Splat Force IV: Radicalism; Chapter 13

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! I hope you all have recovered from last week's trauma! Today, I am back with a new Chapter of Splat Force IV: Radicalism!

Last week's double feature was definitely filled with so much lore concerning Zane Miller and Project ZM. Now that everything revolving around that has been discovered, we shall now return to the main storyline in progress.

This one isn't going to be as lengthy or as lore-filled as the previous two as it is more or less going to be a simple step forward in the story.

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

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(Previous Chapter)(Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R 1 3 : G U I L T

It was now sunset. The city of Inkopolis was now at ease after the terror attack at the bridge earlier that day. However, whilst the city rested, the Splat Force paced around at their base, frantically looking for answers.

General Bishop was standing in front of Emily, who was sitting on the edge of the desk. She was nervous. The rest of the team either watched from the sides or were catching their breaths.

"Are you sure that you weren't seeing things?"

"Yes! I know who I saw!"

Emily exclaimed for what sounded like the thousandth time that day. She shifted her bum off of the desk and now stood.

"Are you sure that your team-"

"We've gotten twenty results, all saying the same thing: Zane Miller died thirteen years ago. It cannot be him."

"Well... check again!"

"Emily, listen...'

The General said as he approached Emily and stood directly in front of her, looking into her startled eyes.

"Your cousin is gone. Every test we ran gave us the same result. If he really was alive, how come we're just finding him now? I'm saying this not as a General, but as a friend. I don't want you to run out into the darkness just to fight a ghost."

Emily gave him a blank expression before slowly nodding. The General turned and walked to the front door. Just as he was about to walk through, he turned his head back to her.

"Take care of yourself, all of you."

He told both her and the rest of the team. As he left, he quickly glanced at Rex Allen, who had now recovered from his injury earlier.

"Commander."

Rex nodded at the General as he left the building. He then walked to Emily, holding his hand over where the stab wound was.

"I know you're ionate about what you saw, Emily."

"Oh, don't you start!"

"But, he's right."

Rex told her, making her eyes roll.

"Emily, I tried looking for Zane after the Once Great Symbol went down. I looked day and night for months but I found nothing. If he was alive, we would've found him by now."

"D-Did you even see him?"

Emily hissed.

"The hair, the face... it was him! It can't have been anyone else! You didn't see what I saw!"

"Maybe... but, you need to consider the possibility that maybe it isn't him."

"Ugh! I can't with you!"

Emily exclaimed, shoving past Rex and storming out of the building.

After slamming the door behind her, she turned left and walked to the low wall, pressing her arms against it and looking out at the orange sea. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the sea waves crashing and swaying as her mind recalled the image of the assassin whilst also recalling an image of her long-gone cousin. Apart from the eyes being a different colour, it was a perfect match.

"Emily?"

Magnus called out from behind. Emily woke up from her state and turned to see both him and Shauna standing behind her.

"That man is driving me insane!"

Emily said as she pointed to the warehouse.

"I know."

Magnus replied. He and Shauna stepped forward, with the latter of the two now stroking her back gently.

"I never met your cousin. All I've seen from him were photos that you showed me of the pair of you. All those times you spoke of him, you sounded sure that he was dead, so the fact that you're sayin' this now after seein' his face must be somethin' to look into."

"Exactly! I know my own family's face!"

Emily yelled ionately, gesturing her hand to Magnus as a sign of agreement.

"So you agree with me, yeah?"

Magnus went quiet for a moment before sighing. Emily immediately dropped her smile before Magnus explained his views.

"Your reaction alone speaks volumes, don't get me wrong, but I don't know... Luke and Rex already gave good points in there and... I-I just... I don't know, I'm sorry..."

He told her. Emily shut her eyes and looked to the ground, defeated. Seeing that he had just upset her, Magnus felt it was best to leave her for the time being.

"Just that I'm here if you to ta-"

"I know..."

Emily interrupted. That last sentence was one that she did not want to hear at all. Magnus left her with Shauna, walking back into the base. Emily glanced at her girlfriend and gave her a small half-smile before walking away.

"I'm goin' back home. I'll see you there."

"O-Oh, okay!"

Shauna replied as she watched her partner walk out into the city. She walked back into the base and ed her fellow comrades.

"She's gone home."

"Good. She needs rest."

Rex told her as he took off his Splat Force gear at the corner of the room.

"There is a part of me that wishes what she said is true, but I'm not too sure about that..."

Platinum, who was leaning against the door to the bunker with her arms crossed, decided to in after listening to all of the conversations.

"I think Emily is telling the truth. If I ever found out that Mom was alive and I saw her, I'd react the same way."

She commented before turning her head to the right and facing Samantha, who was sitting on the stairs not drinking for once.

"Same with you for Ami."

Samantha looked puzzled. She seemed more invested than she had been since first reing the team. She stared at the ground, thinking.

"My sister dated Zane up until his death, or "death" as I should say now. She adored him, and spent all of her waking moments either speaking or texting him. When he "died", she was too distraught and scared to go back to the team."

Samantha said before looking up to the rest of the team, all of whom were now looking at her. Magnus and Shauna stood by the stationary, Rex got out from his corner after getting changed and now stood by his daughter's right-hand side.

"Ami told me that on the night, she got to call him one more time before the building came down. It was on fire and crumbling, and Zane was still inside trapped. She said that the call ended abruptly and was cut off just as he was about to say he loved her. That's all I know about that night. That was all that Ami managed to tell me about it."

"So... is this you bein' doubtful about the whole thing?"

Magnus asked.

Samantha nodded.

"The call was cut as the building collapsed with him in it, I don't see how he could be alive."

She said before going on to make another point.

"I understand why she could be seeing him, I mean, every time I see a pink-haired young Inkling girl, I see my sister. It's normal to see dead people in others."

"True..."

Magnus said before turning to his left at Shauna.

"What about you?"

Shauna seemed to be the most unsure out of everyone. She wanted to believe Emily so badly, just to give her hope... but she was unsure as well.

"I..."

She whispered.

"I think I just need to be with her right now..."

"Of course! Send her our love, okay?"

Magnus requested. Shauna nodded before leaving the base to be with her girlfriend.

M E A N W H I L E E L S E W H E R E . . .

Project ZM was sat on the chair at Cyrus' base. There was a doctor crew fixing up a dent in his metal arm. Whilst he did his job, the assassin thought about what Emily had called him. That name... Zane. What did it mean to him? And, why was she so shocked to see him?

Those thoughts messed with his mind, piling stress onto him as he felt his metal arm getting warm from a blow torch. He began to sweat as his heart rate increased massively with that name being thrown around in his mind on repeat.

"Zane..."

That was the only word lurking in his head, and it was getting louder and louder until he just couldn't take it anymore. He roared as he leaned up and punched the doctor off of him.

S L A M , S L A M ! ! !

The punch sent the doctors flying across the room. Immediately, everyone else in the room picked up a weapon and pointed it straight at him. Project ZM went completely still, staring into space with a blank expression.

Hearing all the chaos from his office room, Cyrus Zagan got out and saw what was going on. He ran and jumped between them, holding his hands out.

"Easy now! Everyone lower your weapons!"

"Sir, he's unstable, he's erratic!"

One of the armed men told him, making Cyrus groan loudly.

"Hey, doucebag, I don't need you to tell me about my own cyborg, okay?!"

He yelled back at him, making the man go silent. The men quickly lowered their weapons as Cyrus turned around and kneeled in front of Project ZM, looking into his white eyes and pale blue pupils.

"Mind telling me what the hell that was about, soldier?"

Project ZM didn't even acknowledge that Cyrus was even there. It was like he was in his own world. He continued staring into space, saying nothing and feeling nothing but confusion. This only angered Cyrus, making him grow impatient with him.

S M A C K ! ! !

Using his right hand, Cyrus slapped Project ZM's left cheek, making him flinch. Project ZM's face fell back to the same position it was before, or at least that was how it was for a few moments before the assassin finally looked at him.

"Ah, so you're awake after all! What a relief!"

Cyrus said jokingly with a smug smile, showing off his dirty yellow teeth.

"So... wanna talk now? Or are you just gonna go back to being a little bitch?"

Project ZM took his time responding as his mind tried to process everything. He tried thinking back to the last mission.

"There was... a girl back on the bridge... she said something to me."

"Oh geez... what did this girl say?"

"She... she called me Zane."

Project ZM told him. Cyrus squinted his eyes and gasped a little. Now it was him who was processing the information.

"What does that mean?"

"It doesn't mean squit, you dumbass! You've been great for years and now you're letting a girl in your mind NOW?!"

Cyrus exclaimed, sounding almost amused.

"But, what if I... knew her?"

"Oh my... she's probably someone you crossed paths with on a previous mission! It ain't that deep!"

Cyrus said, his amusement now being vaporised.

"You have done such great things for this world! You've wiped out so much evil in the name of liberation, and if a small, insignificant girl is gonna get in the way, then you've got to get a grip!"

Project ZM went back to staring into space, making Cyrus groan and stand up, giving up on using words.

"Guess it's time for a soft reset."

He said to himself before turning to the recovered doctor.

"Hold him down. I'm getting the book."

As Cyrus walked back to his office, the doctor pushed Project ZM onto his back and forced a mouth guard into his mouth. He pressed a button on the side of the machine that strapped him in place. Then, a tDCS was lowered and placed onto Project ZM's head. Seconds later, Project ZM's screams of pain echoed all over the room as the machine was turned on.

Z A P ! ! !

T H E N E X T M O R N I N G . . .

Emily was up early once again at the Humboldt Institution for another visit with Vincent Fisk. She was already sitting in her seat as Vincent entered his side of the visitation. Before long, they were both sat down, looking at each other through the window as they spoke on the phone.

"It's good to see you again, Emily."

Vincent greeted with a smile.

"Got an update for me."

Emily's face was a mixture of anger and sorrow. She quickly licked her dry lips before speaking.

"I found out who the assassin is..."

She told him. Vincent's smile dropped, his face going pale. He knew exactly what was going to be said next, he was waiting for it.

"You're a piece of squit..."

"I know... I'm so sor-"

"I don't want to hear that right now!"

She muttered as her breath got heavier.

"You did this to this to my cousin! You turned my cousin into this... this monster! I thought he was dead, b-but he was in your hands the whole time!"

"That wasn't always the case!"

Vincent said, raising his voice. Emily stopped speaking and tried to catch her breath. A few tears fell from her eyes as she listened to what Vincent had to say for himself.

"When I first found him, he had been locked up in one of Bolton's old bases for four years. It had been that long that his hair was long and messy, he had a full beard, and... he had to eat his own left arm to survive."

Emily was stunned. Of course it was Bolton, why wouldn't it be? He was the cause of the Once Great Symbol collapsing after all. He was there when Zane "died". It all made sense to her... but what she heard about her cousin eating his arm was what really disturbed her.

"I took him to the Fisk Industries base in the Coraldia. He was placed in a coma for two weeks whilst my team fed his body nutrients. I supplied with a metal arm that I made..."

Vincent said before he paused. He sighed, in shame at what he did next.

"When I found him, I saw nothing but anger and pain in his eyes. I knew the feeling: I was hurt by the gifted in similar ways to him, only he had it worse, much worse. There was rage in him, hatred for what they did to him... I took advantage of that. In time, he was weakened by Cyrus Zagan and was eventually turned into the assassin who stands against you now..."

Emily was lost. She had stopped crying now, despite the tears still in her eyes.

"H-How could you..."

"I know that there is no possible way you could forgive me... but, I do know about a way you could bring him back. I thought I did that way back when I first turned myself back in, but Cyrus is in control now..."

Vincent said as he wiped a tear from his right eye.

"On the back of his neck is a small implant. You those, right?"

"Yeah, you got Shauna with one of them. Me and Magnus brought her back by ripping it off of her."

Emily answered.

"I doubt that's gonna work with Zane. Knowing Cyrus, he's probably stuck it to Zane's neck. The only way to get it off is to destroy it."

He told her.

"I wouldn't shoot at it or stab it: you'd risk hitting Zane and killing him, you want a glove that could build up enough electricity for you to zap it. Its circuits will be fried and the device will be gone, freeing him. But, you gotta have him distracted for you to even get close to him."

"Okay..."

Emily said with a nod. The visit was about to come to an end when Emily had one final question she just needed to have answered.

"Why didn't you reveal Zane to the public? You shared everythin' else, but why not Zane?"

Vincent sighed.

"In my mind, Zane was already free. I didn't want him to come back to the world only to be hunted down and locked in another cell. He's already been in too many of them..."

He told her. The last eight words made Emily feel emotional all over again.

"Can I make a guess?"

"Sure..."

"The rest of your team don't believe it's Zane, correct?"

He asked. Emily squinted her eyes. She was unsure of how he knew until she ed just how high his IQ was and how easily he was able to guess things correctly.

"The R.A.I.C had close photos of Project ZM, photos that I took during tests. I'm sure that William Swannack is in possession of them now. I'd go to him."

"I will keep that in mind, thank you."

Emily replied.

Vincent smiled and nodded as the conversation neared its end.

"Take care of yourself, sweetheart."

He told her. Emily forced a smile at him before standing up and leaving the visitation ending the visit.

L A T E R T H A T D A Y . . .

Everyone was back at the base with Emily standing in front of them by the desk explaining to them both about what Vincent had said as well as the plan for the day. She was still in her Splat Force gear whereas the others were yet to get changed.

"I spoke with Vincent. He more or less confirmed what I was sayin' yesterday."

"So... it is Zane?"

Platinum asked.

"That's what I've been sayin'."

Emily replied before giving the plan.

"A few days ago, me and Magnus went to William Swannack because he had files. We were only there for the files on Cyrus Zagan. But, whatever he had somethin', anythin' on Zane."

Rex closed his eyes and shook his head whilst sighing.

"If the R.A.I.C had information like that, it would've been public years ago."

"Well... at least I'm tryin' over here!"

Emily snapped. She took a moment to catch her breath, slowly inhaling and exhaling, calming herself down.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's okay."

Magnus assured before getting to the point that Emily was trying to make.

"So, is the plan to give him another visit?"

"Yes, if that's alright with you."

"I would... but I'm visitin' Mary and the rest of my family today, so can't. Sorry..."

Magnus told her. After what happened with Holly, Magnus decided that he needed to put so much focus on his family in case another attack was to happen.

Thankfully, Emily understood and smiled.

"It's okay, don't worry!"

Platinum raised her hand.

"I'll go."

"Absolutely not!"

Rex replied sharply.

"What? Why?"

"I want you nowhere near that man!"

Rex told her, not answering the question.

"Seriously, Dad?! I'm twenty-five! Stop holding me back!"

Platinum exclaimed frustratingly.

"I'm not holding you back! I'm just... ugh!"

Rex groaned, facing away from his daughter and shaking his head before turning back around.

"I just don't want you near that man, okay?"

"Rex, she'll be okay with me."

Emily assured him before looking at his daughter.

"Right, Platinum?"

"Yeah!"

She replied before looking back at her father.

"I'll be okay, Dad, you don't have to worry about me all the time!"

Rex closed his eyes and groaned quietly to himself. She was right, and he knew it. Once again, he let his fear cloud his judgement over his daughter. He looked back at her a nodded, signalling for her to go, making her smile and feel better.

3 H O U R S L A T E R . . .

K N O C K , K N O C K ! ! !

"William! Your four o'clock is here!"

The care worker said before opening the door, allowing both Emily and Platinum to walk through.

William Swannack got out from his chair and greeted his guests with a warm smile, starting with Emily.

"Miss Rogue! It's good to see you again."

He said whilst giving her a handshake. His attention then turned to Platinum.

"You must be Miss Frida-Allen."

"It's just Frida."

Platinum politely corrected.

"Ah, my apologies!"

He said before shaking Platinum's hand.

"You look just like your mother. She was a good young woman."

"Thank you!"

Platinum said, appreciating the compliment towards her mother.

William led the pair to his desk at the back of the room, immediately opening the drawers to get out the Fisk files.

"Did your last visit come in handy?"

"It did, thank you for that!"

Emily replied.

"You are very much welcome, my dear!"

William said as he put each file into their own little piles.

"Need more files on the employees?"

"No, we've come for somethin' else."

She told him. William turned to her, waiting for her to say what it was that they wanted.

"I visited Fisk in prison earlier and he told me that the R.A.I.C had photos of the assassin. I was wonderin' if you by any chance have them."

William nodded before turning to his files and picking one in particular. It was a file about Fisk's different experiments on different individuals eventually leading to Project ZM. The photo was of the assassin in the testing room, standing still. Every bit of text on the page was redacted, but the black-and-white photo was in good quality.

Both Emily and Platinum looked closely at the photo and then at each other.

"Hold on a second..."

Emily whispered before opening her phone and going onto her gallery and going onto her recently ed folder. There, were all reed images of Zane that she was able to find. She scrolled through them until she found one at the perfect angle matching the photo of Project ZM.

In the photo, Zane was wearing a white jacket along with black shorts and black and white trainers. He wore a gold and white headband on his head. His light grey was tied back.

Emily placed the phone next to the photo and looked at it side by side. It looked almost identical facial-wise. An idea popped into her head, she turned to the retired General.

"Does this place have a printer?"

"The main office downstairs has one. You're gonna need permission first. Why?"

"I'll be right back!"

Emily said before rushing out of the room.

As Emily left, Platinum was left alone with the old man, who sat down on his bed and looked up at her.

"I'm guessing you've not heard nice things about me, huh?"

"Yeah... my Dad tried stopping me from coming here."

She said to him, confirming his beliefs.

"I know you two had your differences at times, but I don't get why he despises you when you've not done anything wrong..."

William closed his eyes and sat up straight, taking a deep breath before looking up at her again.

"Your father blames me for your mother's death."

Of course, Platinum was confused, what did he have to do with it? Why blame him?

"Really?"

William nodded before explaining the story. His voice had gotten significantly lower.

"When I first showed off the gifted cure, I tested out a similar vaccine with Alyssa onto a patient with a disease. Using her energy combined with the vaccine, your mother was able to cure the patient. It was then that the idea of using the cure to cure the gifted came to mind. The only problem was that to cure the world, she'd have to go supernova. I gave her the idea... I-I planted that seed..."

William said as he choked up. He looked away from Platinum's eyes and down to the floor as he teared up.

"When the time came, samples of the cure along with the research and resources for it were gone. The only thing left of it was the sample I gave your mother... sh-she was so brave..."

Platinum shed a couple of tears whilst listening to the story. She was understanding it better than William had been expecting.

"She did it on her own, didn't she?"

William nodded, closing his eyes. His closed eyelids forced a couple of tears out.

"She answered the call and died on her own , saving the whole world. Your mother died a hero, maybe the greatest hero that the world has seen, or at least one of them."

He said, giving Alyssa high praise before moving on to Platinum's father.

"Your father was devastated when she died. He tried stopping her but failed. I tried to counsel him after it went down, but he didn't wanna see me or speak to me ever again. Your father misunderstood it, he blamed me because I gave her the idea only a couple of days prior... I didn't expect her to do what she did, nobody did... it's a grief that's been with me since that day, it's why I retired a few years back. I just couldn't bear it anymore..."

Platinum kneeled to his level and held the old man's face gently, smiling at him.

"It's not your fault... you said it yourself, Mom died a hero, she did what she did to make a perfect world for you, for me! Why would I have hatred for you when it's something she chose to do?"

She asked him.

William looked back up into Platinum's eyes and wiped his face with his left hand.

"Thank you, Miss Frida... your mother would be so proud of the young woman you've become."

He said to the Inktoling, making her smile.

"My biggest hope is that your father one day understands."

"Don't worry, I'll make him understand."

She said to him, making him smile too.

Moments later, Emily rushed back into the room, unaware of the conversation that had just happened. She placed the black and white printed photo of Zane next to the photo of Project ZM. She then grabbed a pencil from across the desk and drew both a mask on Zane's face as well as Project ZM's hair. With the added drawings, it was now a perfect match.

Emily looked at the photo, unsure of how exactly to feel. William and Platinum had a look, with the former not knowing who the boy in the left photo was.

"Who is that?"

"Zane Miller. My cousin."

Platinum was stunned after looking at the photos side by side.

"It's true!"

"I thought that boy died years ago?!"

William commented.

"I'll explain at a later date."

Emily said before turning to Platinum and handing her the photos.

"Put these in your pocket. We need to show the others, asap!"

Platinum took the photos and put them in the inner zipped pocket of her red checkered hoodie. Once secure, the pair of them headed for the door.

"We'll be back if we need anythin' else!"

"Understood! Take care, Miss Rogue!"

He said, trying to say goodbye to Emily, but she was already off in a hurry. However, Platinum had time to stay for a few seconds longer, giving the retired man a warm smile. William smiled back.

"Carry on keeping your mother's memory alive. You're doing great, Miss Frida!"

"Thank you, William! I'll see you soon!"

Platinum replied. To pair of them embraced each other in a small hug before she left William, closing the door behind him and concluding the visit.

M E A N W H I L E E L S E W H E R E . . .

"Z-Z-Zane...?"

"What did you just call me?"

Cyrus Zagan was sat in his dark office, repeating the audio from Project ZM's last mission. He had been listening to it on repeat for hours with seemingly no break. He listened to it one final time.

"Z-Z-Zane...?"

"What did you just call me?"

After one final listen, he exited out of the file and went on the Internet, immediately browsing for articles relating to the Splat Force. He came across one from the day before. Of course, it was about Project ZM's fight at the bridge. He clicked on the article and looked through the photos, not being arsed enough to look at any of the text. In one of the photos was Magnus and Emily at the bottom of the bridge together just before Project ZM jumped down.

Seeing Emily in the photo made something click in his mind. He quickly went back onto the file he had been listening to on repeat all day and loaded up the audio once again.

"Z-Z-Zane...?"

"What did you just call me?"

"Z-Z-Zane...?"

Cyrus closed the file and held his hands together, both elbows at the edge of the desk.

"I see..."

He whispered to himself before leaning back in his chair and turning it to face the front door.

"AUSTIN!'

The assistant quickly opened the door and popped his head in. The timing of it all was almost comical.

"What is it, sir?"

"I think I know who's messing around with my soldier!"

He said before pointing to the computer screen. His assistant walked into the room and fixed his glasses as he looked closely at the article photo.

"Ain't that his cousin?"

He asked. Cyrus hummed and nodded with a huge smile on his face.

"What are we going to do, sir?"

"Well, I was thinking about going after a loved one, but I've already done that. I'm sure the team are gonna be extra careful about loved ones going forward, so I can't risk it."

Cyrus said as he thought about what was next in his diabolical plan. In the end, he couldn't decide on what to do with Emily specifically. Judging by the audio, she seemed to already be in pure shock about the reveal, and that was enough for Cyrus.

"You know what, let's leave her for now. Let the whole thing crush her slowly... you still got that village in Infantry Forest in sight, right?"

"Bohan Village?"

"No, we've been there already! The one that's close by to where Rex Allen usually is these days."

Cyrus said with an eye-roll.

"God, I can't with you lot sometimes..."

"Oh, right! Yes, that one is still on the radar? Why do you ask?"

Austin asked, looking down at the boss. Cyrus now had a large smile with his disgusting teeth in full view. Whatever he was planning, it wasn't going to be anything nice...

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 thirteenth Chapter of Splat Force IV: Radicalism! I know this one was definitely a lot shorter than the last two, but you gotta that the last two were released at the same time. That being said, there is still lots of story to cover within the remaining Chapters, so stay tuned for that! Until next time, stay safe out there! ^^

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