Chapter 15: Fight for Survival
"To fight free from his jaws, you must unleash the beast within."
Tears swelled up in Marie's eyes as she immediately recognized the figure standing before her. It was none other than her grandfather, holding up the bamboozler he usually used as a cane.
The tip of the bamboozler dripped with the same yellowish ink that Sake choked on, implying he shot him directly in the mouth.
Both cousins were so overwhelmed with relief and shock that they couldn't scream for help. Not that they needed to. The scene Craig and Brooke walked in on told them enough.
Craig was the first to walk towards the cousins, his bamboozler still aimed steadily at Sake. "Everythin' is gonna be fine, girls. Gramps is here now." He assured while moving directly in front of them. Brooke went and helped Marie lift the heavy splatling off of Callie's leg.
Sake finally stopped coughing out the ink that evidently hit the back of his throat, looking at his aggressor with malice. Once he realized the aggressor was Craig, his hostility transitioned to fear. "D-Demon." He yelped, surprising Marie.
Craig attempted to scare Sake again by stomping his foot. He flinched and stepped back, but didn't flee. Something was keeping him from running away, unlike last time.
"Cap'n..." Brooke murmured.
"I know," Craig replied lowly, seeing Sake repeatedly looking between himself and the cousins.
After some time, Sake surprised the whole group by speaking. "Why..." He rumbled, staring intently at Craig. "Why are you here... demon?"
"I could ask ya the same question!" Craig yelled back, uninterested in being amicable to something that hurt one of his granddaughters. He was already struggling as is to resist his impulses, which screamed to attack Sake and tear the beast limb from limb.
Instead of taking his tone negatively, Sake remained cordial, pointing at the cousins. "They are why."
"Why do you want them?" Brooke blurted, unable to contain his growing fear and curiosity.
Sake's gaze slowly shifted to Brooke, and a look of recognition flashed across his face. "You... You should be dead. Did I miss a spawn point?" He questioned himself, disturbing Brooke greatly as he realized Sake wasn't some sapient monster. He was completely sentient, meaning he knew what he was doing back at the beach.
"Answer the boy, whatever you are," Craig demanded, snapping Sake out of his train of thought.
"Why does any predator hunt prey? To feast." He answered, confirming Marie's suspicions. All he wanted was to eat them. "D-Demon, I know not why you care for these weaklings. But I offer you a proposition." He pointed to Marie. "Allow me to have that one. You may keep the pink one."
Marie's eyes widened. Why did he want her specifically? Was it because of the knife?!
"No can do, sonny. My grandkids are off limits!" Craig quickly answered, much to the surprise of Sake.
"These two... are the demon's kin?" He grumbled in dissatisfaction, seemingly piecing together why Craig was here now.
"Why do ya keep callin' me demon?" Craig finally asked. As much as he didn't want to converse with the creature, he couldn't help it. The name-calling was bothering him.
Sake stared at Craig for a long moment, then began pacing from side to side. "Only a demon can slaughter as effortlessly as you." He started. "Some time ago, you fought those other inkfish in a place your people call Arowana Castle. I watched from afar as you tore through your opposition like a savage. I know what you're capable of..."
Sake's explanation confused Craig at first, but then it hit him. He was referring to the siege of Arowana Castle. But if he knew about that because of firsthand experience, that would mean this monster was over a hundred years old, same as Craig. However, it didn't look like time affected Sake half as much as it did the war vet.
Now that Craig thought about it, if what Sake said is true, that would also imply his perception of time is off. Because Sake was still in peak condition after a century, he most likely assumed the same applied to Craig, which would explain his hesitance—an advantage Craig wanted to keep.
"If that's true, then you know to beat it. Else things get real messy for ya!" The elder warned, attempting to instill more fear into Sake. It worked, if Sake backing up was anything to go by. However, his fear tactic wasn't quite as effective as he wanted it to be.
Sake still didn't take off for the hills, instead grunting and grumbling as he looked between Craig and the cousins, specifically Marie. He gritted his jagged teeth and looked down at his clawed hands. After a moment of staring at them, he clenched his fists and spoke lowly. "I didn't come this far just to leave..." He wasn't talking to Craig, or anyone else for that matter, but the whole group heard him.
"Cap'n, I don't think this thing is gonna go away without a fight," Brooke whispered.
"I figured as much," Craig replied. "Take the girls and get outta here."
"And leave you here to fight that thing alone? No way!"
"Got that little faith in me, do ya?"
"N-No. Not at all, sir. But this place hasn't been hooked up with any spawn points yet! If it splats you, you're dead!"
Upon hearing this, Marie jumped up and hugged Craig's leg. "No, gramps! Please don't fight Sake!"
Craig glanced down at Marie. "Sake? That's this thing's name?"
Technically, it was only a name he had because of Marie, but she just went with it and nodded.
"Well, it don't look like we'll be able to outrun Sake. So I'll have to fight him."
"Then I'll fight him with you." Brooke declared with a stoic expression.
"Heh, even though you couldn't beat him when there was a whole group of ya?"
Brooke's expression faltered, but only for a moment. "I know. I know. But it's because of you that I'm even still standing right now. I won't repay your kindness by letting you die."
Craig couldn't help but smile underneath his tentacled beard. "Sure you won't freeze up again?"
"At the time, I didn't think we'd actually run into... Sake again. When we did, I couldn't stop thinking about what he did to the others... but I'm fine now. Promise."
"If you say so, bucko."
Marie interrupted the two by tapping on Craig. "W-What's he doing?" She muttered, pointing to Sake. Unfortunately for Marie, neither Craig nor Brooke had an answer.
What they saw were Sake's scales fluttering in a surprisingly beautiful display, resembling the fluid motions of crashing waves. Craig couldn't tell at first glance, but the more he stared at the scales, the more he noticed they seemed to harden.
Not only that, Sake was taking a mighty long breath of air. From his size, his lungs shouldn't have been able to inhale that much air. But there he was, sucking in an excessive amount of oxygen. As he did so, the slender muscles on his toned physique enlarged to crazy proportions.
Not liking what was being displayed, Craig lowered his weapon and kneeled to Marie. "Marie, take your cousin and hide."
"W-What?!" Marie looked over at Craig with signs of protest in her eyes. "Why?"
"Gramps and the youngster here are about to take care of some business. But we can't do that while you're here."
"B-But..." Marie clearly didn't want to leave Craig's side, as she felt being close to him was the safest place she could be.
Part of Craig wanted the girls to be out of sight, considering they were Sake's real targets. The other part of him didn't want to expose them to violence... Well, more than they've already been exposed to, anyway.
Smiling, he rubbed her head lovingly, instantly calming her down. "Don't you worry. We'll be fine. I'll let you know when it's safe to come out. But right now, I need you to watch over Callie. You can do that for me, right?" Marie averted her gaze momentarily before giving a hesitant nod. "Attagirl. Now, get goin'." He hurried, leaving Marie to pick up Callie and scurry away from the scene.
After which, Brooke glanced at Craig. "Cap'n."
"Yeah?"
"Whatever happens, I just wanna say it's been an honor."
Craig laughed. "Don't go gettin' sentimental on me now! We're not dyin'. Not here. Not today!" With renewed strength, he re-aimed his bamboozler at Sake.
Eventually, Sake finished whatever he was doing. By the end of it, he had grown an extra foot and was absolutely jacked.
"Captain..." Brooke called out, finally aiming his weapon at the beast.
"Not yet." Craig held steady, waiting for Sake to make a move.
Suddenly, the atmosphere fell eerily silent as the three entered a staring contest. Nobody moved—not even the slightest twitch of a muscle.
Sake's eyes were trained squarely on Craig, possibly because he saw him as the biggest threat there. This was good, as Craig saw from his peripheral vision that Brooke constantly looked between him and Sake—an action that would've instantly set Sake off had he been paying attention.
They remained at a standstill for an impossibly long time. Then, finally, Craig saw it. It was faint, but Sake's tail did a subtle flick. Craig's eyes widened in response to the motion.
"Now!" He shouted, and within the next instance, Sake lunged at him, completely ignoring Brooke.
Luckily, Craig saw the attack coming and sidestepped out of the way. Right after Sake missed, Brooke fired his blaster at Sake's neck, inciting a terrible roar from the beast.
Just like that, Sake's attention shifted from Craig and was now pinned solely on Brooke. He swiped at the youngster with his claws, but Brooke dodged by dipping into his ink, using it to outmaneuver Sake. Brooke swam a small distance away, but Sake tracked him like a hawk the whole time.
Instead of giving chase, he opened his mouth wide, revealing his jagged teeth that reminded Craig of the Great Octomaw. Soon after, a low grumbling noise filled the area, emitting from the depths of Sake's throat. It ended almost as soon as it started, and when it did, Sake spat out a large ball of orangish ink.
Brooke jumped out of his ink, and the moment he morphed back into his humanoid form, the ink ball hit his leg. He yelled in pain and dropped to the floor. Sake walked towards the wounded youngster—apparently, he saw no reason to rush.
Craig took aim and released a fully charged shot into Sake's back. It hit dead on but had no effect. In fact, Sake didn't even notice he was shot and continued towards Brooke. This stumped Craig, as Brooke was able to inflict pain when he shot Sake's neck. If the scales were hardened to the point no damage could be inflicted, how did Brooke hurt him? It couldn't have been due to the type of weapon, could it?
Craig got his answer when he examined Sake's body and noticed the gills on the sides of his neck. One side had a recent wound that had yet to properly heal—it was the same side Brooke had hit.
With a new target in sight, Craig took aim and fired off another fully charged shot of his bamboozler. Like the first time, it hit dead on. This time, Sake roared in utter pain and fell to his knees. His head snapped in Craig's direction, and he took off running on all fours directly at him.
Sake's speed was much faster than before, but not to the point where Craig couldn't hit him. He got off another fully charged shot, getting yet another direct hit on the wound. Sake stumbled mid-charge and fell. Craig used the opportunity to back up and readjust his aim.
Sake recovered quickly, but instead of charging on all fours, he ran at Craig on his two feet. He used his hands to cover both sides of his neck, effectively protecting his gills. Craig fired off three charged shots at Sake, but they did nothing to slow him down. Craig was nowhere near as fast as he used to be in his prime, so he couldn't exactly outrun Sake... Shell, even in his prime, he probably still wouldn't be able to.
Right before Sake reached Craig, a splat bomb landed in between them. It exploded before either could react, forcing Sake to stumble backward. Nothing happened to Craig, as the bomb had his ink color. Seconds after the explosion, a loud impact echoed through the area, followed by a surprised gasp from Sake. He fell forward, revealing Brooke had super jumped into the creature's back.
Brooke transformed once again, now standing atop Sake's back. Before he could hop off, Sake grabbed him by the leg, then a panicked expression overtook his face. Sake got up, and before Brooke could act, he slammed the inkling into the floor with a hard 'thump.' The impact dazed Brooke, but Sake didn't stop and slammed him again, making him drop his blaster.
Not about to just sit there and watch Brooke get demolished, Craig fired another charged shot at Sake. His aim was a bit off that time, so he ended up hitting the unwounded part of his neck. Still, he hit his gills, which got a grunt and a stagger out of Sake.
He groaned before lobbing Brooke at Craig, who was too slow to dodge. They both collided and slid down the warehouse's aisle.
"Cap'n... I think we're a little out of our league here." Brooke said pessimistically, shaking his head before getting off of Craig.
"You think winnin' the war was easy?"
"With all due respect, sir, I don't see what the war has to do with this battle..." Brooke murmured, helping Craig up to his feet.
"No battle worth winnin' is easily won. This feisty sea dog has some bite in 'em, but he ain't infallible," Craig explained, watching Sake slowly stomp his way toward the two. He ended up stepping on Brooke's blaster, breaking it in the process. "We just gotta keep hittin' ol' Sake right where it hurts!"
"There's gotta be a quicker way at taking this thing do—" Brooke suddenly stopped while looking up, spotting something in the distance. "I just found a quicker way!" He blurted, spinning to face Craig with a happy expression glued to his face. "Cap'n, I have an idea. But in order for it to work, I need Sake to be in that spot." He pointed to the middle of the warehouse, speaking quietly so Sake couldn't hear. "You think you can get him to stand over there in five minutes?"
"Can I? Ha! This'll be a piece of crab cake." He pumped his fist, which Brooke responded to with a nod.
Soon after, Brooke turned and ran the opposite way. Sake knelt down, about to give chase, only to be stopped by a charged shot that nearly hit his eye.
"Where do you think you're goin'? This royal whoopin' ain't over yet!" Craig declared, much to Sake's annoyance.
With a roar, Sake rushed for Craig on his two legs, doing his best to cover the vulnerable parts of his body.
"Oh," Craig mumbled as his perception of time slowed drastically. He thought about how best to buy Brooke the time he needed and how to get Sake to stand in the middle of the warehouse.
He looked up, seeing the top rack of the aisle was empty. With a super jump, he could reach the top in no time. Problem was Sake would reach him before he could get it off. He needed something to slow him down.
After a quick look around, Craig noticed some destroyed crates just a few feet away. Their contents were scattered across the floor, one of which was a Seeker bomb. "That'll do." He said to himself, activating the bomb with his foot before kicking it in Sake's direction.
Sake moved to the side to dodge, but like its name implied, the bomb tracked his movements and hit him anyway. The explosion caused him to trip and fall, buying Craig the time he needed to morph into his swim form and super jump to the top of the rack.
Craig transformed back into his humanoid form, stretching to shake off some of the strain his body just endured. "Wow, that gets the ink flowin'!" He looked down, seeing Sake wasted no time climbing the racks to reach Craig.
With accurate precision, Craig swiftly took shots at Sake, stopping him from ascending too quickly. He'd slow him down greatly and would sometimes get a direct hit on either his eyes or gills, making him drop right back down to the ground. Eventually, Sake wised up and lept to the other rack across from Craig.
Upon seeing this, Craig ran to the end of his rack, which led him closer to the middle of the warehouse.
Right as he reached the end, a heavy clank resounded from behind, followed by the rack shaking violently. He barely managed to stay upright. However, the moment he turned around, all he got to see was a large tail heading straight for his face.
A wet smack echoed through the warehouse. Then Craig plummeted to the ground, falling hard. The moment he hit the floor, he blacked out. His vision returned seconds later—something he only knew because, by the time he opened his eyes again, Sake had just jumped down a good distance ahead of him.
"Down after a single hit?" Sake said, not so much gloating as his face wore a confused look. "You've grown...weaker, haven't you?" He guessed, only now taking into account how frail Craig physically looked. His lips curled into a sick grin before letting out a chuckle that oozed triumph.
Sake began slow-walking his way towards Craig with his tail swaying from side to side. Craig tried to stand, but the hit his body took was more taxing than he initially thought. The best he could manage was sitting up.
Each of Sake's footsteps sounded like pounding drums, signaling Craig's demise. To be frank, he always thought an octarian would be the one to seal his doom. Then again, they obviously created Sake, so it technically still counted.
Even when his demise was walking towards him, Craig did not buckle or even flinch. Instead, he stared at his approaching doom straight in the eyes with a powerful resolve. The gaze he gave didn't seem to make Sake falter in the slightest.
Amid the intense moment, a sudden scream broke the quiet tension. "NOOOO!" It was Marie, who came running out from wherever she was hiding. She put herself in front of Craig and outstretched her arms, blocking Sake's path.
The sudden action got Sake to stop in his tracks, and although he stopped, fear filled Craig's being. "N-No! What are you doing?!" He yelled, which isn't something he ever saw himself doing at Marie or Callie.
Speaking of Callie, she came out moments after Marie, hopping on her one good foot before dropping to Craig and giving him a tight hug. "Stop! Both of you, get away!" He ordered, but neither listened.
"Aw..." Sake tilted his head, grinning from ear to ear. "In his final moments, the demon's kin stand by his side. Such displays of love... It almost hurts to kill you now." He scratched his chin before suddenly perking up. "Oh, I know. I'll honor your legacies by eating all three of you. That way, you get to die together. Aren't I so generous?" Sake laughed, though Craig had tuned him out after recounting a specific word he said.
Stand... He looked down at Sake's feet, noticing the monster was standing exactly where Brooke needed him to be. He wasn't sure why the placement of Sake mattered until he looked up. After which, he broke out into a fit of laughter.
Craig's laughing riot ceased Sake's own laugh, and even got Callie and Marie to give him concerned looks.
When his laughing didn't die down, Sake's face morphed into one of agitation. "Why are you laughing at your own death?" Craig didn't respond immediately and instead laughed harder, causing Sake's hands to clench into fists.
It took some time, but eventually, Craig managed to calm himself down. "I'm not laughin' at my death. I'm laughin' 'cause of your ego."
Sake bared his teeth and roared. "EGO?!"
"Yeah. It's 'cause of your ego that you celebrated too early."
"It is too late for you to act cocky now, demon! I've won!"
Craig shook his head and chuckled. "You sure were a tough opponent, I'll give ya that. And you know what? You could've won." He raised a finger, pointing upward. "If ya just took the time to look up."
As if on cue, a 'clamping' noise from above caught everyone's attention, causing them to look up. Careening down to Sake was the large rectangular black and white container Marie had seen earlier. Sake's eyes widened as he realized the trap laid before him. However, it was too late.
He lunged forward in an attempt to evade. Only his upper body managed to clear the cargo container, while his lower half got squashed like a bug. Whatever was inside the container had to be extremely heavy, as the floor cracked on impact.
"Told ya you celebrated too early!" Craig cheered as Marie dropped to her knees, exhausted. Then she and Callie huddled closer to him. Both couldn't help but start crying into his shoulders.
"There, there. It's over now. You're safe." Those were the reassuring words they both wanted to hear ever since they were taken from their favorite stargazing spot.
