. However, ahead of them was a room with a circular platform. A pedestal stuck out from the platform's center.
"Get on." Ricky ushered.
"What is it?" Marie questioned.
"It's an elevator. It can take us to safety..." Ricky trailed off, hearing another bang in the distance. "...It can take you to safety."
"What? What are you talking about?" Inka said, worried.
"I will lead this beast away from you two. You use this elevator to escape. I don't know how or when, but we'll meet up again later."
"Hey!" Inka grabbed his fin before he could take off. "You can't just leave us! We don't know this place half as well as you do!"
Another bang echoed in the distance.
"I know! But we must part ways." He insisted.
"What if he catches you?!"
Ricky grumbled. "I won't lie. That is a possibility. But he may catch all three of us if we do not split up. We cannot afford to lose either of you." He made a valid point, but Inka was reluctant to let him go. "Trust me, I am not as easy to catch as one might think." He assured, though it did little to convince her.
Upon hearing another bang, Ricky snatched his fin back and ran off. "We will meet again!"
"Ricky! Wait!" She reached out a hand to grab him again, but he was already halfway down the hall.
Chasing him down would only put them all in danger, so without a choice, she trusted Ricky's decision.
Marie would press a random button on the pedestal, and the platform began moving up.
There was silence for a minute before Marie broke it. "I never thought I'd say this about a salmonid, but I really hope he doesn't die."
"Y-yeah... me too."
Ricky showed admirable bravery by nominating himself to be bait for Subject 7. The two could only pray that the salmonid was faster than the ink demon.
As the platform neared a ceiling, Inka spotted a room coming into view. She smiled, seeing it was an exit.
When the platform reached the same level as the room's open doors, Inka's hearts dropped and her smile vanished.
"Oh, hello." A familiar voice said cheekily.
In front of them were the Steel Twins and a large group of salmonids.
Masu stepped forward with crossed arms. "Welcome back."