Splat Force IV: Radicalism; Chapter 11

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! I hope you are all doing great today! After a two-week break, I am finally here to begin the second half of Splat Force IV: Radicalism!

After the shocking cliffhanger from the previous Chapter, some of you folks might be wondering how you know who is still around after all these years, especially since the last time we saw him didn't go quite so well...

Luckily, these next couple of Chapters will be your answer. This Chapter and the next one will be an unofficial two-parter going over the past decade, explaining how you know who became the assassin that the Splat Force has grown to fear.

So without further ado, let's get into this!

:warning: WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS STRONG VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, AND DISTURBING IMAGERY AND THEMES. PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION! :warning:

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(Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R  1 1 :  T H E  D E A T H  O F  Z A N E  M I L L E R

1 3  Y E A R S  A G O . . .

"A-Am... A-Ami..."

"Zane! A-Are you okay?!"

"Ami... I-I... I'm sorry..."

"No, No, Zane, don't be sorry. W-We're gonna get you out, o-oka!"

"Ami... it's t-too late... even if you run back, y-you wouldn't make it!"

"No! Zane, please!"

Zane Miller laid on his back in the rubble of the collapsing Once Great Symbol. He was too hurt to move. He laid still and watched as the roof of the ruins began to collapse, his phone was at the side of him to his right in the midst of a phone call with his girlfriend. This was it for him, and he knew it, but at least he wasn't alone.

The young Inkling thought about his entire life. He thought of all the things he never got to do. He never had the chance to settle down, he would never start a family of his own, he would never see his new friends again, nor would he see his mother, and that pain carried greatly during his final moments.

As the ruins began to fall apart more and more, Zane said the last words that he could think of to say to his girlfriend.

"Ami... I-I..."

He began to whisper. Midway through his final words, a sharp piece of rubble fell onto his phone, shattering it before he could finish.

"I l-love you..."

That was it. Those were his last words. Zane let out a sigh, rested his head on the rubble and looked at the ceiling as it collapsed above him. As it began to fall, Zane closed his eyes. His entire life flashed before his eyes...

Z A P ! ! !

The ceiling above Zane blew up just as it was about to crash into him. It took a few seconds for Zane to realize that he was alive. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a cloud of soot above him. As it faded, he saw a figure standing on the roof above him.

The figure was that of an Octoling with a red bandana, a brown beanie and a blue jacket. He had sand-coloured hair with a fringe covering up his right eye. It was Led Levin, or as he went by back then, Led Volteer.

Led jumped down from the roof and landed on the other side of the room, standing in front of the throne. Recognising him, Zane slowly stood back up, glaring at him.

"You again?"

He said. Whilst standing up, Zane stumbled onto his left knee, though he quickly caught himself. Led remained composed and still, as if he were waiting for what Zane would do.

"Are y-you here to kill me yourself?"

Led was still silent. Suddenly, his fists began sparkling with electricity, confirming Zane's suspicions, at least, that was how it looked to him. Knowing that there was only one possible ending to this confrontation, Zane clenched his fist as tightly as he could.

After a couple of seconds, Zane ran at Led, letting out a small cry as he swung at Led, who dodged the attack, stepping around the Inkling.  Zane stumbled again and struggled to keep his balance. He coughed twice before catching himself. Zane clenched his fists again before turning around, only to be greeted by an electrically charged punch to the face.

S L A M ! ! !

Zane was knocked out cold. Led looked down at the Inkling boy before picking him up. After escaping the fallen ruins, Led took Zane to the hill behind the ruins, there stood Bolton Vulcan himself, standing in front of a flame ring.

"He's knocked out, just like you requested."

Led said to him. Bolton took Zane out of his hands before turning to the flame ring. A question lingered in Led's mind.

"What are you going to do to him?"

Bolton stopped before the flame ring. He didn't answer Led, but his sudden pause indicated that he knew exactly what he was planning to do to the young man. Bolton walked through the flame ring before it closed behind him, leaving Led alone at the hillside.

T H E  N E X T  D A Y . . .

Zane slowly woke up in a small square room. It was dark. The only light that shined into the room was through the top and bottom of the steal door, and even then the light was thin and faint. The floor was dusty and dirty and there were webs on the corners of the room.

Zane quickly began to panic as the memories of the night before quickly flashed in his mind. He stood up and began pressing against each of the walls.

"HELP!"

He cried out. His screams sounded as if he was in a recording studio.

"AMI! DRIFT! ALYSSA!"

It quickly became clear to Zane that neither of the three names he called out were nearby. He was about to shout once again until he suddenly heard a door opening faintly from the other side of the door.

Zane rushed to the steel door and pressed his left ear against it. He listened very carefully until he heard a very faint conversation.

"Where do we start?"

One of the voices asked.

Zane didn't recognise the first voice. The second voice, however...

"The next couple of weeks, we lay low."

The second voice replied. It was Bolton, there was no doubt about it. Zane instantly became terrified. His nerves tripled as footsteps were heard going down a set of stairs.

"There is already a lot of attention drawn to the Once Great Symbol. We can no longer use that as a base. Luckily, I already have a backup in mind."

"Wow..."

The first voice said in awe as the sound of footsteps came to a close. It was easy to guess that the first voice was Led. From how things sounded on Zane's end, wherever he was seemed far from home.

"How did you find this place?"

"After the Gifted Wars, I found this place. It was used as a bunker during the Great Turf Wars. No one lives here now, no one has lived here in decades."

Bolton explained.

"I took this place and turned it into a base for myself to use. I used it until I stumbled across the Once Great Symbol only a few months ago."

"So... you went from a house in the middle of the woods... to an abandoned castle close to the outskirts of the city?"

Led asked him, trying to make sense of it.

"Close to society? Isn't that why you got discovered in the first place?"

"There is a saying to keep your allies close, but your enemies closer."

Bolton said vaguely as footsteps were heard coming towards the door. As they grew louder, Zane quickly backed away from the door, pressing his back against the back wall as the door was slowly unlocked.

"Example..."

The door opened. On the other side was Bolton himself, who glared at Zane. Led walked to the door and looked inside to see the young Inkling.

"Wait... he's our prisoner now?"

Bolton nodded. Hearing those words and seeing Bolton's answer felt like a stab to the heart. Zane felt his world crumble and fall to dust as the light in the room outside his prison was fainter for him.

"N-NO!"

Zane screamed before attempting to dash out of the room, only to be caught by Bolton.

As he was held in Bolton's grasp, Zane managed to get a quick glimpse of the base he was now inside of. It was a grey rectangular room. There were no windows, only being lit up by the pale white lights attached to the roof. In the middle of the room was a wide table that held various sheets of paper, each with something different on them.

At the end of the room, there was a staircase that led out of the room. To the left-hand wall of the staircase were doors, each leading into either a chambers room, bathroom or storage room. There was a fourth room, that being the room he was in, which was the second to last door at the end of the wall.

S L A M ! ! !

Zane was in such disbelief and shock that he didn't see Bolton throwing a punch in his direction, hitting him in the chest and sending him flying against the back wall. Bolton turned to Led.

"I gave this young man the opportunity to turn back and return home with his friends. He disobeyed."

He informed Led before looking back to Zane.

"As I said, you only have yourself to blame for this."

Zane held onto his chest as he got back onto his feet. His legs wobbled a little as he struggled to maintain balance. He looked back at Bolton with pleading eyes.

"I-I'm sorry! P-Please, let me g-go! I-I-I won't ever-"

"I already gave you that chance, but you continued. You tried taking me out with a Rainmaker, but your efforts were in vain, and now you face the consequences of your choice."

Bolton told him before glancing back at Led, who awaited an order.

"Zap him."

Led nodded slowly before standing in the middle of the door frame, staring down the Inkling boy as his hands began sparkling with electricity. Moments later, Led finally struck.

Z A P ! ! !

2  W E E K S  L A T E R . . .

By now, Zane had lost track of the number of days it had been. He didn't know what date it was, nor did he know the day of the week. He didn't even know what time it was anymore. For all he knew, it could've been the early hours of the morning, or late in the evening.

The past couple of weeks, all he had been seeing was his dark cell, with the occasional supply of food brought in by Bolton, though he had to eat with his hands and once he was done, he was back to being the only thing in the room... but, Zane still had one possession on him.

The young man reached into his left pocket and pulled out a photo of him and Ami. The photo was of them holding hands and cuddling together while on the bridge of The Reef stage during a private Turf Wars match.

Suddenly, he heard a faint noise coming from the other side of the door. Bolton was back. The sound was another flame ring. Zane prepared himself for what could be either his daily meal or another rough day of beatings.

The door was unlocked and opened. Bolton slowly stepped through, looking down at the Inkling as the light from the base revealed the bruises and cuts on his face.

"They think you're dead."

"Wh-What?"

Zane asked in disbelief.

"T-That can't be true! They can't-"

"They held a funeral in your name. Everyone was there. Your family was there, your friends were there too."

Bolton informed him.

"The only one who didn't go to the wake was the girl."

"A-Ami..."

Zane whispered loudly before bursting into tears.

"O-Oh, A-Ami..."

"If it makes you feel better, I only watched from afar. I didn't hurt any of them: I have no reason to do so."

He assured Zane.

"The wake finished only a few minutes ago."

Zane was still in a fit of tears over Ami, which was then multiplied by the thought of anyone else being devastated over his death. There was still Drift, Alyssa, all of his friends from school, his Uncle, his Aunt, his cousin... his mother.

However, it was what Bolton said next that solidified his fate in his mind.

"From the looks of things, any investigations going into your death his been dropped. No one is coming to your rescue anymore."

He told him coldly. Zane stopped sobbing for a brief moment as he was forced to take in what Bolton had just said. He looked up at the red-haired Octiling through his tears. Bolton had one last thing to say to the boy.

"If I were you, I would suggest settling in, because this is all you'll going to be seeing for the rest of your life."

That was it. Zane was done now. Any hope of a rescue had just been squashed before his eyes. It was no use in hoping now. Bolton walked out of the cell, leaving Zane alone as he closed and locked the door.

1 7  M O N T H S  L A T E R . . .

Once again, Zane woke up from his nap. By now, he had aged twice and was now eighteen years old, not that he realized it yet. For the past almost year and a half, all he had been seeing was nothing but darkness. He was only fed once a week and received the occasional beatdown.

He was awakened by the sound of talking. Multiple voices were heard. Of course, there was Bolton and Led, but there was also now Bruce Hammerhead, someone whom Bolton had found during Zane's time as a prisoner. Tonight, however, there was a new recruit.

Zane overheard the conversation going on between Bolton and the new recruit.

"You are to act by the side of Led and Bruce. You three are my eyes and my ears out there. If anything goes around, you let me know."

"I understand."

The new recruit said. From the sound of the recruit's voice, she was a young woman. She had a monotone-sounding voice with a slight accent, though it wasn't as strong as Zane's cousin.

Footsteps were then heard coming closer to Zane's cell. He quickly fell back and hurried to the end of the room as the door unlocked.

"Now, I need you to be aware of something when it comes to this base."

Bolton told her before opening the door. The light of the room shined on Zane. He was dirty. His suit was a mess and the badge he once wore had begun to fade. The time he spent in the cell so far was enough for him to grow facial hair, something that was a slow process for all Inklings.

"Who is this...?"

Melissa Sabrina asked as she looked into the cell. Her face was filled with concern.

"This young man down there tried to fight us. I gave him the chance to return him, but he declined, instead attempting to blast me with the Rainmaker. He has been rotting away in here since."

"D-Do you even feed him?"

Melissa asked. From the questions that she was asking, Zane sensed that something was different about Melissa when compared to the others who stood by Bolton.

"Yes. Every week, I give him something to eat, something to keep him alive."

Bolton said as he slowly began closing the door. Zane was able to capture the last of Bolton's words as the door closed. It was the words that had been circling in his head over and over again for as long as he had been a prisoner.

"He brought this fate upon himself. He only has himself to blame."

5  M O N T H S  L A T E R . . .

Zane was woken up again by the sound of talking. He recognised them as Led, Melissa, and Bruce.

"He find us?"

Bruce asked his allies.

"I don't think he'd come back after what just happened..."

Melissa replied.

"Good. We need to stay clear of him. We can't run into him again!"

Led exclaimed sharply as sounds were heard of him packing away any belongings that he had in the base.

"Led, do you know what happened back at Pulpo?"

Melissa asked. By now, it had only been a couple of hours since the battle of Pulpo City had taken place.

"I know that someone died, I don't know who though."

Led answered. He, Bruce, and Zane were about to find out who it was that died.

"It was Drift."

Melissa confirmed.

"Drift died saving that friend of his. I sensed it happen, Bolton tried going after his friend, but he pushed her out of the way..."

Zane couldn't believe it. He covered his mouth in shock as the word of Drift's death circled in his mind. He felt as if he was going to throw up. Drift was one of the closest friends he had made whilst at Inkopolis, and now he was gone.

Tears began streaming down his face quickly as he sat back down in the middle of the room, having to process the death of his friend. He managed to hear the last of the conversation happening outside of his cell.

"We should go now, I don't want to spend any more time here."

Led said.

"You feel me, Mel?"

"Yeah, I do."

Melissa said before footsteps were heard walking to the storage room next to the cell.

"You two go ahead, I'll be up in a minute."

More footsteps were heard going up the stairs. Led and Bruce had left the building. It was now only Zane and Melissa. After coming out of the storage room, Melissa unlocked the cell door and opened it.

She took one look at his face and she didn't even need to read his emotions to know that he had just heard about Drift's death.

"I'm sorry for your loss..."

Melissa said gently as she kneeled in front of him, holding out an entire loaf of bread.

"This is all we have right now, but I promise I'll be back to give you more soon."

Zane took one look at the loaf of bread and continued to sob. Wanting to give him some comfort, Melissa gently wrapped her arms around Zane, pulling him in for a hug.

"I-I'm sorry you have to go through this..."

1 7  M O N T H S  L A T E R . . .

By now, Bolton had carried out the great salvation and now had the whole planet in his grasp. This made Melissa's visits over the past thirteen months short and few, but the amount of food she'd bring doubled.

Once again, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs followed by talking.

"Wow..."

A new voice said. His voice was lower pitched, but his words were fast.

"Hey, what's this?"

"A while back, Bolton studied the Book Of The Damned to try and revive his wife from the dead. He did, but it wasn't really her. It was more or less a copy of her, which channelled her negative thoughts and had green fire gifts for some reason. His real wife was never gifted."

Melissa answered. Zane listened to the conversation and was immediately lost over what she was saying.

"When she came back to her senses, I can only imagine that she realized her worthlessness as a copy of the real Helena and ended her own suffering."

"Damn..."

The new person thought out loud. He had never heard a story so bizarre as that before.

Before long, the cell door was unlocked and opened. In came Melissa, followed by a dark-skinned Octoling with a silver afro. It was Damian Batson.

"O-Okay, who is that?!"

"Someone who once crossed Bolton, or at least that's what Bolton said. I tried asking both Led and Bruce about it, but I never got an answer from either of them."

She told him as she placed a large bag of food in front of Zane.

"All I know about him is that Bolton tried to give him a way out, but he refused and tried fighting back, only to fail and become his prisoner. Sometimes, I wonder why Bolton didn't just finish him like he usually would. Why put him through all of this suffering?"

"Beats me."

Damian said before a question ran into his mind.

"Why don't we just break him out?"

Melissa loudly sighed.

"If I did then it would only be inevitable until Bolton finds out. When he does, he'll kill him."

Damian nodded as he stood back up.

"I'm gonna go outside, this place is freaking me out!"

He said before running out of the building in the blink of an eye.

Melissa looked down at Zane one more time as he ripped into the bag of food and began to eat. With a heavy heart, she left the cell and took one last look at Zane as she closed the door, leaving him alone.

2  M O N T H S  L A T E R . . .

Within those two months, he received no more visits from Melissa, nor did he get a visit from Led, Bruce, or even Damian. He had no idea what had happened in the outside world. He had no idea about the chaos that had occurred after the last visit.

By now, his food supply was almost gone. The heavy amount given by Melissa and Damian had run its course. All that was left were the leftovers and the crumbs.

Zane felt his hunger grow. He knew that if he didn't eat, he'd starve, and then he'd die. He knew that he couldn't just wait for another food supply, because at this rate, it might just never come.

So with all of that now in his mind, he began to go through the leftovers, eating them all up.

3  M O N T H S  L A T E R . . .

The leftovers were gone, and the smallest of crumbs were gone. In addition, Zane even had to resort to eating the bag itself to stay alive, but now, it was all gone.

He laid on the floor barely conscious. The top of his left arm was against his dry mouth. His body was going numb from how unwell he was, and his left arm was no exception.

Without realizing it, Zane had accidentally dug one of his teeth deep into the top of his left arm. He only woke up after feeling the blood on his face. He panicked and quickly pulled his tooth out of his arm, but what had happened had already taken its effect...

The taste of his blood was... satisfying? It was the most tasteful thing that had been in his mouth in so long. He looked back to his arm and saw blood pouring out from where his tooth was.

Without thinking, Zane moved his arm closer to his mouth and began nibbling on that spot, sucking up the blood. For some strange reason, it tasted good to him. Whilst nibbling, he accidentally bit off a bit of flesh. He gasped from the quick, stinging pain, not before the flesh went into his mouth.

He chewed on it and eventually swallowed. For some strange reason, it satisfied his needs. The juiciness, the sweetness, the flavour was all that he had been craving. He wanted more. He needed more. If he didn't, he'd starve and eventually die.

Zane went back at his arm, this time taking a much bigger bite into it, biting off a large chunk of flesh. The pain didn't faze him anymore, he was too focused on satisfying his hunger.

He chewed on it loudly for a minute before swallowing. Almost immediately, his actions made a huge difference. His hunger was fading. Zane knew he couldn't eat the whole thing now, it would be foolish to do so. Instead, he went on to only eat a chunk a day.

Over the next few weeks, Zane would spend one moment each day dedicated to eating a bit out of his arm, starting with the top of his arm.

After just over a week, half of the top of his arm had been bitten off and eaten. His mouth was stained with his own blood. By now, he had no feeling left in his left arm from below that point. He couldn't move his fingers anymore.

To make things easier for himself, Zane grabbed onto the flesh of his arm with his teeth and bit down on it with immense force, biting down all the way until his top and bottom teeth met in the middle, filling his mouth with deliciousness.

Once pulling out, he grabbed onto his left arm with his right arm and began squeezing down on it and pulled as hard as he could. It took almost a minute, but eventually, the sound of ripping was heard, followed by the entire left arm being pulled off of his body.

What remained on his body was bleeding immensely. Zane grabbed onto the left sleeve of his Splat Force gear and pressed it against his shoulder to stop the bleeding. He now only had one arm on him, so what he could do was now limited.

Once the bleeding had gotten to a more stable rate, Zane lifted the bloodied sleeve and moved it up to his mouth. He bit down on the top of the sleeve, creating an opening for him to rip it off. He stood on his gear and pulled the sleeve with his right hand. Once off, he threw the sleeve aside.

Now, sitting ahead of him was his bitten-off arm. Zane knew that in order to ensure his survival, he needed to take as much time on his arm as needed, otherwise, the next solution would be to start eating other limbs, a solution that he did not want to go to.

3  M O N T H S  L A T E R . . .

With each day, he ate a piece of the arm, staring from the juicy top and going down to the tips of his fingers. Eventually, it was gone. Zane now had nothing left to eat.

He sat in the middle of the cell wearing his Splat Force gear. Resting against the wall up ahead with his golden badge, with the photo of him and Ami on the back of it. He stared at the ground emotionless.

The reality of what he had been doing the past couple of months really dawned on him and began to hurt him mentally. He hated that he did that, but he had to... right?

Suddenly, noises were heard coming from outside of the room. They were footsteps, loads of them, almost as if a whole group had just stumbled across the base. Zane didn't react. His facial expressions didn't change whatsoever.

"Behind here!"

A voice called out from the other side of the door. Moments later, using a thousand-degree torch, they burnt out a large, rectangular gap in the door. Once cooled down, they picked up the piece and moved it aside, granting them access to the room.

For the first time in eight long months, Zane was getting some company, but it wasn't in the form that he was expecting. ing him in the room was a man wearing black armour and a helmet to cover his face. He shined a light on Zane, immediately taking notice of his bite marks.

"Holy fuck..."

The man whispered before stepping around Zane and flashing a light in his dark charcoal eyes. Zane didn't blink or react to any of it. He just stared into space.

On the top right corner of the room, another man found the old, faded Splat Force badge. That, combined with the vintage suit, he put together that the young man was once a member of the team.

Attached to the back was the photo of him and Ami, with the back of the photo having both of their initials.

'AS + ZM'

The man looked at his ally with a shocked look on his face.

"Call Mr. Fisk, now!"

"On it, Robert!"

His ally said before rushing out of the room.

After a long few minutes, Zane was taken out of the cell. Stepping out of the cell for surreal to him. He wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. The light seemed much brighter to him than it was to the other men in the room.

Zane was sat at the edge of the table, facing the staircase leading upstairs. After a few more minutes, footsteps were heard going down the stairs. Coming into his line of sight was Vincent Fisk. Back then, his hair was darker and more browner. He wore a black suit of armour, like his other men.

"Hey, what's your name?"

He asked. The young Inkling didn't respond. Of course, Vincent knew who he was, he just needed to check to see if Zane still knew who he was.

"Not much of a talker, are you? How about a deal? I'll take you down to Fisk Industries and I'll hook you up with a new arm. Does that sound good?"

Zane finally stopped staring into space and looked into Vincent's eyes. Although it looked as if he was being saved, something felt off about him and he didn't know. Vincent snapped his fingers, gaining the attention of his men.

"Bring him to the chopper!"

Zane watched Vincent walk up the stairs. He was quick to notice that he was holding a book behind his back. What was that book? He had no time to process it fully, however, as he was immediately taken into the hands of Fisk's men and taken out of the base.

L A T E R  T H A T  N I G H T . . .

Zane was sat in the back of the chopper, sitting opposite Vincent. He had a warm blue blanket wrapped around him as he looked out of the window. He saw the blue sea shining from the moonlight. It was a simple sight to any other sea critter alive, but to him, it was the most beautiful sight he had seen in years.

"You're name is Zane Miller, am I right?"

Vincent asked, immediately gaining Zane's attention.

"I know who you are and I know what happened to you, or what seemingly happened."

"Why did you ask me then?"

"I just needed to know if you still ed."

Vincent answered before further explaining what he knew about Zane.

"Four years ago, the Once Great Symbol came crashing down in flames. You were caught in the middle and were immediately believed to be dead. Many had tried to find your body, but to no prevail."

"Wait... did you say four years?"

Zane asked. Vincent closed his eyes and sighed before nodding. Zane felt his heart drop.

"I-I've been locked in there f-for four years?"

"Yes, and in the state you are in now, you're lucky to even be alive."

Vincent said before alluding to his missing arm.

"I see you had to take desperate measures to hang on."

Zane looked to his left and down at where his left arm used to be. He nodded slowly.

"I-I-I couldn't help it..."

"You were desperate to stay alive, kid, if anyone else was in your position, they'd likely do the same thing."

Vincent assured before leaning forward. He grabbed a syringe from his pocket.

"Here's what's gonna happen now. You will be taken to the Fisk Industries base out in the Coraldia. There, you will be treated by our elite medical team. They will get you back into shape by feeding your body enough nutrition. You will receive a new arm, as well as a wash and a shave. You will receive the treatment you need to get better, stronger, to become more than what you are so that none of this could ever happen again."

"But... what if Bolton finds us?"

Zane asked. Because of him being in the cell for so long, he was unaware of recent events.

"Ah, of course you wouldn't know..."

Vincent said to him before giving him the catch-up that he needed.

"Bolton won't be hurting you anymore."

There was a glimmer of hope inside of Zane upon hearing those six words. He just needed the confirmation.

"What do you mean?"

"He's dead. Bolton Vulcan died eight months ago."

Vincent informed.

"The entire world has been cured from the gifted. You no longer have to worry about him."

Zane looked at Vincent, unsure of what to think. There was a warm feeling inside of him. Finally, his tormentor was dead. He was free. His relief was then turned into worry upon seeing the syringe in Vincent's hand.

"Wh-What is that?"

"This is a Midazolam Injection. It's what is used on individuals before surgery, making them feel drowsy until they are out. It's to prevent any memory of the surgery from coming back. With the amount in his syringe, you should be out for the necessary amount of time that this will take."

"How long?"

"Two weeks."

Vincent told him, making Zane feel uncertain. Vincent picked up on it immediately.

"I know you have mixed thoughts right now, but it is needed for you to sur-"

"I'll do it."

Zane interrupted.

"I've already lost four years of my life, what's another two weeks?"

Vincent nodded.

"Alright."

He said before moving next to Zane, readying the syringe by the side of his neck.

"Hold still."

After a few seconds of suspension, Vincent injected Zane. The young Inkling felt the liquid go into his neck. The pain lasted for only a split second before the effects of the liquid began to settle in. He became more drowsy as the seconds went by. Eventually, he went to sleep, out cold.

2  W E E K S  L A T E R . . .

Zane finally woke up in a medical room. He had been in a coma for the past couple of weeks. The room had silver, almost reflective walls. His bedsheets on the metal bed were white. He wore a white body suit going down to above his knees with no sleeves.

In the two weeks that he was out, Vincent appeared to have lived up to his promise. Zane's body felt better, better than it had been in four years. His hunger was completely gone. He was clean, his hair had been slightly trimmed to above the chest area and tidied up. His facial hair had been shaven off.

Zane was quick to notice that he had a new left arm. However, there was a bandage wrapped around it, so he couldn't see what it was just yet. Thankfully, he was about to get his answers as Vincent Fisk walked into the room.

"Welcome back."

Vincent greeted before walking to his bedside on the left.

"How are you feeling?"

"B-Better..."

Zane replied. He was still trying to adjust to the world around him. He was barely awake, so his words were stumbled out of him.

"That's good."

Vincent said before patting the new bandaged arm.

"This arm took a couple of days of work to create. After that, I spent the next week trying to put it on you. It took a while longer than I had hoped, but..."

Vincent began taking off the bandage, eventing revealing Zane's new metal arm. The sight of the arm was what fully woke Zane up. He held both of his hands in front of him. Although there was a physical difference, to him, it felt as if he had never lost his arm.

"Do you like it?"

Vincent asked, to which Zane nodded.

"Good. Whilst I was making it, my team removed your left shoulder because it was still hanging on. Once it was done, it was then that I was able to equip it onto you."

"Th-Thank you..."

Zane said to him.

"No need to thank me."

Vincent said with an assuring smile before holding out the photo of Zane and Ami.

"I found this whilst going through your ruined Splat Force gear. I'm guessing this is your girlfriend, yes?"

Zane nodded.

"Her name is Ami."

"Ami... I'll have my team look into her."

He assured him. Just then, another man walked into the room. He wore a white lab coat and had lime hair tied into a man-bun. Both of his eyes were yellow. Vincent took notice of the man.

"Ah, Zane, this is Doctor Cyrus Zagan. He's assigned in your care."

"Pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Miller!"

Cyrus greeted with a smirk before shaking Zane's metal hand.

"What do you mean "assigned in your care"? Aren't I free to go?"

Zane asked, immediately getting worried.

Suddenly, all of the friendly vibes that Vincent gave off were diminished.

"No."

Vincent told him.

"I have plans for you."

"Wh-Wh-What?!"

Zane asked, panicked. It dawned on him that although he had escaped his prison, he was now inside of a new one.

"I told you that I was going to make you better, stronger. I told you that I will make you become more than what you are."

Vincent told him, recapping what he told him on the chopper.

"I saw something in you that night in the cabin. I saw someone who would do anything to survive. I saw someone who was hurt badly by the gifted, someone with resentment, someone who wanted to hurt the world as much as it hurt him. I intend to bring that person out to the surface."

Zane began hyperventilating rapidly.

"N-N-No..."

He whispered to himself over and over again, but there was no use in begging.

Vincent stood up and looked ahead at Cyrus, who had now gotten himself a black bag.

"He's all yours. Have him ready for tonight..."

He told him before leaving the room. Cyrus nodded before turning to the terrified Inkling with a sinister smirk. Before Zane could do anything, Cyrus walked to the bedside and covered up Zane's head with the black bag.

L A T E R  T H A T  N I G H T . . .

Zane's face was shoved into a pot of cold water by Cyrus Zagan. It stung for Zane, making him scream in pain before being pulled out. He panted nonstop, trying to catch his breath.

Cyrus was about to do it once more but was stopped by a whistle from Vincent Fisk.

"That's enough, bring him to the chair."

Following his orders, Cyrus carried Zane over to the metal chair in the middle of the room. Around the chair were machinery and restraints to keep him in place. To the left was a black flat desk that rested a book, the same book that Zane saw Vincent carrying back at Bolton's old base.

Strapping him in was another Inkling man with blonde hair and glasses.

"This is Doctor Albert Newton, my longest-lasting assistant. He's in charge of keeping you in place."

Vincent said as Zane tried to resist.

"N-No! Please don't do whatever you're doing!"

Zane cried out, but nobody was listening to his cries.

"P-Please, I'm beg-"

Albert forcefully put a face mask over Zane, silencing him.

"Thank you."

Vincent said as he picked up the book. He moved to the front of Zane and looked into his watery eyes.

"I found this book at the Shark Kingdom. I was there on a mission to end a conflict involving them. Sargent Jacob Gunn of the R.A.I.C found out my intentions with the book, and... let's just say he'll never be bothering us again."

Although Zane had no connections to the man whom Vincent had brought up, there was still a haunting vibe to what he said that sent shivers down his body.

"This language was difficult to understand at first, but once I had learned the alphabet, everything else was straightforward."

Vincent said before looking down at the book. He began to circle Zane.

"λαχτάρα, χτυπημένος..."

Those two words made Zane feel a fear that he had never felt before. What was this? Why were those words affecting him badly?

"δύο, εκδικητικός, πνίγηκε..."

Zane let out a terrified scream as he tried desperately to escape the restraints, but they were tight.

"σούρουπο..."

The more words that were spoken, the more desperate, scared, and rageful Zane became. He moved and fidgeted like a feral animal. The restraints were slowly getting weaker.

"παζάρι, ελευθερία-"

S L A M ,  S L A M ! ! !

Zane had broken free of the restraints and immediately attacked both Albert and Cyrus, sending them each flying across the room and hitting the metal walls. He then went after Vincent.

Z A P ! ! !

The moment that Zane took his first step toward him, electricity was sent coursing through his whole body, making him scream and pain and fall to the ground. Vincent slowly approached Zane, looking down at him.

"I put an implant in the back of your neck. It's stuck there, you can't remove it. If you try, you'll get zapped."

He informed the now sobbing Inkling.

"You have fight in you. You're resisting the Book Of The Dammed. That fighting instinct inside of you must be strong."

Cyrus and Albert managed to stand up again after that rough blow, with the former of the two approaching his boss.

"Want me to break his spirit, boss?"

"Precisely."

Vincent said coldly before looking away from Zane and at Cyrus.

"You have until the eleventh of November to completely break his spirit."

At last, Vincent left the room, leaving Zane to the hand of the smirking Cyrus Zagan. He approached the young Inkling slowly. All he could do was look up at him with fear in his eyes.

O V E R  T H E  N E X T  3  M O N T H S . . .

Every day, Zane would wake up in the early hours of the morning with a knock on his cell door. He was given three meals a day through the hatch on the underside of the door. It was a step up from the weekly one meal that Bolton offered him. The food itself was gross, liquidy type food. It didn't taste very pleasant either, but it was better than nothing.

Every day after a meal, each of the following would happen. He would be taken back to the chambers that he was at on the first night and he had his head slammed into the cold water again, and again, day after day.

During each day and night, he would have his head covered in the black bag and would suffocate due to the lack of oxygen. Once he was on the verge of ing out, they would remove the bag from his head and proceed to beat him up using batons.

Most of the time, it was Cyrus Zagan himself who would be the main ab, but on occasion, more of Fisk's men ed in and beat up. On one of the days, there was a mini sport going on where the men and women would take turns hitting him the hardest with the baton to see who would knock him out first. There was lots of blood spilt during each session, and many sinister laughs were shared.

On some nights, Zane would be taken out of his cell to watch as Cyrus Zagan would brutally murder either a former gifted citizen or a pet. Regardless, both would be screaming in agony as they would be ripped and cut to pieces by Cyrus whilst still alive and awake to watch. Zane had his eyes forced open so that he could watch it, even though he really didn't want to see any of it.

That was Zane's entire life during those few months, and it was more hell than any day spent in Bolton's prison. Sure, he was fed and actually got to move around the building, but he'd be lying if he said that he didn't miss just being alone inside of a dark room without having to experience that level of torment on the daily.

The one thing that kept him going, however, was the photo of him and Ami that he kept under the pillow of his cell room. The idea of one day reuniting and seeing her again was what kept his will alive throughout the whole thing.

N O V E M B E R  1 1 T H  2 0 2 6 . . .

At last, the day had come. Once again, Zane was brought into the chambers. Everything was set up exactly how it was the night of their first attempt. Zane, now beaten and permanently scared from the torment he had been receiving over the past few months, was strapped to the chair by Albert Newton.

Vincent Fisk picked up the Book Of The Dammed once again and stood in front of Zane.

"Are you ready to submit now? I don't want to have to go through this all again with you."

Zane remained almost silent with the only sound heard from him being his heavy breathing. He felt his heartbeat quicken as Vincent began circling him again.

"λαχτάρα, χτυπημένος, δύο..."

Immediately, the effect of those words began taking its toll on Zane, who immediately began screaming in pain.

"εκδικητικός, πνίγηκε, σούρουπο..."

After the first six words were spoken, Zane once again managed to break out of his restraints. Before he could do any harm to Vincent or his men, however...

Z A P ! ! !

Once again, Vincent activated the implant, electrifying him.

"Still got fight left in you?"

Vincent asked before putting the book onto the flat desk. He kneeled in front of Zane and took something out of his pocket. It was the photo of him and Ami.

"I photocopied this photo and was able to do some research into her. I have news that you need to hear, and I waited until today to share it."

Zane looked at Vincent worryingly as he had his face mask removed.

"I-Is she okay?!"

Zane asked the moment it was off of him.

Vincent had a frown on his face. It was as if the news was even paining him to share.

"On this day, one year ago, the heroes of the world came together to take down and kill Bolton Vulcan. During the fight, Ami was caught in the crossfire between Bolton, and a young man who could turn anything into stone."

He began informing. Zane will already filled with anxiety.

"Now, after the fight, Alyssa Frida gave up her life to cure the world from the gifted. Unfortunately, any after-effects from the gifts were still in place."

Zane was already in shock from the moment of hearing about Alyssa's death, however, he began panting rapidly as Vincent talked about the aftereffects and how Ami was caught in the middle of something.

"I-I-Is sh-she okay?!"

Vincent closed his eyes and sighed before giving him the news.

"The girl did not survive..."

Zane froze.

"No..."

He whispered out loud. He was in denial.

"N-No, no..."

"I am truly sorry, but she's gone..."

Everything began to settle in for Zand. Ami was dead, and it wasn't even Bolton who killed her. His panting became heavier and heavier before he let out a massive cry.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!'

He screamed. Tears fell on his now red face as he screamed in pain and sorrow more and more.

Vincent looked down at him, he too looked saddened by his reaction. He let him cry for a couple of minutes before putting the face mask back on his face, silencing him.

"I know that pain all too well... my brother was killed by Terrador at the start of the Gifted Wars. Ritchie worked at the Inkopolis Union Center on the day of Terrador's attack. I only managed to survive, but Ritchie didn't... he was a causality of collateral damage... from that day on, I wanted to find a way to end the gifted. I wanted... I want revenge for what they did to me, and from the looks of things, so do you."

Vincent said to the sobbing Inkling who sat before him.

"We'll try again in a few hours. Doctor Zagan?"

Cyrus nodded before removing the restraints from Zane and carrying him out of the room. Zane didn't even try to resist him, nor did he try to escape. He seemed to have accepted his fate. Maybe it would actually work next time?

L A T E R  T H A T  N I G H T . . .

Zane laid shivering on his cold bed. It had now been only a few hours since hearing about Ami's death, and his mind could never get over it. Silent tears streamed down his face as his mind tried to process everything.

He was tempted to reach under the pillow to have another look at his beloved photo, but as he reached for it, he found himself pulling back. He couldn't bear to look at it again, not right now, not after hearing of her death.

Zane shifted around, now laying on his back, his head facing towards the cold stone ceiling. Simply staring at the ceiling was enough to take him back to the faithful day at the Once Great Symbol. He wished that Led wasn't there to spare him. He wished that the ceiling crushed him. He wished... he wished that he would've died that day, but nothing could ever change the past.

The longer he dwelled on his past and all of his actions leading to where he was now, the more tired he became. Within the next few minutes, he found himself drifting off to sleep. Eventually, his body remained still as he finally went to sleep, only for a core memory of his to flash in his dream.

I N  T H E  D R E A M . . .

Both Zane and Ami rested on the former's bed. They were relaxing, their backs touching Zane's bedsheets. Ami was cuddling Zane from his right, he was stroking her long pink hair.

Music was playing on Zane's wireless speaker in the background as he whispered to her.

"You know, I really love our cuddles."

"Hehe! I knew it!"

Ami cheered. Her body wiggled with excitement as she giggled.

"I bet you wish you had me this close to you every day!"

"You're right about that."

Zane replied with a light chuckle.

"I keep forgetting how soft your hair is."

Ami giggled again before moving her long hair onto Zane's body.

"They're the best blanket ever!"

"You're also right about that."

He said to her before going in to stroke her forehead, making her smile wider.

"You're so beautiful... too beautiful for me."

Zane's smile turned into a small frown as he looked away from his girlfriend and looked to the ceiling. Ami saw the doubt in her boyfriend and immediately got concerned.

"Hey... what's wrong?"

Zane sighed.

"A lot of things have been happening recently. Moved to a new place, met new people, and yet... I don't know, I feel like I'll end up alone down the line again, and that terrifies me."

He told her.

"I don't want to go through all of that again. I don't want to say any more goodbyes. I want to settle and live my life again. I just... don't want you to be gone, that's all..."

Ami frowned from hearing her boyfriend's sorrow.

"Hey, don't say that... I'm never gonna leave you, ever!"

She assured before stroking his cheek with her pinky.

"I'll always be here, right by your side until the end. I promise!"

Zane continued to stare at the ceiling for the next few seconds until her words really hit him in the chest. He smiled before turning his head to the right, facing her. He looked deep into her blue eyes, giving him immense comfort.

B A C K  I N  R E A L I T Y . . .

Zane had woken up from the dream, immediately looking to his right. Nobody was beside him. Ami was not with him here. She would never be with him ever again. As the realization of that came back, Zane's eyes swelled up and got watery as he reached for the photo of the pair of them underneath his pillow.

One look at the pair of them was all he needed to get emotional all over again. He hugged the photo tightly as he silently sobbed.

All of a sudden, the door to his cell was unlocked and quickly opened. Cyrus Zagan stepped through. He looked down at Zane with a snarl.

"Really? Are you still crying over that dead girl again?"

He said before snatching the photo out of his hands. Zane immediately went in to grab it, only for Cyrus to grab his button from his hip.

S L A M ! ! !

Zane fell onto the side of his bed, his throat hitting the metal bar and making him choke. Cyrus looked down at Zane with a smirk before turning his attention to the photo.

"Poor little Ami, she must've suffered on her way out."

He said before turning the photo to face Zane. He made sure Zane was watching as he slowly ripped the photo apart. The split was at the side and cut off both his and Ami's heads. Once done, he ripped it again, and again, and again, until there was nothing left.

Zane watched helplessly in horror as his prized possession, the one source of comfort that had kept him going over the past four years was ripped apart and taken from him. Cyrus saw how upset he was and chuckled.

"Aww! Did I rip apart your precious photograph?"

He said in a sarcastic tone before spitting on him.

"Man up, she's long gone. It's time to move on!"

Enraged, Zane got up and tried throwing himself onto Cyrus, only for him to be grabbed and thrown to the floor.  Cyrus threw the ripped photo to the side as he stepped onto Zane's chest, temporarily making it hard for him to breathe. He grabbed onto the shoulder of his metal arm and twisted it to the left until it came loose. He then ripped the metal arm off, throwing it to the side.

Cyrus then stepped back and looked down at his victim, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"You know, we've been doing this gig for a few months now, and yet here you are. There is fight in you still, a will to keep going."

He said before briefly turning to the ripped photo.

"That stupid little photo was what kept you going all this time, and yet that dream was quickly tossed out the window earlier after finding out that your pathetic excuse of a girlfriend got killed. I thought with the photo gone, any fight left in you would vanish, but it appears I was wrong."

As Cyrus spoke his monologue, Zane tried desperately to move. He tensed his muscles as he tried to move. He leaned his body up, trying to sit up, only for Cyrus to kick him in the chest, sending him back to the floor.

"I didn't say you could move, you worthless cripple!"

Zane coughed and groaned from the pain. He was now unable to move at all. All he could do was look up helplessly at Cyrus, who began taking off his shoes and socks.

After taking them off, he spoke to the young man lying before him.

"As I was saying, you still have a fighting spirit left in you... but, not for long."

He said sinisterly as he unbuckled his belt.

"Within the next couple of hours, I'm going to enjoy sucking out every last bit of willpower left inside of you, and when I'm done, you'll be nothing but a husk."

Zane watched in horror as Cyrus threw his belt to the side before pulling down his tros, and eventually his underwear. He knew what was about to happen, and he hated it. He didn't want it to happen, but nothing was going to prevent it.

Cyrus looked down at Zane with a crooked smile on his face before turning to his cell door and closing it, leaving the pair of them alone together, leaving Zane helplessly on his own to endure the terrifying torment that his ab was about to put him through.

3  H O U R S  L A T E R . . .

Once again, everything was all set up. Zane was taken into the chambers, the black bag was over his head. Once he was strapped in and secured, the bag was removed from his head. Nobody in the room apart from Zane and Cyrus knew what had happened back in the cell. All they could see was Zane blankly staring into space, frozen completely.

Upon stepping in front of Zane once again, and seeing the state he was in, he quickly glanced at Cyrus.

"What did you do to him?"

He asked. Even Vincent had concerns over what went down in the cell.

"I did what you asked me to do... I crushed his spirt and took away his will to keep fighting."

Cyrus answered confidentiality.

Before Vincent began saying those cursed words, he approached Zane and looked down at him before speaking softly to him.

"Think about Ami. Think about the years you've lost because of the gifted."

He told him coldly. Zane continued staring into space emotionlessly. It was as if he was waiting for it to start.

At last, Vincent looked down at the book and began reading out those words for the last time.

"λαχτάρα, χτυπημένος, δύο, εκδικητικός, πνίγηκε... "

Vincent read out. At first, there was a reaction. As usual, Zane screamed for the first few words and tried to resist. However, as it went on, the reactions died down until he was finally settled. It was working...

"σούρουπο, παζάρι, ελευθερία,  eνας, ηλιόλουστη μέρα..."

That was it. All of the cursed words had been said. Vincent stood in front of Zane, who had stopped shivering. His eyes were shut. Vincent still needed to confirm whether or not it worked.

"Soldier?"

He called out.

At last, Zane opened his eyes. They were now white with pale blue pupils. He spoke in the language of the book, his mind was messed up.

"έτοιμοι να συμμορφωθούν."

"What did he say, sir?"

Albert Newton asked, standing to the right of Zane.

Vincent didn't smile, but the shocked staring he was doing toward Zane said it all.

"He said... ready to comply"

He said in disbelief.

"It... worked."

Suddenly, everyone in the room except Zane and Vincent erupted into cheers. This was a moment to celebrate for them. Months of work had finally paid off, and now, Zane was now fully in their grasp.

Eventually, the cheering finally died down. He then looked at Cyrus.

"Take him to the testing room immediately. Put the gear on him. We need to run a test on him."

Vincent said before turning to Zane, giving him a determined look.

"From this moment on, you will be going under a new name. You will now be referred to as... Project ZM."

T O  B E  C O N T I N U E D . . .

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T H X  F O R  R E A D I N G ! ! !

Thx for reading the eleventh Chapter of Splat Force IV: Radicalism! After this Chapter, I bet you will now look at the previous two stories differently, knowing that whilst the heroes were fighting against Bolton, one of their own was trapped and alone. The next Chapter will be coming up shortly, so stay tuned for that! Until next time, stay safe out there! ^^

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