Splat Force IV: Radicalism; Chapter 12

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! I hope you are all still doing well today! As promised, here is the second half of the unofficial two-parter for Splat Force IV: Radicalism!

Now, I'm gonna keep this intro short, but can we all agree that the last Chapter was... rough for our Inkling buddy? In a single Chapter, this young man went through more torture than probably everyone else in the saga combined. I am not one for gloating about torturing my characters... except I am, but man I do NOT want to be him!

This Chapter will see the rise of Project ZM, the assassin born from within the young man.

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 2 : T H E B I R T H O F P R O J E C T Z M

Project ZM was placed on a platform above the testing chambers. He was strapped into his place by the machines as his amour was put onto him. Starting from the chest and going down to the feet. He was given his face mask, which had a built-in visor in it. The only part of his body below his head that was showing was his metal arm.

Not long after he was set up, two of Fisk's men dragged in a test subject. The subject had grey clothes and had a brown bag over his head. He was thrown to the ground onto his hands and knees. The brown bag was removed from his head, revealing a young Inkling man with dark grey. Fisk's men left the room as the ceiling opened.

The test subject looked up in horror as the capsule holding Project ZM was slowly lowered. He could see Project ZM's white eyes. As the capsule landed, it opened, and Project ZM stabbed through.

The visor on his mask was activated. Project ZM saw the entire room as blue, apart from the test subject who was highlighted as yellow, signalling his former gifted connections. Vincent Fisk spoke over the comms.

"What you see in those visors can identify if someone has had their NDA rewritten by the gifted cure. If not, they would appear as normal, if so, they will appear as yellow."

He informed him before moving on to the test subject.

"The young man who stands before you know is one Harlow Pertch. He's the son of the man who killed my brother. He is also responsible for Ami's death."

Project ZM didn't recall Ami's name. In fact, he couldn't anything that his old self knew. All he knew was the goals of the man who he was controlled by. If it was his guess, then this Ami meant something, to either him or his master. Regardless, she seemed precious.

Project ZM took his first steps towards Harlow, who by now had been frozen in fear as he accepted his fate. Project ZM stopped moving and stood in front of him, looking down into his eyes. Vincent's voice echoed through the coms.

"Take one good look this son of a bitch. Doesn't his kind make you sick? All the damage they've done to the world, and you."

Vincent told him.

"This man took away your heart and your soul, your reason to keep going. I wasn't able to avenge my loved one, but you can right now. You just have to do it."

"N-No! Please!"

Harlow begged. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he slowly stood back up, standing face-to-face with Project ZM.

"I-I didn't mean to kill her! B-B-Bolton defected my attack, a-and it hit her! I didn't mean for any of this to happen! I'm sorry!"

Project ZM stood still and observed. He now knew that this Ami meant something to him. He now knew that she was his reason to keep going, and her killer was standing right in front of him. He analysed Harlow's behaviour and put his right, regular hand on his left shoulder.

The visor was lowered so that Project ZM could have a closer look into his eyes. They showed true remorse... but he still killed Ami, his Ami. Despite him not having a memory of her, he knew that she meant the world to him, and now, she was gone because of him...

S L A M ! ! !

Harlow gasped and went into shock. Project ZM had just lunged his metal fist straight through his chest, with his arm coming out through his back, covered in his blood and holding his beating heart before crushing it with his grasp.

Project ZM watched as Harlow progressively got paler and paler until almost all the life had been drained from his eyes. Eventually, he quickly pulled his arm out of Harlow's chest. Harlow stood, frozen in shock for a few seconds before falling back, lifeless. Project ZM stood still and stared at his dead body.

A few seconds later, Cyrus Zagan entered the room, followed by three of Fisk's men. He looked down at the dead body and laughed.

"Haha! What a beauty!"

He snarled with joy before turning to and approaching the killer before him.

"Great jo-"

The moment he placed a hand on Project ZM's shoulder, the cyborg lashed out, lunging his metal hand into his right eye, gouging it. Cyrus let out a violent scream, holding his hand over his destroyed, bleeding eye.

"GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!"

He screamed in pain. Before Project ZM could hurt anyone else, Vincent Fisk quickly managed to intervene from the room he was watching the events through.

Z A P ! ! !

The implant shocked Project ZM, who silently fell to the ground in pain. With him now down, the rest of Fisk's men in the room quickly managed to neutralise Project ZM and took him out of the room. Vincent made a quick call over the coms.

"We need medical assistance in the testing room, ASAP!"

1  M O N T H   L A T E R . . .

When he was not active, Project ZM was now placed in his own separate chamber. It was another capsule that held him with machinery. Suddenly, the door ahead of the capsule opened, letting fog into the other room.

The capsule opened and Project ZM opened his eyes. Ahead of him was Vincent Fisk, standing alone in a business suit, unafraid of what Project ZM could potentially do to him if gone rogue.

"Greetings, Project ZM."

He greeted. Project ZM stepped out of his capsule and was now on Vincent's level.

"Come, I have a lot to inform you on."

Vincent took Project ZM through the building until they eventually arrived at the testing chambers. There was a table that was put on its side and was facing the front door. On the table, pinned down was the dead body of an Octoling. It had no clothes on, and body parts were missing.

Project ZM approached the table to take a closer look at the body. Vincent ed him.

"Do you recognise this man?"

Vincent asked. Project ZM was silent. There was something familiar with this man. The most recognisable thing about his appearance was his long red hair.

"This is the dead body of Bolton Vulcan."

Project ZM recognised the name, but he did not know where from. He looked at his master for any potential answers.

"This is the man who kidnapped you, the man who made you lose four years of your life. This man took control of the whole planet for thirteen months, only dying last year."

He explained before alluding to the missing body parts.

"After his death, I requested his body. I needed to dissect him for further research into whether or not the cure worked. I took off parts of his body, as you can see here. His fingertips, entire toes, his genitalia, and his eyes."

After hearing about his eyes, Project ZM looked at Bolton's eyelids. They had been sowed shut. He looked back to his master, who continued explaining.

"It was from this research that I discovered that the cure worked. I used a blue light scan that would pick up on changes in someone's body, like an x-ray and found that any trace of his gifts was gone, but the effects in his NDA were still visible. I used that equipment to make your visor, which is how you identify whether or not someone was once gifted."

He told him. He then stepped around the table and stood directly in front of Project ZM.

"However, I don't know whether or not the effects of the cure are permanent. At any moment, the effects could wear off and the next Bolton will rise in his place... that's where you come in, Project ZM.

Vincent flicked a switch at the back of the table, lowering the table to the ground, leaving Bolton'sdeadh body lying on the floor.

"Your mission is to wipe out the cured and make sure that the next Bolton could never rise. I know you can do this."

He said before stepping back toward the front door.

"On your metal arm, there is a blade inside of it."

Project ZM looked at his metal arm. He felt something moving inside of it. Suddenly, the blade popped out of his wrist.

"That blade was made from the remaining shards found on Bolton's blade. I managed to fix it up and turned it into a smaller, more deadlier weapon. It will be useful for your missions."

He added before finishing the meeting by pointing at Bolton's body.

"I don't need this body anymore. Dispose of it however you may please."

Vincent stood by and watched as Project ZM stood over Bolton's body. Within seconds, he began punching the body with his metal fisk. The first few punches were loud and echoed through the room. However, the sound of the punches quickly changed. Vincent watched it all from afar.

S L A M ,  S L A M ,  S L A M ! ! !

S L A M ,  S L A M ,  S P L A T ! ! !

S P L A T ,  S P L A T ,  S P L A T ! ! !

O V E R  T H E  N E X T  1 9  M O N T H S . . .

Every week, on a random day, Project ZM was taken to the capsule above the testing room. Down below waiting for him would be his next victim, or victims. By the time each of them saw Project ZM come into view, they knew that their fates had been sealed.

Every test ended the same way: with the brutal demise of the subjects. However, each murder had its own unique flair. For some, they received similar treatment to that of Harlow Pertch, that being a metal fist through the chest.

Other types of murder included, but weren't limited to punching to death, being gunned down, getting sliced up with the wrist blade, getting choked to death, and having guts cut out of their bodies, alongside many, many other methods of murder.

Over the long period being Fisk's personal weapon, Project ZM had gained a body count in the three digits and rising.  The more murders that were committed, the more experience he had gained, leading to the more methods of murder he learned.

J U L Y  2 4 T H  2 0 2 8

Once again, Project ZM was taken out of the capsule during his moment of rest. At first, he was expecting to see Vincent but was instead greeted by another familiar face.

"Hey there, buddy! Been a while, hasn't it?"

Cyrus Zagan greeted with a smirk. He now wore an eyepatch over his right eye.

Project ZM stepped out of the capsule and greeted Cyrus. He stared into his one eye and awaited a potential order on behalf of his master.

"Mr. Fisk has been compromised."

He said before showing him a flatscreen device that he held behind his back, showing him the location of the R.A.I.C vans that were holding him. Project ZM looked at the device and learned of his master's location.

"The Splat Force got involved. They have taken down the assassins that we sent their way to abduct Shauna May-Deacon, and now Fisk has been arrested. Your job to to identify which van he's in the blow up the other two. There will be a ride outside waiting for you."

Project ZM looked into Cyrus' eyes before turning right and walking down the hallway, eventually leaving the building and heading onto the chopper. The moment he was on, he took off into the air.

L A T E R  T H A T  N I G H T . . .

After a long ride, the chopper finally arrived at a dark field with a road in the middle. Project ZM jumped out of the chopper and landed in the grass nearby.

It took almost an hour, but eventually, three vans drove through the dark field in the middle of the night. Project ZM looked through his visor and managed to identify Vincent being in the middle van.

Whilst looking through the scope of his weapon, he shot out two flat discs, with them both going in the front and back van respectively...

B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

Out of nowhere, the front and back vans exploded, killing everyone inside. From inside the car, Vincent dropped his panicked face the moment the two soldiers inside his van left him.

"COME OUT, NOW!"

The soldiers yelled, aiming their weapons in every direction.

The area was silent. None of the soldiers heard anything or anyone coming from any direction. Whoever it was who blew up the vans must've been a master at stealth. Unfortunately, none of the soldiers would have to wait long before coming face to face with the silent attacker.

Out from the shadows, Project ZM emerged, coming face to face with one of the soldiers.

"HANDS IN THE AIR! DON'T MOVE!"

Project ZM didn't raise his hands. He stood very still, not moving an inch.

"You heard the man! HANDS UP, FREAK!"

S L A M ! ! !

A mere second later, Project ZM leapt forward and, using his metal arm, punched the first soldier in the chest, knocking him against the car and causing a massive dent in the door.

B A N G ,  B A N G ,  B A N G ! ! !

B A N G ,  B A N G ,  B A N G ! ! !

The last soldier standing fired at the assassin, who blocked all shots using his metal palm until he grabbed ahold of the Splattershot and crushed it. After snatching what remained of the weapon out of his hands. Project ZM grabbed the soldier by the throat, choking him as he walked to the burning van at the back.

S L A M ! ! !

The soldier's head was smashed into the burning car, incinerating him alive. Once the soldier was dead, Project ZM walked to Fisk's van and pulled the door off of the car. Vincent climbed out of the van and allowed Project ZM to take off the cuffs using a karate chop.

Now free to stretch his arms, he walked in front of the surviving soldiers, snatched the phone from his pocket, and began calling one of his own men. Just before the call started, Vincent gave Project ZM the command to kill the soldier by rubbing his neck with his finger.

"Doctor Newton, hello. I'm gonna need a chopper at these coordinates."

He told his assistant. As Vincent Fisk gave the coordinates, Project ZM was left to finish off the soldier. Using his metal arm, he finished him off with many swings to the face until he was an unrecognizable muck.

S L A M ,  S L A M ,  S L A M ! ! !

S L A M ,  S L A M ,  S L A M ! ! !

S P L A T ,  S P L A T ,  S P L A T ! ! !

L A T E R  T H A T  N I G H T . . .

Once again, the vault door containing Project ZM's capsule was opened. This time, the doors to the left and right hallway were sealed. Project ZM stepped out of the capsule and was greeted by two young ladies.

One had shoulder-length white hair and wore Splat Force gear, and the other was an Octoling with tan and green skin along with pink and blue hair. The green and the blue parts of her came in patches all over her body. It was both Emily Rogue and Shauna May-Deacon. From the eyes of Project ZM, they were intruders.

Project ZM glanced at Shauna. His visor went up and did a scan of her. From her genes, he picked up that she was one of the cured from her NDA. He marched towards her. Emily leapt at him, only to get punched to the side by his metal left arm.

S L A M ! ! !

"UGH!"

She loudly groaned after hitting the wall. Her body was in agony.

Shauna moved away from Project ZM and instead stood in front of one of the steel doors, the one opposite the vault, thinking that it was the right door. She waited for Project ZM to make his next move.

S L A M ! ! !

Right as Project ZM went in for a fast punch, Shauna ducked by going into her swim form. The punch was strong enough to take down the door. Project ZM's attention turned back to Emily and stood still, ready to see her next move.

"SHAUNA!"

Emily screamed as Shauna got obducted by one of Fisk's newer assassins. Finding enough power to get back up and run to the busted-down door. However, she still had Project ZM to face off with.

S L A M ! ! !

Emily tried to fight off the cyborg assassin in hand-to-hand combat, but his speed was too quick, and within seconds, she was punched in the face by his regular right arm and then got a punch to the chest with his metal left arm, the latter of which sent her flying back.

Tying to get steady, Emily stood back up and slowly began limping through the corridor, throwing two Splat Bombs back to distract Project ZM. He grabbed one of them and crushed it in his hand. For the second, he picked it up, smashed it against the wall, and then waited for it to explode in his hand.

B O O M ! ! !

Project ZM wasn't affected, though the walls did suffer. At last, Emily reached the large, open testing room. At the end of the room, standing on a giant platform was Vincent Fisk himself with Shauna and the other remaining assassin, the former of which was in his grasp.

"NO!"

Emily screamed as she quickly limped towards the platform, going as fast as he could. Project ZM walked into the room, stood still at the door, and watched. He was waiting for a command.

"DON'T DO THIS, FISK! PLEASE!"

Mr. Fisk shoved Shauna to the ground and walked over to Tobias. He snatched the gadget from the back of Tobias' neck and then attached it to Shauna. With the gadget gone, Tobias was left in a trance as his mind began to slowly go back to normal.

"What the... wh-where am I-"

B A N G ! ! !

Using his shotgun, Mr. Fisk got a clean shot at the side of Tobias' head, killing him instantly, and shocking both Shauna and Emily. Mr. Fisk walked to Tobias' bleeding body and kicked it over the edge, knocking him down to Emily's level, his lifeless eyes stared at him.

"The real reason I wanted you here was so you can watch your own failure. None of this would've happened if you didn't let her go, better yet, none of this would've ever happened if you didn't go peeping your head into other people's business!"

"Don't do this! Please! I'm beggin' you!"

Emily exclaimed, feeling nothing but stress.

Mr. Fisk looked past Emily and at Project ZM.

"Project ZM. Take care of her for me, but do hold yourself back. I want her alive!"

Straight after getting that command, he leapt into action and attacked Emily from the front with a powerful punch to the chest.

S L A M ! ! !

As she went flying back, Mr. Fisk began speaking the cursed words to Shauna.

"λαχτάρα, χτυπημένος, δύο."

S L A M ,  S L A M ,  S L A M ! ! !

S L A M ,  S L A M ,  S L A M ! ! !

Project ZM jumped on top of Emily and began pounding her face with both hands, giving her a nosebleed from both nostrils along with cuts and bruises. He then picked up Emily and threw her across the room like a ragdoll. Project ZM jumped towards her. Once on top, he grabbed the back of her head and slammed her face on the ground. He then began running forward, forcefully dragging her face on the floor, giving her more cut marks and friction burns on her face before throwing her toward Tobias' body.

The pain had become too much for Emily to handle. Tears escaped her eyes as she coughed up blood. Her Splat Force gear was damaged and she had no weaponry on her as it had all fallen out during the attack.

"εκδικητικός, πνίγηκε, σούρουπο, παζάρι, ελευθερία."

The words began to costume Shauna's mind, body, and soul. She let out a painful cry as her mind collapsed and was corrupted, bringing out her worst emotions.

S L A M ! ! !

Down below, Project ZM picked up Emily and landed one punch, sending her to the middle of the room. Emily went into a fit of coughing, coughing up more blood as she tried to get back up, only to fall back down. All she could do now was watch tearfully as Shauna lost herself.

"Ενας, ηλιόλουστη μέρα."

Mr. Fisk said, finishing off the cursed words. Shauna went quiet, emotionless. Emily couldn't bear to see it.

"Good morning, soldier. I have a mission for you..."

"έτοιμοι να συμμορφωθούν."

The corrupted Shauna May-Deacon replied. Her eyes now had pale blue pupils just like the rest of his assassins.

He smiled at her before looking down at the assassin standing next to the beaten, bloodied Emily.

"Project ZM, thank you for your service, but you are no longer required here."

He informed. Listening to his master, Project ZM left the room and returned to his capsule, awaiting any further use.

T H E  N E X T  D A Y . . .

An alarm was blurring throughout the entire building, immediately opening Project ZM's vault and capsule. He stepped out and immediately saw the knocked-out bodies of both assassins and Fisk's men. He heard gunfire coming from up ahead. It was coming from the testing chambers. Instinctively, he walked to where the sound was coming from.

Upon arriving at the testing room, he was greeted with the sight of Emily Rogue back at the base, recovered from the beatdown last night. Along with her was Magnus Lang, along with soldiers from the R.A.I.C, as well as Bruce Hammerhead, or as he now went by, King Nanaue II. They had taken down multiple of the assassins, freeing them from their mind control.

As more assassins regained their consciousness, Emily and Magnus looked at the entrance of the room ahead and saw Project ZM standing before them. The two friends locked eyes with the metal-armed assassin, waiting for him to strike.

Emily looked back and forth between the redeemed assassins and Project ZM. She wanted to take revenge for what he did to her last night, but upon one look at the civilians, her priorities shifted.

"Magnus, I'll help the civilians. Once I'm done, I'll be back to help you!"

"Wait are you sure? I thought you liked all the-"

"Action is fun, but I need to do what's right!"

Emily replied.

Magnus smiled at his friend and nodded.

"Go. I'll be fine against him!"

"Copy!"

Emily exclaimed before running over to the civilians.

"This way! Follow me!"

Emily led the saved civilians out of the building, running past the assassin, who was focused on the red-mohawked Octoling up ahead. Magnus turned back to Project ZM. A grin plastered its way onto his face.

"So you're that metal-armed assassin I've been hearin' about?"

He said. Project ZM activated his arm blade and got into a fighting stance. Seconds later, they both charged at each other, ready to fight.

The pair of them were both quick fighters, with each punch landing in each other's palms. Magnus ducked out of the way of his blade swings. Whilst on the ground from dodging one of them, he pushed himself up and landed a punch on Project ZM's lower jaw.

S L A M ! ! !

Seeing him open for an attack for a short moment, Magnus let out a light grunt before going in for another punch. Unfortunately, Project ZM's window of attack was short, and he grabbed Magnus' fist with his regular arm. Using his metal arm, he grabbed Magnus' neck and began strangling him.

Behind the pair of them, Bruce had seen what was happening to Magnus, motivating him to get back up on his feet, and forcing the assassins on him to fly off of him. At immense speed, Bruce ran at Project ZM and went in for a tackle.

S L A M ! ! !

Project ZM was sent flying into a wall, crashing through it, and flying through several stone walls before getting stuck in rubble as the upper ceiling collapsed on him.

L A T E R  T H A T  N I G H T . . .

All that was left was ruins. During the battle, the base had been completely blown to pieces, and Vincent Fisk surrendered himself. They had lost. The heroes had won, and all of the other assassins were brought back to the light. Everything seemed quiet, too quiet...

S M A S H ! ! !

The mechanical assassin punched his way out of the rubble and lifted himself out. His mask and visor had been ruined and lost in the rubble, leaving his face exposed. The young man opened his eyes to reveal... dark charcoal eyes. It was Zane, he was back.

Zane Miller climbed his way out of the rubble and headed for the trees nearby. He climbed up the tree and rested at the top to relax himself. Suddenly, voices were heard in the distance and were gradually getting louder.

Zane looked down from the top of the tree and saw some of Fisk's men, including both Cyrus Zagan and Albert Newton. The pair of them were arguing as they began to walk down the forest pathway.

"In what world would Mr. Fisk give up EVERYTHING that we've fought for?!"

Cyrus exclaimed.

"I looked up to that man, I believed in him, he was the ONLY ONE in this world that made sense and he just gave himself up LIKE THAT?! WHAT A SICK JOKE!"

"Cyrus! Mr. Fisk told us to stand down for a reason! We've gone too far!"

"Oh, don't start sucking him off again like you always do! You always stuck by through even his worst ideas, and now here you are jerking him off after he told us all to give up on our dream!"

"Cyrus, the dream is dead! We gaslit ourselves into thinking that what we did was right! Sure, Fisk made mistakes, plenty of them, but he was right in giving himself up!"

The two men went quiet before Cyrus chuckled. His wheezing sounded like a broken-down kettle.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry..."

B A N G ! ! !

Pulling out an N-Zap from his pocket, Cyrus shot the side of Albert's head, killing him instantly and intimidating the remaining men.

"Okay, you sacks of squit, I'm your new leader! ME! You fairies will follow every damn order I give, and I don't care how far gone the orders are! I'm gonna finish what Mr. Fisk, that coward started! Am I clear!"

"SIR, YES, SIR!"

"Who am I, Frederick Evans? There is no need for that stupid battle cry! Go, go! Find some supplies!"

Cyrus yelled as the men walked into the forest. As the men disappeared, Cyrus turned around, his body now facing Albert's corpse. Needing to relieve himself after all the stress, Cyrus unzipped his pants and began urinating on him whilst whistling one of the newest songs by Siren's Flow.

Looking away from Cyrus, Zane turned his attention to the other men up ahead. He jumped through the trees and followed them. Eventually, they stopped walking to settle and rest.

There they all were down below, open, vulnerable. Something was awakening from within Zane, this murderous urge that was slowly taking control of him. Those were the men and women who spent the past two years putting him through pain, those were the people who forced him into doing things that he would never have done. And now, he had the chance for revenge. This urge was something new to him, he couldn't help it. Before he knew it, his urges completely took over...

Meanwhile, Cyrus had finished doing his business when all of a sudden, he began hearing screams and gunfire coming from behind him. Cyrus quickly spanned around after zipping up his pants just as the screaming had been silenced.

Cyrus pointed his N-Zap into the darkness ahead. His nervousness made him quiver in fear.

"GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!"

His prayers were answered. Zane emerged from the darkness. The blood of Cyrus' men had been stained onto his metal arm. Cyrus quickly picked up on the colour of Zane's eyes.

"Hahahaha!"

Cyrus laughed as it just hit him. He walked closer to the Inkling.

"Your eyes, they're normal again! You weren't under ANY influence yet you just did that. The monster is still there, yet he isn't out."

The broken cyborg didn't move, nor did he say anything. He was frozen in fear, of both Cyrus and what he had just committed. Cyrus threw a sticky disc onto Zane's chest. It was immediately activated.

Z A P ! ! !

Zane screamed and cried out in pain as the electricity coursed through his whole body, making him drop to his knees. Cyrus circled Zane and stopped behind him to put another implant in the back of his head to replace the faulty one that he had on.

"I'm not done with you yet. Mr. Fisk had great plans, and I want to see them through when that coward can't!"

Cyrus told him as he circled back around him. Taking off his backpack, he put it on the ground before him and opened it, pulling out the Book Of The Dammed. With tears in his eyes, Zane could only weakly stare up at Cyrus as he opened the book.

"Now, let's finish what he started, shall we...?"

Cyrus opened up the book. Zane knew what this meant and tried desperately to get out of Cyrus' clutches.

"λαχτάρα, χτυπημένος, δύο..."

Cyrus said loudly. Those words sent a surge of anger and fear to Zane's heart. If Cyrus finished saying those words, he knew what it was going to mean for him. Zane spent what could've been his final seconds struggling to overpower, until...

"εκδικητικός..."

S L A M ! ! !

Zane fought through the pain and lunged at Cyrus punching him to the ground. Zane stepped over Cyrus, who laughed maniacal at him as he towered over him.

"Go on! You already murdered those men back there, you might as well give in to the monster and finish me! You know you want to!"

The murderous urge within Zane wanted to kill him up until he listened to Cyrus, making the urge die down as he carefully considered his options. Instead of giving in to the monster, Zane chose to turn and quickly run away from Cyrus, leaving him behind as he escaped into the jungle.

T H E  N E X T  M O R N I N G . . .

After running for an entire night, Zane had crossed through the vast jungle, seeing nothing but trees non-stop. He never looked back even once.

Eventually, Zane finally arrived at civilisation. It was a city that he had once lived in years ago before going to Inkopolis. It was the Great Hammerhead City. Zane stopped running to take in the sight of the city. Although it had been years since he was last there, the place still felt like home, more like home than any prison he had been trapped in over the past few years.

The breeze was nice and chilly for a summer day, the grass was nice and green, the sky was a clear blue and bright, and the city skyline was as vibrant as he ed it.

Zane teared up and smiled as he was ready to finally embrace his freedom after so many years of torment. He was ready to take his first step into the world... until he heard a footstep coming from behind him, Zane turned around to see a baton being swung at his face.

S L A M ! ! !

Zane's vision got blurry as he fell to the ground. Through his blurry vision, he saw him, Cyrus Zagan. He kneeled in front of Zane and chuckled.

"You should've killed me when you had the chance!"

He sang at him playfully before swinging his baton at Zane once more, this time knocking him out cold.

S L A M ! ! !

L A T E R  T H A T  D A Y . . .

Zane woke up inside of a glass box. He was in the middle of an empty room. The room was lit up by bright blue lights underneath the box. Zane looked around frantically before seeing Cyrus Zagan standing on the other side.

"You poor, poor thing. I almost feel bad for you."

Zane was frightened, unsure of what to do.

"W-Where am I...?"

"An old base Fisk used when starting out years back. I just so happened to have the keys to this place."

He answered before gesturing to the glass box that he was in.

"I had to get a few of the surviving guys into to move this. You know, there are still hundreds of us out there in many different locations around the world. Give it a few years, and we'll eventually be infiltrating everywhere!"

Zane saw the book reappear in Cyrus' hands. He knew where this was going.

"No... no!"

Zane muttered before pressing his body against the glass window.

"NO! NO!"

"Well... let's get this over with, shall we?"

Cyrus said. He looked down at the open book as he started reading out of the cursed worlds whilst circling the glass box.

"λαχτάρα, χτυπημένος, δύο..."

Those first few words instantly make Zane scream in fear.

"NO! STOP IT!"

He screamed. In a desperate attempt to free himself, he clenched his metal fist and began slamming it against the glass wall whilst screaming.

S L A M ,  S L A M ,  S L A M ! ! !

"εκδικητικός, πνίγηκε, σούρουπο..."

Cyrus said loudly as Zane continued screaming and punching the glass walls. They were strong, but a crack was beginning to form where the punch was being thrown.

S L A M ,  S L A M ,  S L A M ! ! !

"παζάρι, ελευθερία,  eνας..."

Cyrus continued. Right as he was about to say the final word, the crack got bigger and bigger. He now stood in front of Zane as he threw the next punch.

"ηλιόλουστη μέρα..."

S M A S H ! ! !

Just as the last word was said, the glass wall had been broken, and the Inkling was now free. Instead of going after Cyrus, however, he simply stood still, his eyes were closed.

Cyrus remained where he was, not wanting to take a risky step forward. He then tried to speak with the Inkling.

"Soldier... are you there?"

After a long moment of suspense, the Inkling opened his eyes... it worked. His eyes were white again with pale blue pupils. Project ZM was back.

"έτοιμοι να συμμορφωθούν"

Cyrus chuckled. He now had Project ZM under his control.

"Glad to have you back, my new friend!"

Cyrus said before placing a hand on his shoulder, knowing that this time, Project ZM wasn't going to attack again.

O V E R  T H E  Y E A R S . . .

Project ZM now roamed the planet, finally freed from the leash that Vincent Fisk had him under. Now, he was able to do his job in person without having them brought to him.

Over the next few years, we went from city to city, country to country, continent in pursuit of the cured. At every kill, he would stalk the victim until they were secure enough for him to kill, such as being alone in a room, or at a tight corner, and only then would he strike.

His species list ranged from Inklings, Octolings, Salmons, Sharks, Manta Rays, Acid Squids, Firefly Squids, Crabs, Jellyfish, and Sea Urchins, among many more. Neither the size nor the strength of the being mattered to him, as long as they were once gifted, they were on the list.

Project ZM didn't stop at the big cities like Inkopolis or Splatsvile, but he attacked small counties, villages, towns, forests, jungles, tribes, everyone. It wasn't long until his kill count had reached higher digits than what it originally was.

Now that he was out on the field, his methods of murder had increased. Of course, there was the usual beating to deaths, stabbings, gunfires, and everything else from back in the testing room, however, he now had the environment around him to use.

In some places, he was able to throw, punch, or kick his victims into a large body of water. It tore them apart, a brutal way to go out. For other places, he could kick them off a cliff, bash their heads in against a hard tree, or bury them alive in the sand. His options were limitless.

It appeared that setting him free on the world had given him an entirely new way of thinking, and that new way was only going to develop and get better and better as the years went by.

A U G U S T  2 3 R D  2 0 3 1

On this particular hunt, he was tasked with going after a firefly squid in Splatsvile. Project ZM approached the city slowly. He was given the location of the victim and where to enter the city from.

However, as he approached the city, a helicopter flew past him and stopped just before the city entrance. Jumping out from the helicopter were Magnus, Emily, and the new General of the R.A.I.C, Luke Bishop. Both Magnus and Emily were wearing the same designed gear as they did back during their last fight with Project ZM.

Luke stood between them, glancing at Magnus to his right and Emily to his left.

"You the plan, right?"

"Yes!"

Magnus answered.

"We'll keep him busy!"

"I know you will... good luck!"

General Bishop said before going into his swim form and super jumping past Project ZM, towards an abandoned house. The house looked strange and out of place.

Project ZM was about to go after the General towards the house when he suddenly heard footsteps coming from behind him. He dodged out of the way of Magnus, who attempted to sucker punch him but ended up falling forward and doing a roll to catch his balance. Emily then tried jumping at him, swinging her leg at him to try and kick him, only for Project ZM to catch her left leg. He threw her at Magnus, knocking them both down.

Not wanting to waste time with them, he walked past the two Splat Force Commanders and headed for the house. General Bishop saw him coming and instantly ran inside.

Upon walking inside, he noticed that there was nothing to see. There was only a staircase leading upstairs as well as a door leading to an empty living room and an empty kitchen. There was no clothes, no furniture, no sign of there ever being life on the inside.

As he walked into the kitchen, he began hearing sounds throughout the house, the sound of objects being dropped upstairs. Hearing those sounds, he got ready for whatever it was that was coming.

S K I T ! ! !

He popped his blade and walked out of the kitchen, entering the hallway as he heard someone running down the stairs. Moments later, he saw General Bishop on the other end of the hallway, staring him down before running back up the stairs.

Thinking that he had him cornered, Project ZM took his time slowly walking down the hallway, stroking the tip of his blade against the fabric white wall until he turned a corner and reached the staircase.

As he walked up the stairs, he heard the sound of a window smashing from the room just up ahead. He sped up and bashed down the door of the room opposite the stairs and saw a smashed window, alongside placed remote control bombs. It was a trap. Project ZM quickly turned away and ran down the stairs to try and avoid the explosion, however, he wasn't even halfway down when the explosions went off...

B O O M ,  B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

B O O M ,  B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

The house had been completely blown up. From the looks of things, the mission to take out the assassin had been one. The blown-up house was in flames as it started to collapse in on itself.

In the rubble downstairs was Project ZM, who had been weakened by the blast. He turned and laid on his back as his bodysuit was covered in soot and rubble. He looked up and managed to see the ceiling above him beginning to crack.

As the ceiling came down on him, It looked as if history was about to repeat itself once again, except this time, Led wasn't around to save him. However, this time, it was not Zane Miller in this situation anymore... it was Project ZM.

S M A S H ! ! !

The assassin got back on his feet and punched the ceiling, smashing it to pieces, and stopping it from falling onto him. He did it, he saved himself. He looked at the rubble around him before heading outside.

Upon leaving the building, he looked around and tried to find either the General or the Splat Force Commanders but found no one. It was just him. Unknown to them, their trap had failed, and Project ZM was still loose. He walked away from the burnt-down house and continued his mission.

P R E S E N T  D A Y . . .

The R.A.I.C had cleared out the battlefield by the bridge. Any damaged cars were towed away and the injured were taken away in ambulances. Additionally, the Splat Force has cleared the scene, with one in particular having the reveal of a lifetime granted to them.

Standing on top of one of the two towers, Project ZM watched as the R.A.I.C finally left the scene. He had returned to base just yet. He was tasked with making sure nothing came out relating to Cyrus. From the looks of things below, nothing was out.

However, something was on the assassin's mind. That name that Emily called him. Did it have... meaning? If so, what was it? Who was that girl to her? Was all of this just a trick? His mind was messed up.

At last, he finally turned and walked away from the edge of the tower roof, beginning his journey back to base.

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 twelfth Chapter of Splat Force IV: Radicalism! And thus concludes the two-parter special, I hope you lot enjoyed it, despite how gnarly it got at some places. Next week will be going back to the Splat Force as they all process what just went down with Project ZM, so stay tuned for that! Until next time, stay safe out there! ^^

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