-Chapter 288-
Iceborough
South Meeting Room
It seemed like a dream. Georgette Walrus, Rotor's long-dead mother, was alive and well. Everyone present could only stand there, staring in shock, unable to believe what they were seeing; none more so than her family, who still couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"Georgette…" Sherman whispered as a silent tear slipped down his face. "Oh, Georgette…"
He fell to his knees, hugging her tightly. There was a loud cracking noise, followed by a whimper of pain from Georgette. Hearing it, Sherman quickly released her, instantly checking her for injuries.
"I'm so sorry! I-I thought I was holding back! I-"
"It's alright Sherman," she insisted, waving him down weakly before giving him a strained smile. "I'm just…sensitive from my operation."
"Operation?"
Eggatha winced. "Yes…the damage she sustained during the destruction of Iceborough was…extensive. It's only thanks to her internal cybernetics that she's even conscious."
"Cyber…" Rotor gasped in horror, which quickly turned to rage. "You Cyberized her!?"
"No!" Eggatha shouted, holding up her hands defensively. "Well, we did, but she's not an Egg Soldier. This was just your standard cybernetic operation."
With shaking hands, Georgette pulled away the blanket that was covering her legs. This revealed the limbs to be incredibly atrophied and just sitting limply on the footrests. There was also a strap around her stomach keeping her on the chair, and the more she moved her arms, the more they trembled.
"Mom…" Skeeter let out in horror. "You… your body…"
"Are you…?" Rotor uttered as he connected the dots.
Georgette slowly replaced the blanket, Bokkun helping her tuck it back into place.
"Yes, I'm paralyzed from the waist down, and I have acute nerve damage in both arms. Julian and his niece have been working to treat it, but it's been a slow process."
"She was a much more tricky patient compared to Sherman," Eggatha said as she adjusted her glasses.
"Not surprising, seeing as she was nearly crushed in half," Akhlut added, his nonchalant demeanor undermined by his fingers digging into his arm.
Georgette winced at the reminder, Sherman turning away with a grimace. The others who had bore witness to what happened in Iceborough all shared similar pained expressions. But Rotor… he looked utterly aghast.
"Crushed...in..." he uttered as he clutched his stomach, his legs wobbling. "Oh Aurora…"
"Boomer, don't, it wasn't our fault," Sherman cut in.
"Still… that..." The eldest walrus child sat down, unable to keep standing.
"Okay," Flip cut in, wanting to change the subject. "As...shocking as this all is, I gotta know...Mrs. W, how the holy wark are you still alive!?"
"I think that's something we'd all like to know," Guntiver added. "I mean, three years…"
"If we're going to tell that story…" Akhlut glanced over at Sherman, a determined look on his face. "We should tell the entire story."
"Yes, you're right." Sherman turned to the members of BLIZZARD, as well as Team Thorndyke. "Kids, pull up a chair. This story is a long and arduous one."
BLIZZARD all took a seat at the meeting table. The members of Team Thorndyke hesitated for a moment but eventually did as well. Once they were settled, Sherman began talking.
"Alright, first thing's first… Some of you probably wonder why some of us keep calling Rotor Boomer."
"It's because his inventions used to blow up in his face a lot," Chris replied. "We heard the story when we met BLIZZARD."
"Ah, good, that saves us some time. I'm also assuming that you all know about Artika's little technology problem."
"The Primal Auroras," Keith answered.
Sherman nodded. "Well, one of Rotor's big dreams was to try and find a way to overcome the Auroras. Help us 'catch up' with the rest of Mobius. Unfortunately, every time he tried, he failed…spectacularly."
Rotor winced.
"At first, it wasn't too bad," Sherman continued. "He'd come home covered in soot, get his fur singed, a few cuts and bruises. But after a while, things got worse. If it wasn't the neighbors giving us grief, it was noise complaints, angry phone calls, conferences with his teachers and principal..."
Sherman paused, taking a moment to massage the bridge of his nose as Georgette put a shaky arm on his shoulder.
"But we did our best to calm them," she continued. "After all, our son was just trying to make life better. Though... Sherman's patience was much shorter than my own."
She winced, her tone becoming somewhat dour as she spoke again.
"Then one day, one of Rotor's experiments went… really badly. Bad enough to land him in the hospital."
Flip winced as he took a hissing breath. "Ooooh…I remember that one..."
"Tusker tried to build a satella-lite or something to send out better…radi-waves," Augustus recalled. "It blew up and we got buried alive by an avalanche."
"And Rotor got that rebar stuck in his shoulder," Guntiver added.
Rotor put a hand on his shoulder. The three brains of Team Thorndyke looked over, knowing there was a scar there that he refused to talk about. Now they understood why.
"The healers said that had it been half an inch to the left, he would have been dead," Erma remembered.
"Or if Gunt and his crew had dug us out thirty minutes later." Flip shuddered at the memory. "I got such a chewing out from my folks after the healers cleared me."
"Ours too," Gust added with a grimace.
"Oui," Sealia chimed in, looking just as nervous.
Erma hugged herself. "I'd never seen Dad that pissed."
Guntiver just winced, looking off to the side.
"That…was the last straw," Sherman cut in. "Rotor's inventing was getting out of hand, and I was terrified that next time…" He clenched his fists. "That next time, he'd be in a casket instead of a healer's ward…"
Sherman shook his head, ridding himself of that train of thought.
"So, I did what any concerned parent would do…" he grimaced, taking a deep breath. "Unfortunately, I did it in the stupidest, most boneheaded way possible. I banned Rotor from tinkering. Completely and utterly."
Rotor's fellow Brain Trustees felt a chill run down their spines at that, their eyes wide in horror. Hope and Eggatha's reactions were especially bad; the former bit her lower lip nervously as the latter looked away and clenched her fist, clearly thinking of her own father.
"Hold up, forever!?" Kat repeated, utterly shocked. "Tell me you're kidding…"
"I wish I was…" Sherman groaned at the memory, putting his face in his hands. "The Auroras made anything electric-powered glitchy at best and non-functional at worst. But when you add things like Power Gems into the mix, the results were...violent. Plus, we'd been getting by just fine without all those fancy gizmos. Sure, folks called us backward and primitive, but we didn't care. Hell, a good chunk of us took pride in it."
"Look, I understand wanting to stick to the old ways. Back in Yurashia, it was the same way. However, you can't just turn your back on progress, and you can't just condemn your son for trying to make Arkita more habitable."
"He nearly blew himself and his friends straight to Vanaheim! I–!" Sherman paused, taking a moment to catch his breath. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
Georgette took her husband's hand. "It's okay, Sherman, but she's right. Artika has its charms, but it's still a frozen tundra. If you're too sick or frail or just not strong enough to handle it, living there is pretty much impossible."
"And that was why I tinkered," Rotor finally cut in. "I wanted Artika to be habitable for everyone and for us to be able to have the same things everyone had down south. To make it better. I wanted to help…"
"And I was too upset, scared, and frustrated with everything that was going on to listen," Sherman continued. "And then…I said something…something I'll regret for the rest of my days…"
Sherman took a deep breath.
"I told Rotor that maybe he was the one who needed to be better…right to his face."
Sherman hung his head in shame, slowly shaking it back and forth as he remembered his greatest mistake.
"I knew that he struggled with fighting and combat. I knew that he had no interest in following the old ways, and because of that, he faced a lot of opposition from everyone." He looked up at his son, sadly. "It wasn't until later that I found out just how bad it was."
Rotor turned away, hugging himself. "They… They'd always compare me to you, Dad. They'd always say things like 'Why can't you be more like your father? He's a real man!' or 'You're such a weakling! Are you really Sherman Walrus' son?' I couldn't take it anymore… and then you said what you said and… I broke." He took a deep breath. "So, I booked passage on the first ship out of Artika, packed my stuff, and left that night. Didn't leave a note. Didn't tell anyone. I couldn't."
"Understandable," Eggatha chimed in. "When I ran away, I didn't leave a note either. After all, if my dad didn't understand me for the first twelve years of my life, why would a letter change anything?"
"Agatha…" Akhlut lightly chided, prompting the young Robotnik to politely nod and clear her throat.
"I'm sorry," she said. "Please, continue."
Georgette nodded. "I went to check on him that morning, to try and talk to him. When I couldn't find him, I told Sherman."
"I searched all over Iceborough and everywhere Rotor was known to hang out around. I asked all his friends, but they hadn't seen him either. And I couldn't call Jules or anyone down south to ask if they'd seen him cuz we didn't have no phones."
He let out a mirthless laugh. "All I could think at that moment was that Boomer was right. That we needed to move forward, so in moments like that... we would have help."
Everyone winced at that.
"Then, one day…" Sherman cut in his expression growing even more grim and serious. "It happened..."
Artik Ocean, 3 years ago…
Far from the Artikan mainland, a small fishing boat floated among the frigid waters. The vessel was old, but sturdy, as seen from the numerous scuff marks that dotted its haul; its name proudly adorned on the side: the Skidbladnir. This was the personal vessel of Sherman Walrus, his home away from home while he reaped the bounty of the seas. But for the past week, it served a different purpose.
"Come on…come on, work damn you!"
Letting him use his radio.
While the Primal Auroras kept much of the Artikan mainland in the dark, its influence at sea was much less potent. This allowed fishing boats to keep in contact with each other, as well as send and receive transmissions from the lands further down south; be it news, music, or simply talking to friends…or family.
"Jules… Ammy… Beau… Neph… Julian… Anyone! Come on, pick up!"
But all he got was static.
"Damn it!"
Sherman slammed his fists on the table, nearly breaking it in half. This is what he had been doing nearly every hour for the past seven days, only stopping to eat and get a few hours of sleep. He was tired. His eyes were bloodshot and surrounded by dark circles. His body screamed for rest, but his mind angrily refused. He needed to work. He had to get far enough from the Auroras to contact someone, anyone who had seen his son so he could make up for his horrible mistake.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a weary sigh. "Please…Odin, Thor, any of you up there in Valhalla… I know I don't pray or worship you like I used to, but please...let someone answer."
Just then, the radio crackled, and what followed nearly gave Sherman a heart attack.
"Hello?"
Sherman sat back up so quickly, that he nearly fell backward in his seat. It was a voice, a soft, cold, and grim voice. A voice that sent chills up many a warrior's spine, one that he knew all too well.
"Elder Boreas!?" the walrus exclaimed. "Elder Boreas, Is that you!?"
"Sherman?" the snowy owl replied. "Well, isn't this a surprise? I didn't expect to find you out here for another month."
"Never mind that, where are you!?" Sherman demanded, desperately. "You're on radio, so you're far from the mainland! Have you seen my son, Rotor?"
" Ahh…so, you know of his departure," the owl replied.
Sherman stiffened.
"Hold on, you know about…!?" He shook his head, he'd worry about that later. "Forget it, just tell me if you've heard anything."
"I'm afraid not," Boreas replied. "And I fear I bear even more bad news."
"Whatever it is, it's going to have to wait," Sherman replied. "I need to find my son. I…"
"Akhlut has returned."
Sherman froze at the mention of his old rival's name.
"Akhlut? B-But I thought he settled down in Meropis!"
"It would seem he's decided to come out of retirement. I last saw him regrouping with his old pod, along with several new faces. They're heading for Iceborough, and I fear their intentions are far from peaceful."
"Miserable, bloodthirsty blackfish…" Sherman sighed. "Alright, I'm on my way. Hopefully, I can reach him before he causes too much damage."
"One last thing," Boreas cut in. "Before I left, I saw some of the orcas carrying a large, metal box."
Sherman raised an eyebrow. "A metal box? What's so special about that?"
"I don't know. But, whatever was inside it was giving off a most unsettling, green glow. I fear…"
Before Boreas could finish, the radio cut out, leaving nothing but static.
"Boreas? Elder Boreas!?" There was no response. "No!"
Sherman slammed his fists on the table again, this time, actually breaking it.
"Damn it…Rotor, please, be somewhere far away from here."
He then headed for the helm as fast as he could.
Flashback End
"I sailed back to the city as fast as I could. Unfortunately, it took me a few days, so by the time I got there, the raid had already begun."
Rotor could not stop staring at his dad, stunned at the revelation. "You...You were looking for me?"
Sherman nodded. "Of course I was. You're my son and had that raid not happened, I would have taken that boat all the way to Antartika (1)."
"Dad..." Rotor whispered, his eyes misting slightly. "So, that's why you weren't there. Why Erma blamed me for..."
"You what!?" Sherman shouted as he angrily turned to the ermine, who flinched at his sudden anger.
"M-Mr. Walrus…" Erma let out weakly. "I…"
"Don't you dare blame Boomer for what happened that day! He couldn't have changed anything! Hell, I couldn't have changed anything! I know there are all those stories about all those outlandish accomplishments people say I've done, but not even I could stop a fugging Ragnium bomb!"
Everyone in the room froze at the mention of the mineral.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up!" Kat cut in. "A Ragnium BOMB?!"
"As in, the crazy boom stones from Ginnunga Gap!?" Flip asked frantically. "The stuff that everyone says is bad news with a capital BAD!?"
Akhlut let out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his snout as he remembered that fateful day. "...yes, that."
Everyone looked at the orca, utterly aghast at what he had done.
"I-I don't believe it," Hope uttered. "I thought you had some sort of warrior's code!?"
"Hope…" Eggatha cut in, trying to calm her cousin to no avail.
"That's why you beat down Kage and stepped in during that whole mess! Why you tried to help us against Tundra! But now… now you're telling me you set off a Ragnium bomb in the middle of a noncombatant zone?!
"I didn't!"
Akhlut's gem flashed as a wave of psychic energy burst forth, nearly knocking everyone out of their seats. The orca panted heavily, sweat pouring down his face. He took a moment to massage his temples as he regained his composure.
"I didn't. Use. The bomb. Hell, I didn't know about it until it went off. If I had, I would've personally destroyed it, along with the honorless bastard who brought it before he could even think of setting it off."
"And we're just supposed to believe that?" Erma spat.
"Believe it," Sherman insisted. "I was there when it went off. He tried to stop it, same as me."
Everyone turned to Sherman, genuinely stunned. Akhlut gave his old enemy a strange look, a mixture of regret, anger, and resignation.
"I don't understand," Chris spoke up. "If Akhlut was leading the pod, then how could he not know about the bomb?"
Sherman made to speak, but Akhlut held up his hand.
"I'll take it from here, Sherman." He took a breath as if steeling his resolve. "This is my story to tell."
Iceborough, 3 years ago
It was a day like any other in the city of Iceborough, the capital of the Northern Tundra and home of the Walrus Herd. The citizens went about their daily business as the city's warriors looked after things and kept the peace; be it down on the icy streets or from high up in the guard towers.
One of the tower guards overlooking the frozen coast let out a yawn. It had been a slow last couple of days and he was starting to get bored. But as he blinked blearily, something caught his eye. The surface of the ocean had begun to ripple. Pulling out a telescope from a satchel on his belt, he peeked through and was greeted by the sight of fins cutting through the water. Black fins, as well as a pair of glowing, green eyes.
"Orcas!" the guardsman let out in horror. "ORCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!"
The guardsman ran from his post, loudly shouting "The orcas are coming!" repeatedly. A loud warhorn was sounded and everyone began scrambling. Warriors grabbed their weapons and began ushering civilians to safety, while others made for the coast; ready to face their long-time enemies in combat once again.
They didn't have to wait long, as several shapes leaped from the water before landing with a loud crash, revealing a whole horde of orca warriors.
The gathered walrus warriors regarded their foes in nervous anticipation, and with good reason. The orcas were the epitome of primal savagery. Clad in just enough furs and skins to cover their modesty, revealing sleek, yet muscular bodies covered from head to toe in runic tattoos and scars. Each was armed literally to the teeth, bearing swords, spears, shields, axes, and other weapons made of carved bone in their big, meaty hands and mouths filled with razor-sharp fangs, revealed by vicious, predatory grins. Many had some kind of wicked-looking trinket, from fang necklaces and fin piercings to fake eyes and spear tips for hands.
Moreover, the Pod had grown considerably, adding numerous non-orca fighters to their ranks. Fish and crabs. Squid and octopi. They'd even recruited a few whales!
Then, there was another splash, heralding the arrival of another group of figures. The walruses gasped as a particularly nasty-looking group of marine Mobians arrived, led by an especially large and powerfully built orca, clad in nothing but a hide loincloth and a set of golden bands around his wrists, ankles, and dorsal fin, each with a circular green gemstone that glowed with an eerie light, the same color as his demonic eyes and their jet-black sclera.
"Akhlut…" one of the walruses whispered in dread.
"He's back…" whispered another.
"I thought he was supposed to be dead!"
"Shhh! Quiet, all of you!"
Akhlut grinned as he took a deep whiff, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"Ahhhh…the smell of frightened walrus," he said. "How many years has it been?"
"Twenty years, four months, a week, three days, five hours, and fifteen minutes," replied a Mobian beluga whale next to him. "Give or take."
"Rhetorical question, Lotan," Akhlut replied, shaking his head.
"So, this is Iceborough?" inquired a giant, violet Mobian crab clicking his scarlet pincer-like hands eagerly. "I can see why you chose it, Warchief. It'll make an excellent fortress."
"Certainly better than Fort Machimos," added a dark green Mobian squid woman, shivering as a gust of wind blew by. "A bit too cold for my liking though."
"It's Artika, Kanaloa," Lotan replied. "We warned you it'd be cold."
"Well, you never said it'd be this cold! Seriously, if I'd known it'd be this bad, I'd have worn more clothes!" Kanaloa snapped, gesturing to the fur loincloth-bikini combo she was wearing.
"Then you'd be out of uniform," the crab replied, gesturing to the others' equally revealing outfits.
"Cram it, Tambano! This isn't Meropis."
"Would you two zip it, already!?" the group turned to see another orca step forward, this one smaller and younger than the others. "If you got a problem with how we do things up here, you shoulda stayed with Puff and Angelica with the rest of your worthless ilk."
"What was that!?"
"You say that again, brat!"
"Enough!" Akhlut snapped. "Be silent, all of you. We have work to do."
"Yes, Warchief," the group said.
Akhlut stepped out in front of the crowd, throwing his arms out. "SHERMAN! COME OUT AND FACE ME! After twenty, long years, I have returned! Black Ice Akhlut is back!"
Akhlut's warriors cheered as the walruses grimaced.
"I have come to claim your city as the seat of power for my new empire! Your people will spend the rest of their days bowing before the orcas! Unless you show yourself!"
Akhlut waited, only for the dramatic mood to be ruined by nobody arriving.
"Hmm...something's wrong."
"Perhaps he's occupied?" Lotan suggested.
"Either that or he's scared," the younger orca chimed in, earning a slap upside the head from Akhlut. "Ow!"
"Quiet, Amarok," Akhlut snapped. "I–"
A warcry greeted Akhlut's ears. He turned to see a lone walrus charging at him, spear poised for a thrust. Akhlut effortlessly dodged the spear, yanking it out of his hands and lifting him by the front of his shirt.
"Sherman Walrus. Where is he?"
"Wh-What are you...?"
Akhlut snarled, his gem glowing. "Answer me, you bucktooth seal! Where is Sherman!? Talk!"
"H-He's not here! H-He's sailed out to sea! We don't know when he'll be back!"
"I see..." Akhlut dropped the walrus. "Very well...you may go."
The walrus scrambled away. Akhlut grimaced with a sigh.
"Well… this is embarrassing."
"Chief Akhlut, what are your orders?" Lotan questioned.
"Fall back!" Akhlut ordered. "There's no point!"
"WHAT?!" Amarok screamed. "Are you crazy!? Sherman Walrus is gone! The city is right here, ripe for the taking!"
"Exactly. It's too easy."
"It's the opportunity we've been waiting for!" Amarok objected. "With Sherman gone, we can take over Iceborough and finally wipe these blubbery bastards off the ice! We'll have finally won the Blood War!"
"This isn't a victory, it's bullying!" Akhlut snapped. "There is no honor or glory in striking down an opponent that can barely fight back, Amarok. I thought I trained you better than that."
"You barely trained me at all," Amarok retorted. "We've been planning this raid for months! Are you seriously telling me you're willing to throw it all away all over one man!? WHY!?"
"I swore an oath. That's all you need to know."
"I...!" Amarok winced in pain as a wave of psychic energy assaulted his mind.
"That's all you need to know! Now, I will not be questioned again. We will fall back and wait for Sherman to return. If he hasn't returned within the next three days, we retreat. Understand?"
Amarok grimaced.
"Amarok..." Akhlut began threateningly.
"Of course, Warchief," he grit out.
Akhlut sneered. "Watch yourself, boy. I brought you along on this raid out of respect for your mother. But if you cross me, I will slit your throat and feed your carcass to your Mobini brethren. Have I made myself clear?
Amarok sweated a bit but nodded.
"Good. Now, move along. Warriors! To the base camp! We return in three days."
"Yes, Warchief!"
As Akhlut and his army headed back for the water, Amarok snarled in contempt. As he followed, his gaze turned to the water, where he saw a faint, green glow. At the sight, a malevolent grin slowly spread across his face.
Flashback End
"Wait a minute, I call bullshit!" Gust cut in. "You're seriously saying you turned down a chance to take over Iceborough just because Big Tusker wasn't there?"
Akhlut nodded. "Of course."
"But...why?" Sealia asked.
"Because of our agreement," Sherman said. "Akhlut and I have known each other for a very long time. Long before either of our names touched history tomes."
"We've been fighting each other since we were old enough to go out on the battlefield," Akhlut added. "He is the only being on this entire planet I could call my equal. Long after other foes fell at my hands, Sherman remained a steadfast rival. Even after Georgette 'tamed' him."
"I just made an honest man out of him, and showed him there was more to life than war," Georgette remarked.
Sherman smiled as he took her hand. Akhlut rolled his eyes.
"The point is, Sherman was the only worthy opponent to be seen in Iceborough, and unless I managed to best him in combat that day, I had no intention of claiming the city."
"Warrior's code," Kat remarked. "Don't attack a man's home when he's not there to defend it."
Gust smiled. "Huh… guess you're not a total psycho after all."
"So then, what happened?" Skeeter questioned. "If you didn't blow up the city… who did?"
"I think I know." Rotor perked. "It was that one orca you mentioned. Amarok."
Akhlut grimaced. "...Yes."
Akhlut's Base Camp - Nearly Three Days After Arrival
Akhlut's pod had gathered around several campfires, waiting for their Warchief to give his order to attack; a difficult task for bloodthirsty warriors such as themselves. For the past few days, they'd been doing anything to pass the time. Sharpening and preparing their weapons, challenging each other in contests of strength, hunting, drinking, sparring, gambling, swapping stories of previous battles, anything to stave off the restlessness and boredom plaguing the warband. A few of the more boisterous warriors had attempted to sneak into the city or antagonize the walrus guards on the border; they were promptly barred from the raid and placed on kitchen detail for the next few weeks.
Even Akhlut's lieutenants were in the middle of their own activities; Tambano watching as Lotan and Kanaloa played a round of Hnefatafl (2).
"Check," Lotan uttered as he moved one of his warrior pieces in front of Kanaloa's king.
The squid grimaced. Her king had been surrounded by three of Lotan's warriors. One more, and he would win. Fortunately, one of her warriors was next to one of his, and she had another primed to capture. Grinning, she moved the piece, sandwiching her Lotan's warrior.
"Free," Kanaloa said smugly. "Better luck next time, Lotan."
Lotan let out a disinterested "Hm…" as he looked over the board, plotting his next move.
"Hey, are you two gonna be done yet?" Tambano asked. "You've been at this game for like, an hour, and I'm runnin' outta mead. I wanna play!"
"Go bug the quartermaster for a refill then," Kanaloa snapped with a dismissive wave. "I'm actually winning this time."
"Your move," Lotan said.
Tambano rolled his eyes. "Odin's beard, this is boring. You sure we can't attack the city now?"
"Chief Akhlut gave us explicit orders to not make any move against Iceborough until Sherman Walrus returns," Lotan replied. "Or do you want to spend the next several fortnights peeling potatoes?"
Tambano cringed at the thought.
"So, what's the deal with this Sherman guy, anyway?" Kanaloa asked as she moved another piece. "Must be something special if he's going to all this trouble for him."
"Him and the chief swore an oath," Lotan replied as he took his turn, capturing one of Kanaloa's warriors.
"What kind of oath?" Kanaloa captured Lotan's warrior in return.
"A blood oath, that's all we need to know." Lotan moved a piece downward.
"If you say so," Kanaloa moved her king, toward the bottom left corner. "Ha! Almost home-free!" she looked up at the beluga smugly. "Well, Lotan, it took me ninety games, but I finally did it! I beat. Your–!"
"Checkmate."
"Eh!?" Kanaloa did a double-take at the board and sure enough, Lotan's warriors had surrounded her king, winning him the game.
"You lose," Lotan replied flatly.
Tambano laughed loudly. "And that makes ninety-one, Kana!"
"Th-That…He got lucky, that's all!" the squid defended. "It was luck! All luck!"
"The cries of the loser," Tambano said as he prepared to take another swig of mead. "Maybe you'd do better if you weren't so careless."
Tambano heard a loud 'thunk', followed by a 'sploosh' and a damp sensation on his shell. The king piece had been lodged into the bottom of his flagon, causing the contents to leak out all over his chest.
"Hey!"
"Sorry, Tambo," Kanaloa uttered unapologetically. "You know how 'careless' I am. Fuhuhuhuhuhuuuuu!"
"You lousy, uncooked calamari ring!" the giga-crab growled, throwing his broken flagon aside as he stomped toward the squid. "I oughta...!"
A pulse of psychic energy washed over the three lieutenants, disorienting Kanaloa and Tambano, while Lotan merely flinched.
"Enough, you idiots."
Said idiots turned to see Akhlut emerge from his tent and walk toward them.
"If you're going to squabble, do it quietly. I'm trying to meditate."
"Still hunting for the walrus, Warchief?" Lotan asked.
Akhlut nodded. "And still no sign of him. What about you, Lotan? Have the scouts reported back?"
Lotan nodded. "They have. Unfortunately, Sherman is still nowhere to be found. All we learned is that his ship left the harbor some time ago."
"How long ago?" Akhlut asked.
Lotan thought for a moment, pressing his fingers against his large melon. "One week, three days, six hours, forty-five minutes, and seventeen…eighteen seconds, give or take."
"That long ago?" Akhlut's brow furrowed in confusion and concern. "This isn't a fishing expedition… something happened. Did you hear anything else that could give us a clue on what that is?"
"We were unable to get a solid answer from the walruses," Lotan replied. "However, some of the scouts who passed by his house noticed that one of his sons is conspicuously absent."
That gave the orca pause.
"Something happened to one of his boys?" He grimaced at the thought. "Damn… he'll be distracted and off his game until this gets resolved. And the Auroras are flaring hard so he can't reach his compatriots, which is likely why he left…"
"All the more reason to attack now."
Footsteps in the snow crumpled softly as Akhlut and his lieutenants turned to see who was approaching.
"Amarok…"
"Warchief…"
"Aren't you supposed to be on watch?" Akhlut asked.
"I was," Amarok replied. "I watched. Nothing happened. Same as the last two days."
"That's no excuse to leave your post, boy!" Tambano shouted.
"Tambano." Akhlut glared at the crab out of the corner of his eye, forcing him to back down. "That said, he's right. I gave you orders to keep watch for any signs of Sherman Walrus."
"And it looks like he isn't going to be back here anytime soon," Amarok cut in. "Seriously, Sherman Walrus is gone. This is our best chance to take the city and you have no excuse to postpone the invasion! You promised us blood and glory! We spent months preparing and recruiting and swimming all the way here to build your empire, and you're throwing it all away because one old man couldn't be bothered to show up!?"
"Kid's got a point, Chief."
"Kanaloa…" Akhlut uttered testily, eliciting an annoyed sigh from the squid.
"We did come all the way out here," the squid continued, equally testy. "And you did promise."
"Not only that, but the men are starting to get a little…antsy," Tambano added, motioning to the other warriors' campfires, several of whom were whispering among themselves or glaring at the Warchief discontentedly.
"We can't just go back empty-handed, Warchief," Lotan added. "It would put your honor into question."
Akhlut grimaced, they were right. Amarok knew this too, if his smug grin was anything to go by. He needed a plan.
Fortunately, he was spared by doing so by the sound of water splashing and whistling squeaks.
Perfect, he thought, before turning to his men.
"Warriors!" he called out, causing the entire camp to drop what they were doing and give him their attention. "I bring bad news, Sherman Walrus will not be arriving. The invasion is hereby postponed!"
As expected, Akhlut's announcement had the entire camp up in arms. His warriors were outraged, hurling insults like "Coward!", "Walrus-Friend!" and "Oathbreaker!".
"SILEEEEEEEEEEENCE!" Akhlut shouted, unleashing a psychic wave that brought them all to their knees. "The warriors of Iceborough are weak, the comforts of civilization have left them dull and complacent. Whereas our time in the frozen wastes has made us sharp and ferocious."
"All the more reason to put them out of their misery!" one orca shouted.
"And what would that prove?" Akhlut queried. "That we can slaughter a bunch of weaklings who can barely fight back? Does that sound like a chapter worthy of the Pod's legend?"
That gave some of the warriors pause. Akhlut grinned, knowing his plan was working.
"But fear not! The Norns have not abandoned us! Look to the water! Look upon their blessings of glory and true conquest!"
He pointed to the ocean, the warriors' gaze following. In the distance, a pod of Mobini orca swam by.
"Seawolves! (3)" One of the orcas shouted eagerly.
"To the water, my brothers! Tonight we shall feast on the meat of Artika's mightiest predators!"
Cheers erupted throughout the camp as Akhlut grinned in satisfaction.
"Tambano, Kanaloa!" He turned to his lieutenants. "Begin organizing hunting parties. Lotan and I will begin preparations for tonight's festivities." He grinned. "We'll be bringing out the good mead."
The crab and squid grinned eagerly.
"Aye, Warchief!"
"Woo! Partaaaaaay!"
At that, the two immediately went to join the others. With them taken care of, he turned to Lotan.
"Meet with the quartermaster and check on our supplies. Make sure there's plenty for everyone."
"As you wish, Warchief," Lotan said with a bow.
"I'll help him," Amarok chimed in, earning him a strange look from the older orca.
"You aren't joining the hunt?" he asked.
Amarok let out a huff. "After all this, I've lost my appetite for conquest. At least this way I can get drunk off my ass and forget this shitstorm."
Akhlut narrowed his eyes, carefully searching Amarok for any signs of ulterior motives, even using his sonar to press his mind. After a minute of searching, he found nothing.
"Very well," Akhlut said curtly. "Just don't get in the way."
Amarok nodded, then walked off with Lotan to the quartermaster's tent.
"What are you plotting, Amarok?" Akhlut pondered, glaring daggers into the young orca's back the entire time. "I know you're up to something."
Flashback End…
"He was up to something. I could tell just by looking at him that he was." Akhlut let out a long sigh, rubbing his face with the air of a man with a great many burdens. "But, against my better judgment, I believed otherwise."
"What happened?" Chris questioned.
"Mutiny…" Akhlut lowered his hand, leaning back. "My plan may have mollified my men, but there were far too many youngbloods who wanted more than a hunting conquest. He took advantage of their restlessness and irritation and turned them against me. He spiked my mead with enough drugs to knock me out after getting me pingas drunk."
"That'd take a lot of drugs too," Sherman chimed in. "How'd they even do that, anyway?"
"I got challenged to a drinking contest by my lieutenants," Akhlut replied. "Amarok and his followers spiked our mead behind our backs. Knocked me out and threw me in my own brig. That's when you arrived…"
Flashback…
"...lut? Akh...Akhlut, can you hear me?"
Akhlut groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. His head was pounding and his vision was blurry, unable to make out anything save a large, purple and blue blob, one that was rapidly coming into focus.
"Shhherrrr...mannn?" Akhlut sat up, rubbing his head blearily.
"Easy there, buddy, I got you," Sherman soothed as he helped the orca up.
"Sherman…what happened? Where am I?"
"You tell me. I just got word you were heading here a few days ago and found your camp a mess and you in a cage."
"Cage?" Akhlut looked around and found that he was in fact locked in a cage. The cage he would throw his warriors in when they grew too rowdy from their mead.
"What the…What am I…!?" he stopped, remembering what Sherman had said earlier. "Wait, what's this about my camp…? Oh Thor…"
Akhlut looked out from the bars of his cage to find his warband's camp in ruins. Tents had ripped to shreds and burned. What was left of their supplies had been taken or destroyed. The snow was stained with blood from the bodies of his warriors, casualties of a battle he had slept through.
"What…What the hell is this?" Akhlut asked, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Looks like you were ambushed," Sherman offered as he cringed in contempt. "Honorless bastards got the drop on you during a post-hunt banquet."
"The banquet…" Akhlut's eyes widened as he remembered. "The mead!"
Akhlut ran out of the cage, shoving Sherman aside as he ran out.
"Akhlut, wait!" The walrus followed him and found him frantically searching his tent.
"Come on, where is…Aha!" Akhlut pulled away a pile of blankets and found a discarded flagon. He picked it up, took a deep sniff, and was met with a foul, bitter aroma that left him gasping for breath.
"Drugged…" he gasped out, coughing and wheezing as he fell to his knees.
Curious, Sherman took a whiff himself and had a similar reaction.
"Great grouper!" he shouted, feeling lightheaded just from the scent. "This is enough to put a Seawolf into hibernation!"
"Chief…"
Akhlut and Sherman looked over their shoulders and were greeted with a horrific sight.
"Lotan…" Akhlut whispered in shock as the beluga limped towards them.
"You're alive…thank…" Lotan smiled as he stepped forward, only for his knees to buckle, causing him to fall over.
"Lotan!"
Akhlut rushed forward and caught his lieutenant just before he could hit the ground. The beluga was badly injured, his blubbery, white skin practically pink from all the blood he was covered in. Slash and stab wounds decorated his body, including a prominent vertical slash over his left eye, which he'd no doubt lost from the way it didn't open. But by far his most prominent wound was the cause of his limping: the upper half of a harpoon that had pierced his leg all the way through.
"By the gods...Lotan, are you alright? What happened!?"
"Ama…rok…" Lotan let out a short, wheezing breath, fighting to remain conscious. "Amarok has betrayed us..."
"Amarok!?" Akhlut shouted. "How!?"
"He planned this…"
Akhlut and Sherman turned to see Akhlut's other lieutenants joining them.
"Kanaloa, Tambano…"
The squid and crab were in comparatively better condition than Lotan but were far from being considered alright. Tambano looked like he'd been used for target practice, countless spears and arrows stuck out of him. Fortunately, his shell had protected him from the bulk of the damage, as he was still standing, despite his injuries.
Kanaloa, however, wasn't so lucky. The squid lay slumped over her crustaceous companion's shoulder, hanging limply like a ragdoll. One of her head tentacles had been sliced off, the injury wrapped in cloth stained blue from her blood; which, much like Lotan, she was covered in from all her wounds. Fortunately, she was alive, as seen by her labored breathing and the furious look in her right eye, the left swollen shut.
"That backstabbing son of a-" Kanaloa cut off, wincing in pain as her body writhed in agony. "-GAH! He turned the youngbloods against us."
"We tried to stop them," Tambano spoke up, all but collapsing next to Lotan's still form. "But you weren't the only one he drugged."
"Enough to leave us weak…" Kanaloa snarled. "Enough for him and his turncoats to overpower us…"
"No…" Akhlut whispered. He felt something grab his arm and turned to see it was Lotan.
"Chief…" the beluga grit out, a desperate look in his good eye. "You…You have to stop him, he has…a R…Ragnium…"
Everyone froze.
"Ragnium…" Tambano whispered in terror.
"The metal box…" Sherman added.
"A Ragnium what!?" Akhlut demanded. "What does he have, Lotan!?"
Unfortunately, Lotan passed out, unable to handle his injuries any longer.
"Lotan, no! Stay with me! Lotan!"
Sherman knelt beside the beluga and checked his pulse. A few seconds later, he sighed with relief.
"He's alive, he's just out cold," the walrus said, eliciting sighs of relief from the beluga's fellow lieutenants.
"Thank Baldur…" Tambano exclaimed.
"That was a close one, eh Chief?" Kanaloa paused as Akhlut just sat there, unmoving. "Chief?"
"Tambano…" His voice was low and serious.
"Sir?"
"Gather all the survivors and head back to the Black Iceberg." Akhlut stood up. "I'm going after Amarok."
"Alone!?" the crab exclaimed. "Chief are you…!?"
"That's an order…" he commanded, his body pulsing with green energy.
"Yessir!" Tambano replied, running over to pick up Lotan.
"Rip off his fin for me, Chief!" Kanaloa requested.
As his lieutenants left, Akhlut took a deep breath, his aura dying down.
"Sherman…" he began, turning to the walrus.
"You don't gotta say anything," he interrupted. "I know what he wants and I'm not gonna let him have it." A grin crept over his face. "Just punch him in the face for me once when you fight him, alright?"
Akhlut sighed fondly as he returned the grin. "By the gods, I missed you."
With that, the duo headed out for Iceborough.
"Alright, first thing's first," Sherman began. "We need to figure out exactly where Amarok is going."
"Well, he has a Ragnium weapon and a deep-rooted desire to see you and your kind exterminated," Akhlut continued. "So, if I were him, I'd take it where I could kill the most people."
Sherman grimaced at that.
"And the best place to do that is…" His eyes widened in horror. ''The ice keeping the city afloat!"
"Calm down!" Akhlut ordered. "Iceborough's supports are blue ice, the strongest, toughest ice in all of Mobius. It will take him a long time to break that, even with Rag–"
Suddenly, the pair stopped and stumbled about as everything began to shake.
"An earthquake?" Akhlut asked.
"Iceborough doesn't get earthquakes," Sherman replied. "That was…"
An earth-shattering kaboom echoed across the tundra as a massive pillar of green energy erupted from the icy ground, fiery red and icy blue streams spiraling upward as it pierced the heavens.
"By the Aesir…" Akhlut uttered in terror. "What was that!?"
"That was the Ragnium…" Sherman replied.
"What kind of Ragnium weapon does that!?"
Sherman froze, his pupils reduced to mere pinpricks. "A bomb…"
"A bomb?"
"It was during the war with the GUN twenty years ago. They kidnapped people and forced them to mine for Ragnium so they could make bombs. Bombs capable of wiping out entire cities! But, where did he get them?"
"Does it matter!?" Akhlut snapped. "Come on, we need to stop him, now!"
"Right!"
Flashback End…
"Is that what you needed all the Ragnium for?" Kat questioned, turning her attention to Sherman. "Was Tundra going to make Ragnium bombs like the one that destroyed Iceborough?"
"No!" Sherman shouted before regaining his composure. "The Ragnium was purely for powering the stuff that gives us our power boosts and fuel for that big warp tower thingy we… they were using to freeze the world." He winced. "Not that that's better or anything…"
"The point is, somehow, Amarok managed to acquire several bombs leftover from the Great War and used them to destroy the city," Akhlut continued, turning to Hope. "You might want to have your superiors look into that."
"Believe me, it's at the top of my list of things to do once the city is settled."
"So what happened?!" Flip pressed, leaning on the table. "No one ever gave us the full scoop of what went down that day and all the survivors just refused to say anything!"
"I'm getting to that!" Akhlut snapped.
Flashback
Iceborough
The people of Iceborough were in a panic as tremors shook the city.
"Attention, all guardsmen!" the Guardsman called as the emergency horns sounded. "The city is under attack! Evacuate all civilians and prepare for combat! Repeat. The city is under attack!"
Meanwhile, Amarok watched the entire debacle from atop a cliff.
"Look at them," Amarok said with a smirk. "Running around Winter Pockeys as their city melts around them. Absolutely perfect."
"Chief Amarok!"
Amarok turned to see several of his fellow traitors return, saluting him.
"Ahhh…you're back, have the rest of the bombs been planted?"
"Yessir!" the orca replied. "They've been attached to the last two supports as you ordered. We even had a few spares."
He held out three metal spheres the size of a baseball with a green crystal inside it and several pieces of machinery attached to the shell. Amarok took one of the spheres, holding it up in awe as he looked it over.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he whispered reverently. "The ultimate weapon. The power that brought the Walrus Herd to its knees and will ensure the Orca Pod's reign will last forever." He grinned. "And to think it'd be so small."
"Shall we send out the troops to finish them off?" the orca asked eagerly.
Amarok thought for a moment. "Not yet…we still have a few bombs left over." He looked down at the fleeing walruses below. "It would be a shame to let them go to waste."
He pressed a button on the bomb's mechanical parts, causing it to light up with a low humming noise. He then threw the bomb, sending it plummeting to the city below. The citizens only had enough time to look up before it went off, vaporizing everything and everyone in a burst of fire and emerald light.
Amarok watched as another pillar shot up to the heavens, his already wide grin growing even wider.
"Yes…That's it! Scream, you miserable, bloated weaklings! Perish, knowing who the true rulers of the ice are!"
He threw his head back, laughing maniacally.
"AMAROOOOK!"
Amarok and his warriors turned to find Sherman and Akhlut had arrived, both absolutely furious.
"Well, well, well," the younger orca began. "Look who's finally awake. I was starting to think you'd drunk yourself to Helheim, old man."
Akhlut snarled. "Amarok, what do you think you're doing?"
"Claiming our long-awaited victory." Amarok turned to Sherman. "I see your old friend finally decided to join us. What do you think, Sherman, did you enjoy our little… what do the southerners call it again… fireworks show?"
Amarok cackled as Sherman growled, clenching his fists as he imagined crushing the younger orca's windpipe. He stepped forward, preparing to make his fantasy real, only for Akhlut to stop him.
"No," the older orca stated.
"Akhlut…"
"Your people need you, Sherman. Your family needs you. Go and get them to safety." he turned to Amarok. "This little shitstain is mine ."
Sherman hesitated before nodding and heading off to do so.
"I knew you were a hothead, Amarok, but I never thought it'd come to this," Akhlut spat. "I trained you to fight with honor!"
"Keep your outdated warrior's code in the Middle Ages where it belongs, old man!" Amarok shot back. "All that matters in a fight is winning and losing!"
"You call this winning!?" Akhlut gestured to the destruction he'd caused.
"Yes! Our enemies are dying! Their city is melting! And we are left standing! How could it be anything but winning!?"
He threw his arms in the air, reveling in his apparent victory.
"I've done it! Can't you see!? After all these years, I've finally done it! The Orca Pod reigns supreme! Blood and glory are ours forever! Isn't this what you wanted!?"
"No!"
A wave of psychic energy washed over the area, knocking most of Amarok's warriors out and several to their knees, including the young traitor himself.
"There is no glory in winning like this !" Akhlut declared. "True glory is vanquishing your foes with your own power! Showing them and all who follow them that you are the stronger fighter!"
He gestured to the smoldering remains of the bomb.
"You ignored the rules of engagement, the Old Code! And what's worse, you've killed non-combatants!"
"So what?" Amarok scoffed. "They were walruses, enemies. Our ancestors swore a blood oath to take their land and crush them beneath our fins. And that's what I'm doing."
"Enemies or not, nobody deserves to die like this, Amarok," Akhlut reasoned. "Poisoned, crippled, and cut down like an animal…especially by a coward who won't even look them in the eye as he takes their life!"
"You're the coward, old man!" Amarok shouted. "You go on and on about your oaths and your Norns and your glory and your conquests and how we'll one day vanquish our enemies and take our place as rightful kings of the ice! But instead, you just sit around, twiddling your flippers and making excuses instead of leading us to our destiny like you're supposed to!"
"Conquering the weak and defenseless is not a mark of strength!" Akhlut shouted. "It isn't our way!"
"It is now!" Amarok declared. "From now on, there are no rules of engagement! No more codes! We take what we want and do what we want because we are mighty enough to take it! That is the true way of the world! What you're too weak and stupid to understand, FATHER!"
Flashback End
In the present day, everyone was floored by the revelation.
"What the flying... WHAT?!" Keith screamed. "The guy who blew up Iceborough was your SON?!"
Akhlut nodded, solemnly. "Sherman isn't the only one who failed as a father."
BLIZZARD was utterly flabbergasted.
"I-I...what...why...how?!" Rotor managed. "Guys, did you...!?"
"No..." Gunt replied. "I didn't even know Akhlut was married."
"It was during my time in Meropis. I met a fearsome beast of a cow in the Royal Guard, one thing led to another, and..." Akhlut coughed awkwardly.
"Yeah, we get the general gist," Chris told him.
"If he was your son…" Kat hesitated before finally speaking. "How did you punish him for this?"
Hope grimaced. Akhlut just looked right at Kat. His expression was as cold and neutral as he could muster, but his eyes were heavy with a deep sadness.
"By the Ancients..."
"You... you killed him... didn't you?" Hope asked.
Akhlut said nothing.
Flashback...
For the second time that day, orca blood stained the ice. Orca blood spilled by orca hand.
Amarok panted heavily, blood dripping from the injuries he had sustained during the battle. His fellow traitors lay around him, dead. Their bodies and minds were crushed and broken like the city they had destroyed. All at the hands of one man. One man who now towered over his wheezing, treasonous scion who struggled to remain upright.
"Damn you, old man…you really are a demon," Amarok grit out, trying desperately to get to his feet. "Drugged, drunk, and almost half a century old…and you still crushed us into powder…"
Akhlut watched as his son clutched his chest, coughing up blood. On the outside, he looked down upon the traitor with a gaze as cold and pitiless as the ice he sought to conquer. But inside, he stared at the broken, battered form of the boy - his boy - and wondered 'Where did I go wrong?'
"Why?" Akhlut asked.
Amarok paused. "What?"
"Why go to all this trouble? Cause this much death?"
Amarok scoffed. "Haven't you been listening? I did this to finally end the Blood War! To bring the Pod the blood and glory it deserved!"
"You're lying," Akhlut stated. "I can sense your thoughts, Amarok. This was never about the Pod. You did this for yourself, for your glory."
Amarok knelt there in silence as he stared at his father with a dumbfounded expression, his mouth hanging open limply and his eyes wide open. He remained like this for a few seconds, then his mouth slowly curled upward into a grin. A grin that Akhlut knew all too well. He saw it reflected in the ice, the ocean, and the eyes of his enemies every day. The grin of a ravenous wolf eyeing a soon-to-be freshly killed rabbit.
The grin of a killer.
Amarok let out a soft, menacing chuckle, which slowly grew into a laugh, then crescendoed into maniacal cackling as he threw his head back.
"Can't fool you, can I, old man?" he slowly lowered his head so he was looking his father in the eye. "Yeah, that's right, this was all for me. My chance to carve my name into the world forever. To become a legend. Maybe then, you'd finally take me seriously."
"Take you seriously?" Akhlut demanded incredulously. "Is that what all this was!? Some desperate plea for my attention!?"
"To show I'm worthy of my blood! Of being your heir!" Amarok narrowed his eyes. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be trapped in someone's shadow? To have everyone compare everything you do to someone so far above you and wonder why you aren't like them? To be a footnote in the legend of a man who cares more about his precious conquests than his own family!? An afterthought!?"
Amarok punched the ice, leaving a sizable crack.
"Well, I'm not going to just sit around and fade into the background! I swore to become greater than you ever were by doing the one thing you and your ancestors never could!"
He gestured to the ruined city.
"And I did it! Iceborough is gone! The Herd is powerless and in shambles! When the bards look back on this day, they'll remember me as the man who made the Orca Pod kings of the tundra, while you'll be forgotten and left to rot!"
His grin grew wider.
"Just like Mother."
Akhlut stood there, taking everything in with a stoic face as Amarok broke out into a peal of manic laughter. It was clear to him that his son was too far gone, too lost in his madness to be reasoned with. He closed his eyes and his gem began to glow. Amorak didn't notice, not until his laughter cut off as his mind came to an abrupt halt. His eyes went wide as his pupils shrank, his vision dimmed and his thoughts grew hazy and slow. It was then that he noticed the gemstone glowing and realized what had happened.
"Fa…therrrrrr…"
Akhlut watched as Amarok stepped forward, slowly extending an arm. Whether it was a vain attempt to attack or a desperate call for help, he couldn't tell. Amarok took a few stumbling steps forward, then the last of the light faded from his eyes and he collapsed like a rag doll.
Akhlut ran to his son's side and caught him before he could hit the ground. He looked at his son's brain-dead body, staring into his glassy, empty eyes. He let out a solemn sigh, raised his hand, and closed his eyelids.
"Perhaps in your next life, you will learn to curb your ambition…"
Just then, everything shook violently. Akhlut steadied himself as best he could, looking around to try and find the source of the tremors.
"Shit!" he cursed. "The entire city's going to sink into the ocean at this rate!"
He closed his eyes and focused, his gem glowing softly as he sent a psychic message.
"Sherman!" he called out. "Sherman, can you hear me?"
"Akhlut…" the walrus replied.
"Ah, there you are! Where are you? We need to get out of here, now! Grab your family and–"
"She's gone…"
Akhlut froze. "What?"
"She's gone, Akhlut… Georgie, she was…" He stopped, unable to finish his sentence. "Boreas has Skeeter, and Rotor is..."
He went silent once more.
"I'm ending this, " Sherman said with cold resolve.
Akhlut's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"I found where Amarok planted his bombs. They're in the central support of the city. If they go off now, the whole section of the ice goes down, taking all the refugees out before they can escape. Skeeter is all I have left… If anything happened to him... " Sherman stopped. "I gotta shut this thing down."
Akhlut perked at the sound of a loud smashing noise. "Wait, what are you...?"
"Breaking the ice. If I can get it deep enough into the ocean, maybe I can reduce the damage. I'm sorry… but it seems I can't keep our promise."
"No...No, you can't do this! We swore an oath! What about your family!? Your sons!? You can't do this!"
"I drove Rotor away, and Skeeter… this is the only way to save him."
"Sherman..."
"Go, Akhlut. Get away from the city as fast as you can, while you still can. And… goodbye, old friend."
Their connection was severed
"No!" Akhlut cried. "Sherman!"
Akhlut looked, seeing the energy from the Ragnium bomb glowing brighter. Scooping up Amarok's body, Akhlut took off running. Once he was a good distance away, the bomb went off. He turned to see the explosion, his fists clenching.
"No..." He threw his head back, his forehead gem glowing and the ice cracking around him as he screamed to the heavens in rage and sorrow. "SHERMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN! "
Flashback End…
Akhlut's face was solemn as he concluded the story.
"And that was it. Iceborough fell... and Sherman Walrus went down with it. I learned later that Georgette had been crushed beneath fallen ice trying to get the refugees to safety. Sherman had been there, but had been seconds too late."
Sherman turned away in shame. "The ice was too thick, and if I tried to break it, I could have buried the survivors."
Everyone looked down in shock, others enraged at Amarok's actions. Flip sniffed the air.
"Is something burning?"
Kat's chair was smoking, the girl's face pure anger.
"Okay…" Chris began, "Putting asbestos seat covers on the list in the future."
Kat perked before jumping up, frantically clapping her hands and killing the flames.
"Sorry, I just…" she took a breath. "All that because of a boy wanting to surpass his father. All those people dead, all those lives ruined… It's all just…" Heat began radiating off of her, only for Gust to cool her off with his ice breath.
"Sorry..."
"It's fine." Kat sat back down. Rotor looked almost contemplative.
"Something on your mind, Rotor?" Gunt asked.
"It's…" Rotor sighed. "While I don't condone what he did... I can understand why. This whole thing started and got as bad as it did because Amarok was stuck in his dad's shadow and everyone was always comparing him to him. And when it got to him, he handled it in a way that made things horrible for everyone. Kinda… like me."
Sherman turned to his son in shock.
"Boomer…"
Erma shook her head. "Uh-uh, no way, that guy is nothing like you, Rotor. What he did..."
"Was the same," he cut in. "Just...a million times worse. He had problems with his dad and instead of actually dealing with them, he did something monumentally stupid to try and fix it and a lot of people suffered for it."
"You ran away and became a Freedom Fighter," Keith countered. "Amarok did the exact opposite."
"Meanwhile, the friends and family I left behind were worried sick and looking for me, and I didn't even bother telling them where I was or what I was doing because I was too angry, afraid, and ashamed to face them."
He sighed.
"What happened in Iceborough may not be my fault, but I still hurt them. And, after hearing what Amarok did… Had things gone differently… Badly..."
Rotor hugged himself, shuddering at the thought of that darker reality. Then shook that thought away.
"What I'm trying to say is...I'm sorry. For what I did, for what happened to you all, and...for not being there when you needed me."
Everyone watched as Rotor hung his head in shame. Then, Sherman steps forward, wheeling Georgette over with him.
"Son..."
Rotor looked up, only to yelp in surprise as his father pulled him into a hug.
"You have nothing to apologize for," the older walrus said. "If anyone does, it's me.
"Dad..."
"I never should have tried to make you any different than you were. You aren't me, you're you. One of the bravest, smartest young men I've ever known, and I'm sorry it took all this for me to realize that." he chuckled. "I mean, look at you! Look at what you've accomplished! Fighting robots, saving the world. Hell, you withstood the same power that took me and turned me into a monster! You don't need to worry about living up to my legacy or whatever…You already have. And someday soon, you'll surpass me. And I'm looking forward to that day."
He pulled Rotor in closer.
"But right now, I'm just happy to have you back."
Rotor smiled, tears once again forming in his eyes as he returned Sherman's hug. As they embraced, Sherman felt a tug on his coat.
"Sweetie…" Georgette said, raising her shaky arms.
Sherman didn't need to say anything, he just pulled her in closer, allowing her to join in.
"Hey! What about me!?" Skeeter shouted as he ran over.
"Whoop! Almost forgot!"
Sherman scooped up his youngest boy, and soon, the entire Walrus family was hugging it out. Reunited after so many years.
Author's Note:
(1): Mobian Antarctica.
(2): Viking chess.
(3): Another, poetic name for orca.
And thus, the truth about the Iceborough raid is revealed. Stay tuned for the conclusion to the Artikan aftermath.
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Amarok: Johnny Yong Bosch (Vash the Stampede from Trigun, Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach, Lelouch from Code Geass, Jonathan Joestar from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Sabo from One Piece, Nero from Devil May Cry, Adam Park from Power Rangers)
* Lotan: Kyle McCarley (Merz from Naruto X Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, Marc Ancel from Miraculous Ladybug, Judeau from Berserk 2016)
* Tambano: Imari Williams (Anankos, Benny, and Valter in Fire Emblem Heroes, Blade from Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order - Curse of the Vampire DLC, Shinjiro Rengoku from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba)
* Kanaloa: Wendie Malick (Eda from The Owl House, Beautiful Gorgeous from Jimmy Neutron, Nina Van Horn from Just Shoot Me!, Chicha from The Emperor's New Groove)
Please R&R. Until next time!
