Chapter 23: The Grand Disaster

"The Calamity of Humans."

Akikta opened his eyes and saw he was no longer in the foggy white room of the splicing chamber. He wasn't even in the Superiority Complex anymore.

Based on his surroundings, he was still in Atlantis—The Bowels, to be exact. The shapes of the ruined sectors were irregular enough for him to tell, but why was everything colorless? Actually, before that, how'd he even get here? And more importantly, why couldn't he move?

Akikta was fully conscious and could feel his body, but he had no control over its movements. And the strangest part? He was moving involuntarily. Despite that, he was moving with a purpose. He wanted to get somewhere, or rather, to someone. He didn't know who, but he knew where they were, weirdly enough.

Then the damnest thing happened. A beam of ink struck him in the back like a laser, yet he felt no pain. He knew it was ink from the liquid's viscosity.

Akikta turned to see the beam of ink firing from the tip of a mask. The mask looked exactly like the one Masu wore, but the entity wearing it wasn't her. It was a salmonid of some kind, stacked on top a dozen of pots. He recalled someone calling the mask a 'stinger mask', so that must be what the salmonid was.

The stinger was surrounded by various other salmonids, much to Akikta's horror. To make matters worse, he was alone, and the horde was approaching him fast. However, the fear he felt was heavily outweighed by a different emotion—anger. Without hesitation, Akikta's body sprung towards the group at speeds he didn't know he could reach.

Then he blinked, and the horde was gone. So was Atlantis. He was somewhere entirely different.

The scene unfolding before him had a bunch of inklings, octolings, and various other sea creatures scrambling over one another to get away from him. Fear was all he could see in their facial expressions.

The bright lights and loud noises told him where he was. Even in a black-and-white world, he knew this was the concert. The same one where the Squid Sisters performed live for their splatfest.

He remembered this night vividly. How could he not? Because of him, his brother ended up absorbing a lot of innocent souls. Akikta had watched him absorb a few, which is what gave him nightmares.

After a moment, Akikta realized something was off. While he remembered the scene perfectly, he noticed his point of view wasn't in the right place. Whereas he recounts Subject 7 devouring countless inklings and octolings, it was now he who was devouring them.

Whenever any creature got too close, his hands, which he still had no control over, reached out and grappled them like fish in a barrel. He could feel the vibrations from their screams as his appendages expanded and covered them entirely.

This must've been a very bad nightmare. No, this was a very bad nightmare. At least, that's what he told himself before he saw... himself.

Past the rushing crowd of sea creatures, Akikta locked eyes with himself. The look he gave was one of complete shock. He remembered giving Subject 7 that exact look...

The screaming, the absorbing, the look he gave himself—It all was so real. Too real to be a nightmare. That's because it wasn't. This was a real memory of that event, but from his brother's point of view. How was that possible? Why was that possible? And why did he feel the sudden urge to kill himself?

For some reason, Akikta was furious. He didn't know what the cause of his anger was, but he knew all of it was directed at himself.

Like he remembered doing, Akikta turned and bolted towards the docks where the Manta Maria was docked. He felt the body he was in lunge forward, rolling over tons of squids and octopuses alike. Somehow, he knew he wasn't going to make it to himself. His real body was too close to the ship, and that body of water struck fear into him.

Akikta figured his uncontrollable body would stop, turn away, and then disappear from view like Subject 7 had done when this all occurred. Instead, he felt his hand create a small, condensed ball of ink. No, not just ink. Himself. Everything the ball could feel, he felt. It was a weird sensation he couldn't properly describe, even if he had weeks to write it down.

Then, he pitched the ball of ink like a baseball. It smacked into the shoulder of his actual body moments before he jumped and was grabbed by Inka and Nakji.

As Akikta's real body was being pulled up, he felt his main ink body crumble away and run off into the water below the wooden deck. The condensed ball of ink became his new main ink body.

Moments after Akikta's ink body landed on his real body's shoulder, he nestled neatly in the hood of his jacket. The urge to kill himself had vanished, strangely enough. Akikta started vaguely seeing himself as someone he knew and loved.

Instead of absorbing himself like he expected to happen, his small, inky body dripped off his real body when no one was paying attention and slinked off to the lower decks of the Manta Maria.

His new goal was to recuperate the energy he lost. Akikta only knew this because those thoughts were actively entering his head. Despite thinking of them, he knew they weren't his own.

He blinked again, and like before, he was some place new.

By now, Akikta figured out he was hopping through memories belonging to Subject 7. He felt what he felt, saw what he saw, and thought what he thought. At times, it was hard for Akikta to tell which thoughts were Subject 7's and not his own.

This went on for a good while, and he experienced everything Subject 7 had gone through. He even got to witness the times Subject 7 chased him throughout Alterna and how he was able to follow him outside.

Then, he was met with a pitch-black room.

Akikta thought that was the end of the memories, but no. He still couldn't speak or move. His whole body was just bound to that dark, solitary room.

This must've been the time when Subject 7 was dormant for over twelve thousand years. That whole time, he was just sitting here. And Akikta knew why.

Subject 7 had been under the impression everyone he saw as an enemy was finally dead. So, with no more enemies left to kill, he rested.

Akikta desperately wanted to know how and why Subject 7 saw any living thing he came into contact with as an enemy. It just didn't make sense.

After what felt like a few hours, Akikta blinked again to find himself—er, Subject 7, within Holdout Zone 7. The sight he saw was absurd, to say the least.

His brother wasn't alone in this memory, but it wasn't Akikta or an evolved sea creature who kept him company. It was humans. Other living, breathing humans. Akikta wanted to cry. It felt like he hadn't seen another one of his kind in years. Alas, no tears were shed.

Blood was, though.

The humans were being ripped apart by Subject 7, then absorbed. Many tried to fight back with anything they could. Grenades, guns, experimental gadgets, anything. But nothing worked. The best they could do was slow his assault down.

Akikta thought he had grown used to seeing death and watching his brother murder people, but the sight of Subject 7 killing actual humans brought upon him an unfathomably uncomfortable sensation.

Akikta wanted to vomit, weep, scream, and run, all at the same time. Simultaneously, he felt a massive urge to murder every single human in the holdout zone. Despite knowing they were friendly, deep down, he felt they were out to get him, so he wanted to get them first.

Then he blinked.

He was still in Holdout Zone 7, but things were different. For one, color had returned to the world. His mix of strong feelings was replaced with anxiousness. He was nervous about what was to come, but the anxiety didn't come from Akikta specifically.

He still had no control over his body, but thankfully, it had the same idea as him and looked around. He was strapped to a metal table with various tubes sticking into different places of his body. No, not his body. Chaska's.

He knew the texture and features of his brother's skin quite well, considering he saw him almost daily. His body wasn't pitch-black and dripping like ink. It was solid, and a darker shade of brown than Akikta's. This was before his transformation... moments before.

A few scientists suddenly entered the room, all dressed in white uniforms. In one of the scientist's hands was a strange crystal. Akikta recognized it immediately. It was the same type of crystal as the ones they harvested from the fluids of squids.

For some odd reason, he felt a strange but genuine connection to that crystal specifically. Or maybe it was Chaska feeling that way. Even then, why? What was so important about that particular crystal?

The more he wondered, the more he stared. Eventually, a bright light flashed from the crystal, enveloping the entire room in white. Akikta squeezed his eyes shut to keep from going blind.

Seconds later, he saw the light dim through his closed eyelids. Soon after, he started jostling around, like when you're in a vehicle going down a bumpy road.

Akikta opened his eyes, finding himself staring down at a picture. He would've jumped if he had control of his body, as he knew what the photo was. He'd seen it once before in that secret room hidden within the Cozy & Safe Factory.

The picture showed Father Axe when he was younger, standing next to another young man. The man wore a hat that hid his eyes, and in his arms was a black and white cat whose tail tip was in the shape of an arrow.

Akikta was confused. He couldn't figure out why Chaska had this photo. Wait. This body... It wasn't Chaska.

The body Akikta found himself in wore a high-tech suit with heavy-duty military boots. His vision was partially covered by a thick helmet he wore, its thin T-shaped visor being his only window of visibility. In his lap was a high-powered plasma rifle. Not those dinky paintball shooters used by the agents, or those old worn-down guns that shot lead. It was an actual rifle, said to have been used by soldiers during the last World War.

Who's memory was this?

As the thought crossed Akikta's mind, the vehicle he was in stopped. Still not able to control himself, he looked up and was met with a row of humans, geared up in the same uniform as the body he was in. It was then he realized there were people on either side of him, also clad in the same high-tech armor.

Akikta was a bit of a nerd growing up, so he watched a whole lot of action movies based on the final wars of Earth. Because of that, he was able to identify the vehicle's interior as an armored military transport.

Everyone was looking at the back of the vehicle. Suddenly, they all stood, including Akikta. He felt himself stuff the photo in a tightly sealed compartment on his armor, only to grip the high-powered rifle with both hands.

A red light blinked above their heads, and the door made a loud whirring noise, ejecting steam that fogged the transport. The doors opened shortly after, and all the soldiers piled out through the doors straight into what Akikta could only describe with one word: Hell.

The sky was red and smoky; the ground was either charred or on fire, and all types of mass destruction were going on in every direction. The atmosphere was filled with sounds of panicked and angry shouting, as well as distant explosions.

Plasma rounds of various sizes whizzed back and forth across the war-torn field, some of which nailed a few soldiers who were next to Akikta, killing them instantly.

Strange aircraft flew overhead at supersonic speeds, occasionally dropping bombs that detonated and killed large groups of soldiers. A few transport vehicles matching the one he had just exited drove forward, and some of those exploded from the bombs dropping on them.

Against his will, Akikta raised the rifle and started shooting plasma projectiles at whoever was across the field. He only got a few shots off before a bomb detonated right next to him, sending him hurling across the air.

He landed with a rough tumble, settling onto his back with a wince and pained moan. His vision blurred, and his ears rang, muffling everything. While the world seemed to stop, the conflict did not. All sorts of chaos continued to rage on.

Amidst the battle, Akikta heard a faint voice.

"A..." they called out, but it was little more than a distant echo.

"A...!" they called out again, only this time Akikta could register the frantic tone in their voice.

His body looked over as his vision cleared, then his hearing returned. Standing over him was a soldier wearing the same gear. "Axe! Come on, we gotta move!" The soldier yelled, sticking out a hand for Akikta to grab. Despite never having seen or heard this man before, he trusted him with all his being.

When he took the soldier's hand, they pulled him back up to his feet. Then, as if nothing had happened, Akikta continued charging through the battlefield, firing his rifle at a still-unseen enemy.

A few minutes in, another bomb exploded next to him. Akikta wasn't sent flying back this time, but large amounts of dirt kicked up, obscuring his vision. When he cleared his helmet's visor, a new figure was standing a few feet from him with a glowing blade in their hand.

Their armor was not the same as his.

Instinctively, Akikta knew this was an enemy. While he would've preferred not to fight, his body reacted by raising his rifle. Before he could get a shot off, the enemy soldier sliced the barrel of his weapon clean off and kicked him down onto the ground. They leaped into the air and attempted to impale his chest, but he rolled out the way just in time.

Akikta scampered to his feet, only for the enemy soldier to swing the glowing blade in arc motions at him. He narrowly avoided each one before the enemy jumped forward, thrusting the blade straight at him. With a huff, Akikta side-stepped and grabbed the soldier's wrists, then elbowed the enemy in the face and yanked the blade out of their arms. Before he could use it against them, the soldier tackled him onto the ground, and he dropped the blade.

They wrestled on the burnt grass briefly, only for Akikta to gain the upper hand. The soldier was surprisingly weak for their stature. So much so that he started choking the enemy with a single hand, and they couldn't do anything about it.

Usually, Akikta would feel horrible about doing something like this, especially since he wasn't the one controlling his actions. However, this time, he seemed content with the fact that he was about to murder another person.

As he choked the daylights out of them, the soldier gasped and tapped on his arm. "A..." They stifled, obviously trying to call him. His body miraculously responded by loosening the grip around the soldier's throat, and they spoke. "Aki..."

Akikta blinked, and he was suddenly back in the white room. It was no longer foggy, and he was facing the doorway.

There was no Subject 7. Instead, Akikta was greeted by Ricky, Marina, and Callie.

"G-guys?" For the first time since he opened his eyes, he spoke.

After hearing his words out loud, he turned his head, giving out a dry gasp as he found he had full control over himself again. "Guys!" Akikta said excitedly, realizing he wasn't in any more memories. However, his ecstatic expression dropped when he saw everyone's faces.

They all looked terrified. Callie even had her roller raised, trembling slightly. After a closer look, he noticed everyone was more bruised than before.

He looked over his shoulder, expecting to see an enemy or something behind him. Instead, all he saw was the darkness in the back of the white room. They were looking at him.

"Guys?" He said a third time, turning to face the others.

"A-aki..." A voice strained. It was Nakji, and she sounded like she was struggling to breathe.

Akikta didn't see Nakji standing amongst the other three. Judging by her voice, she was below him. He looked down, seeing a black, inky appendage strangling her. It was the arm of Subject 7, choking the life out of her. However, the arm wasn't attached to Subject 7.

It was attached to the stub of his missing left arm.

After processing he was the one choking Nakji, Akikta immediately jumped back, releasing her from his grasp. She fell to the floor and coughed, rubbing her neck frantically.

Why was I choking her? He asked himself, startled.

Akikta stared at his sister before gazing at his left arm. The appendage was unlike his right arm. While he could feel his right arm and move it accordingly, he could not feel anything in his left. It was as if it were still missing. To experiment, he tried to move it, and surprisingly enough, it moved exactly how he wanted it to.

It was a strange feeling, reminding him of times when he slept on his arm and woke up to it numb. Back then, he couldn't feel or move his arm until blood returned to it. This was different. It felt numb, almost non-existent, but he could still control it like any other arm.

Akikta found himself entranced by his new left arm. It rippled and shifted each time he moved it, similar to a splashing wave. He felt like the ink should've been dripping onto the ground, but none ever did.

"Akikta..." Marina called him, snapping the boy out of his trance. "Are you... ok?" she asked, hesitantly taking a step forward.

"Y-yeah. I am..." He looked down at Nakji. By now, she had recovered but was still lying on the floor, staring back at him. "What happened...?"

"I don't know." Marina frowned. "A few minutes passed after you went in, then we heard you screaming. Nakji rushed in to help, and we followed after her. Your brother wasn't there, just you. We tried to ask you what happened, but then you just... attacked us..."

"And your eyes... They were as white as your bro's..." Callie added, then relaxed and lowered her weapon after seeing him come to his senses.

Akikta's face morphed into one of worry as he realized that's where the other bruise marks on them came from. "I'm so sorry. I... I don't remember doing that. I promise it won't..."

He trailed off, looking over at Nakji's blade. It was on the ground next to his translators. "Wait." His eyes snapped back to Marina, making her flinch. "I understood you..." He pointed at her before pointing at himself. "You understood me!"

Akikta declared the obvious, and Marina didn't understand why until she looked over at the translators. "Oh... I guess I did."

"C-can the rest of you understand me?" Akikta asked, and everyone nodded. He wasn't sure how it was possible, but now the language barrier was suddenly no longer an issue.

"Aki, how are you feeling?" Nakji asked, reeling Akikta in from the new revelations.

He looked down at himself and realized the pain he was suffering from ceased. It didn't hurt to breathe, his head wasn't aching, and everything below his waist felt fine. In fact, Akikta felt better than fine. "I feel like a new man." He commented, realizing that meant his craziest idea ever actually worked. "IT WORKED!"

He cheered, pumping his fists into the air. Everyone jumped back in startlement, catching him off guard. "What?" Akikta followed their gaze to his left arm. It was no longer an arm, instead taking on the form of an axe. He freaked out for a second and fell, glaring at his arm for a long moment.

He poked the blade of the axe-shaped ink weapon and instantly pulled away from it. Despite being a liquid, it felt solid—sharp even.

Akikta couldn't pull his eyes away from the axe; The longer he stared, the more a dangerous idea formulated in his head. He hesitated briefly before shifting the axe into a sword. All he had to do was think about what he wanted the blade to look like, and it took whatever he envisioned's exact form.

A wicked grin appeared on Akikta after confirming his suspicions. His inky arm wasn't just an arm. It was a whole weapon.

He chuckled. "Oh, ho. Now this is where the fun begins."