Chapter 18: Last Chance
"Time to go big, or else you won't go home."
Marie grumbled as she and Inka were placed back in their glass prison of a jar.
Neither of them tried to run, seeing as they were completely surrounded. Even if they had managed to break away from their captors' fins, they wouldn't have been able to outrun them.
Besides, they didn't know where to go without Ricky's guidance. Inka dearly hoped he was ok.
After they were put back in their jar, a few cohocks hoisted up a large boulder onto the lid, effectively trapping them.
From then on, the salmonids kept an eye on the two prisoners. Masu especially.
Nothing of note happened for a while. Marie and Inka didn't speak to each other, as the piercing stares of salmonids made it too uncomfortable to do so.
For some odd reason, Inka shifted her gaze over to the Steel Twins, quietly observing them. They were conversing with another group of salmonids that were passing by the cloning chambers. Well, Masu was. Huchen just stood there in silence.
Masu bopped her head abruptly, apparently laughing at something a Steel Eel said. Her mohawk-styled hair wobbled with each bop. Inka couldn't help but notice how similar her hair was to the Steel Eel's.
Despite being humanoid, like her father, Masu still had traits that closely resembled a salmonid, surprisingly enough.
Inka found herself staring, trying to wrap her head around how creatures such as the Steel Twins were possible.
She didn't hide her ogling very well, eventually catching Masu's attention as a result. After a few seconds, she cut her conversation with the Steel Eel short and walked towards the jar. When Inka realized she was coming over, she stood up.
"What is it, vile squid? Your staring is distracting." She said in an agitated tone.
Inka put her hands together and looked down, choosing to stare at Masu's metal boots rather than her scary face. "S-sorry... I just n-noticed your hair kinda looks like a steel eel's..." she murmured, seeing Masu squint from her peripheral vision.
"Mother was a steel eel, so it's only natural my hair matches theirs. But that does not give you the right to gaze at my figure with your filthy eyes!" Masu hissed, causing Marie to grit her teeth angrily.
"Lay off her, fish face! You guys have been doing the same thing!" Marie said in Inka's defense, standing up to Masu's height. "Besides, what's with the stinger mask if you're a steel eel? That's pretty confusing, y'know!"
Though her mouth was hidden, Inka could tell Masu was bearing her probably sharp teeth at Marie. "It belonged to a friend who perished in honorable combat! I wear it to honor his legacy. But I'm sure honor isn't something you'd understand!"
The two got right up in each other's faces—well, as close as the glass jar would allow.
"S-sorry..." Inka said suddenly, breaking the tension between Marie and Masu. "I can't imagine what it's like to lose a friend that way. It must've been hard... I'm sorry f-for your loss..."
Masu snarled. "I'm sure you are. After all, it was your people who took his and mother's life!" Inka flinched at Masu's raised voice. "Father was right. Your kind is nothing but a plague on this world. But soon, he'll get rid of you and those troublesome octarians."
Suddenly, a loud whooshing noise entered the room; Everyone looked up to see an octarian UFO—The same one Sal had left in. "Ah, would you look at that. He's back!" Masu said happily with a smirk, glaring at Inka and Marie.
His arrival could only mean one thing: He caught Akikta.
At least, that's what Inka thought. But when the UFO landed on the triangular platform, everyone but Clod was shocked to see a slightly bruised Sal with torn clothes and no human in sight.
"F-father?" Masu said, confused. She moved to stand next to her brother as Sal stepped off the platform. "W-where's the human?" she asked.
Sal shot her a certain look that Inka couldn't quite make out. All she could see was Masu shuddering in response to his glare.
"He got lucky. They all got lucky. That's all." Sal stated, walking away from the twins, who followed behind obediently.
He was about to say something else, but stopped right before he could get out his first syllable. He'd then turn and point to the top of the jar with his thumb. "What's with the rock?"
Masu perked up, but was unable to give an immediate response. "The two squids got away," Clod said, preventing her from coming up with an excuse.
"C-clod!" Masu growled, turning to the king salmonid, who was still tinkering away at the terminal.
"What?" Sal growled lowly, now looming over the twins.
His back was turned to Inka, so she could only see the fearful expression on Masu's face as she stammered.
"T-there was a traitor helping them! Risky Retriever o-of Precious Golden Eggs!" Sal tilted his head. "R-ricky!" Masu clarified. "He released the two and tried to help them escape! B-but as you can see, we got them back!" She defended her case.
Sal tapped the bottom of his chin. "Ricky... oh, I see." He turned back towards the jar, Masu breathing a sigh of relief in response. "I thought I saw his brother with the new splatoon. So I guess the two were in cahoots this whole time. That explains a lot." His tail swayed.
Masu suddenly smiled. "R-right! And you experienced firsthand just how strong those squidbeaks are! So—" Sal slammed his tail into the ground, slightly denting the floor. Masu hushed up real quick after that.
"Strong? Actually, they were weaker than I thought they'd be..." He looked over his shoulder at the Steel Twins. "And you've lost against them numerous times. On top of nearly losing Ikayaki and that blue squid. What's more, you don't even have the traitor that helped them, meaning there is still a rat amongst us." Masu started sweating bullets, and Huchen lowered his head in shame.
The suspense briefly disappeared for Inka as she wondered what the shell a rat was.
"You've trained for your whole lives, and so far, the results of that training are proving... unsatisfactory, to say the least." He fully turned to the twins. "Do you intend to keep failing? Because if so..."
Just as Masu was about to blurt something else out, a new voice captured everyone's attention. "Now, now, dear. There's no need to get worked up."
Inka and Marie turned to where the voice came from, only to see a massive salmonid slithering across the ground towards the group. They had to be at least twenty-five feet in height.
The large salmonid resembled a goldie, wearing an oversized white robe that hung around its upper torso whilst its body shimmered from the light reflecting off its golden scales. They also had long, brownish whiskers protruding from each snout.
Yes, each snout.
The new figure's most surprising feature was that it had two heads instead of one.
"Yes, yes. Don't waste your breath on those two. You'll work up an appetite if you do." The other head snickered. Like the first head, the second sounded feminine. The only difference was the second head's higher-pitched tone.
"Even if they are your children, you can't expect them to ever be as great as you." The first head said with a slight grin.
Masu's face scrunched up in utter disgust. It was obvious she hated whoever this salmonid was more than any inkling or octarian.
"Yes... right. You're always right. Guess I expected too much from them."
"Of course, I'm right, dear. I am wise, after all." The first head boasted.
"The wisest of them all!" The second head added.
Clod finally took a break from the terminal, focusing on the large two-headed goldie. "Atla, Koka, what are you doing here?"
The first head turned to Clod. "We heard our beloved was having trouble with this human. So we decided to offer some assistance." The two heads' whiskers lovingly caressed Sal's cheeks, but he didn't seem to acknowledge the touch.
"Tell us, almighty lord, what can we do to help?" The second head nudged Sal's gently, searching for some affection.
The first head then lightly bashed into the second. "Stop it, Koka! Only I can be that close to him!" The first head, who Inka now knew was Atla, growled at the other.
"As if! He enjoys my company more than yours anyway!"
"In your dreams, maybe."
The two heads snapped at each other, only to be interrupted by Sal raising his hand. "Well, you two can help by being quiet for a second."
Atla and Koka immediately ceased their bickering, lowering their heads submissively.
"Of course, love," Atla murmured.
"Apologies, love," Koka added.
Their green eyes blinked slowly as their horizontal pupils eyed Sal intensely.
Their admiration for the salmonid lord was starting to get creepy for Inka. Wait, she wasn't like that with Akikta, was she?
No, of course not...
Hopefully.
"Now then, where's Akikta?" Sal asked, turning to Masu.
"H-he's heading for the sixth tower..."
"The Rejuvenation Center?" Masu nodded. "He's trying to heal himself," Sal growled, annoyed. "Dammit. I'd blow up that whole tower if I could. That way, he'd have to come to me if he wished to live!"
"Why don't you then?" Clod questioned, and Sal spun to face the king salmonid.
"That's the only place that can heal Akikta. And he's running out of time!"
"I don't see why you don't just let the parasites kill him."
A vein appeared on Sal's forehead. "Because you idiot! The machine can't clone a corpse, even if the death was recent! His heart needs to be beating if I want to make more of him!" He shouted, making Clod shrink away. "And it doesn't help that those cephalopods are guarding him. As weak as they are, they're making things twice as hard. Those damned hardbeaks!" He jumped in anger.
Atla and Koka looked at each other before smirking.
"Oh, is that the issue?" Atla asked rhetorically. "We might know how to handle both of your problems... All at once."
Sal turned to the large goldie, giving the two heads his undivided attention. "Go on," he urged. Then Atla and Koka began whispering to him.
Judging by Clod and Masu's confused expressions, only Sal could hear whatever the goldie was muttering.
After a minute of whispering, Sal's lips curled into a wicked smile, exposing his sharp yellow teeth. "You truly are the wisest." He complimented, earning a happy squeak-like noise from Atla and Koka.
Sal turned to Masu and Huchen. "Congratulations, children. You have yet another chance to redeem yourselves." His grin was replaced with a serious frown. "But this is your last chance. Fail me again, and I promise you won't like the consequence."
"W-we won't fail anymore, Father! We swear it!" Masu shouted in a frightened tone. Huchen simply nodded.
"Good." Sal turned and waved them along. "Come now, it's time to discuss your next course of action."