Splat Force: The Gifted; Chapter 16

(Wow that was quick to blow up, Thanks! ^^)

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! Welcome back to more Splat Force: The Gifted!

In the last chapter we took a look at Cosmo, Ami, and Zane's POV. This week we will be seeing the POV of Drift and Frederick.

In addition, this chapter will bring in a new species, let's just say they bite...

This is going to be shorter than the previous chapters but it will hopefully be a good one.

Now then, let's get right into this!

(This Chapter has been Remastered)

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(Previous Chapter) (Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R  1 6 :  S H A R K  A T T A C K

On the other side of Infantry Forest were Frederick and Drift Evans. They had been going at the same pace as the others, albeit only a tad bit ahead of them.

The pair of them had reached a crucial point in their travels, after seeing what looked like nothing but trees for so long, they finally stumbled across a mossy stone pathway.

"This is interesting..."

Drift said, pointing out the pathway to his father.

"Where do you think this leads to?"

Frederick felt his stomach curl. It was as if he recognized the pathway but didn't want to follow it.

"I... I don't think we should follow it."

"Come on, Dad, it's either this leading to something interesting, or just nothing but trees!"

Drift exclaimed. Despite his father's hesitations, Drift began to go down the pathway.

"Drift!"

Frederick called out, but it was no use. He sighed to himself before reluctantly following.

After following the pathway, Drift stumbled across a ruined village. It was Baxter Village. Drift looked around curiously as he walked slowly to the center of town.

"What is this place?"

He asked. Drift then took notice of a destroyed Ink tank lying next to a broken house. He started to put two and two together.

"You were here?"

"I was."

Frederick answered quietly. He looked at the house with the blown-up walls and turned away in shame, looking to the ground. He sighed.

"It was here that one of the biggest battles in the Gifted Wars took place."

"Really? Here in this village?"

Drift asked. Frederick nodded. Drift was confused.

"What... happened?"

Frederick lifted his head and sighed.

"Son, the father who speaks before you now is not the same man from sixteen years ago."

He told him before finally looking him in the eyes.

"Back then, I was heartless and cruel. I went after the gifted with the intent to kill."

Drift looked concerned.

"Why?"

"I was angry, filled with hate. They hurt me, and I wanted revenge."

Frederick said. He stepped closer to Drift and kneeled. Drift now looked down at him.

"I found out that the Gifted had been hiding out here. Most of them were innocent and wanted a home, but I ignored that out of my hatred. I let bad experiences cloud my judgment. The moment we showed up to the village, a battle broke out. Hundreds died, both from their side and ours."

Drift turned away, taking in what he heard. He took a deep breath, looked to the sky, and shut his eyes. Growing up, he had only heard about the triumphs and the heroism of the team, he didn't know how to feel hearing about their failure.

"What was the point of this?"

Drift asked, turning back to his father.

"You said there were innocent people here, right?"

"I-I... I wanted to hurt them like they hurt me, and lives were lost because of it."

Frederick replied as he slowly rose.

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel shame for my actions. Sometimes I still hear all the innocent cries that I was too careless to listen to."

Drift slowly shook his head, visibly upset over what he had been told.

"So... this is why you never told me about this place?"

Frederick shut his eyes and nodded.

"I understand if this has ruined my image for you."

Drift shook his head again, this time quickly.

"That's what you were worried about? A ruined image?"

"Son, I-"

"You could never turn me against you! You're my Dad! You didn't have to hide anything from me!"

Drift exclaimed.

"You could've told me some of your worst memories and I'd still love you!"

Frederick frowned at Drift. He was right, and he felt more shame for it.

"I'm sorry, Drift, I shouldn't have kept any of this from you."

Frederick approached Drift, who was standing still, looking up at his father. Without a second thought, Frederick embraced his son in a hug. Though it took a couple of seconds, Drift slowly hugged him back.

A few seconds later, Drift ended the hug. He looked at his father with a mixture of emotions in his eyes before turning around and walking away. Frederick watched on, disappointed in himself. Eventually, Frederick walked after him, walking quickly to catch up to him.

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

Deep within the forest, a flame gateway opened by a small lake. Out came Bolton. The moment the flame gateway closed, Bolton looked to the sky, eyes closed, embracing the peaceful sounds of nature. He let out a relieved sigh.

Over the past month, Bolton had been going in and out of the forest trying to find them but to no prevail. He knew they were in the forest by following the direction of when they super jumped out of the mall.

Bolton needed a moment to relieve himself. He walked to the small pond and kneeled at the edge of the stone shore, digging his blade into the ground. He put his hands into the water, carrying water from the pond using his hands as a bowl and lifting it to his mouth, drinking it.

When he finished drinking, he sat down in front of the pond, listening to the water. His eyes were closed as he listened to the peaceful noises.

His peaceful thoughts were abruptly tarnished by flashes of war and death. He saw flashes of a village in ruin and flames. Bodies were scattered all across town and buildings were destroyed. The flashes upset Bolton, making him snarl. He then saw flashes of a specific woman lying on the floor of a blown-in house. The woman blanked out, the only look he saw in the flashes was a black silhouette.

Those last flashes forced Bolton's eyes open. He slowly exhaled. Bolton stared at the water and pressed his head against the handle of his blade before closing his eyes again. He slowly breathed in and out repeatedly to try and get those flashes out of his mind. When they were gone, he opened his eyes again, though they were squinted.

L A T E R  T H A T  N I G H T . . .

The next path of Frederick and Drift's journey took them to swampy lands with dirty, dark lakes. The amount of trees around them decreased as the size of the lakes increased.

The pair of them reached a small circular area, that looked like a small arena. There was a clear pathway ahead of them, but on each side of each entrance was a small, tall grass ledge. To the left of them was a lake, and to the right was a mini grassy wall.

Before either of them crossed, Frederick stepped forward, putting his arm in front of Drift.

"Stay close, these areas aren't safe."

He told him. With Frederick being familiar with the forest, he knew how dangerous it was, especially late at night. Anything could come out and get them at any given time.

They both walked forward, their footsteps seemed to get quieter and quieter with each step. However, they stopped after hearing movement coming from the water. They turned to the lake and were immediately frightened.

"Oh no..."

Frederick whispered.

A group of large silhouettes emerged from the lake. They each looked buff and tall, with the biggest of them at the back having the most distinctive head. Drift leaned closer to his Dad.

"Are those... Sharks?"

"Yup..."

Frederick whispered back.

The sharks got closer and closer till they were only a few feet away from them. The leader of the group, the one at the back with the distinctive head walked forward. Though the others were regular sharks, the leader was a Hammerhead.

"Fresh food?"

He asked them.

Drift looked up at the Shark, shaking his head rapidly.

"Nope! W-W-We don't h-have food! S-Sorry!"

"No...?"

The Hammerhead replied before turning to his hungry comrades.

"They look like food?"

"Yes!"

"They food!"

"They food!"

Drift slowly cowered away from the Shark.

"Uhh... we aren't food! We aren't-"

Drift tried telling them before hitting the grassy wall behind them. He immediately began to panic.

"OH NO, WE'RE NOT FOOD!"

B A N G ,  B A N G ! ! !

Frederick fired his N-Zap into the sky, making the Hammerhead Shark step back in surprise. Frederick lowered the weapon.

"You heard the boy, we're not food! You better think twice about digging a single tooth into him! Otherwise, you'll have me to deal with!"

"Who you?"

The Hammerhead asked, tilted his head in confusion. Due to him being out in the swamp with no connection to the real world, he had no clue who Frederick Evans was.

"I'm just a man who needs to get to somewhere with his kid."

"Where you go?"

"You know that big temple?"

"No."

Frederick let out a frustrated sigh.

"Of course you wouldn't..."

He whispered.

"Look, we really need to get to said temple to collect a weapon that'll take down the man hunting us."

"Man food?"

The Shark asked.

"Oh my... is food all you think about, you big brute?"

Frederick asked, now getting annoyed.

"My name Bruce."

The Hammerhead told him.

"I most mighty Shark in the world!"

"Okay... you're a lost cause."

Frederick told the Shark. He grabbed two Splat Bombs from his utility belt and activated them before lunging them at the Sharks.

B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

"Fall back, Drift!"

Frederick yelled, but Drift was already against the wall. He pointed to the top of the wall.

"Jump up there!"

"YOU NOT NICE!"

Bruce yelled before pointing at the Commander.

"ATTACK!"

As the Sharks charged at them, both Frederick and Drift jumped and climbed the wall as the Sharks bashed into the wall. Once they reached the top, Drift immediately pointed his Splatterscope at the Sharks.

"Okay son, READY, AIM, FIRE!"

Frederick shouted as he threw tons and tons of Splat Bombs at the mini Shark army only for them to do nothing. Drift couldn't focus that much he was too scared to fire.

"Drift, what are you waiting for? FIRE!"

"Dad please I can't fire if I'm- AHH!"

Drift attempted to yell back but was interrupted by the ground crumbling beneath him.

"Drift!"

Frederick cried out before grabbing the back of his collar and pulling him up. Once at a safe place, Frederick kneeled over his panicking son.

"Son! Are you hurt?!"

"No I'm not! I'M NOT OKAY, DAD, I'M SCARED!"

Drift screamed, terrified. Frederick looked at his son. He faced the Sharks, seeing them slowly begin to climb the wall. He threw a few more Splat Bombs at them.

B O O M ,  B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

As the Sharks fell back, Frederick looked back to his son, who was slowly calming himself down. Frederick offered a hand.

"Get up, Drift, It's time for some father-son bonding!"

He commanded as he helped his son up. The first thing they did was prepare Drift's weapon.

"Okay, the first thing you want to do is make sure your weapon is ready. You might want to refill your ammo first."

Drift got ammo from his utility belt and reloaded his weapon. He held the Splatterscope close, looking into the eyehole.

"Great! Now that you're ready, aim it at any of those bastards!"

He instructed. Drift aimed it at a Shark who was almost done climbing the wall.

"Yes! Now, fire!"

Drifr pulled the trigger and got a great shot at the shark, hitting it in the nose and knocking it back down.

"Yes! Do that again to the other Sharks!"

Frederick said as he watched his son knock down more Sharks in the same way. Something in Frederick lit up at that moment. It was pride. Seeing Drift fight back using what he had taught him was enough to make Frederick smile with pride.

"Haha! Keep doing what you're doing, son. Trust me on this!"

Frederick jumped down from the wall and landed on the ground behind the Sharks. He shot at them with his N-Zap, getting their attention. The ones that turned around and noticed him were quickly taken care of as Frederick threw Splat Bombs at them only for said Bombs to fly into their mouths.

B O O M ,  B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

The explosive treat in their mouths knocked them out. Meanwhile, Drift was starting to get the upper hand. By now, none of the Sharks were climbing the walls anymore. He was doing an amazing job at keeping them at bay.

However, Frederick was starting to get outnumbered by the sharks on the ground. They began to surround him. Frederick called out to Drift.

"Drift, throw a Splat Bomb! Don't hesitate, just throw it, Drift!"

He yelled. Following his orders, Drift got a Splat Bomb from his utility belt and launched it towards the sharks that surrounded his father.

B O O M ! ! !

The bomb exploded over Frederick, who ducked down to avoid the blast. It blinded the sharks. Drift super jumped to his father, who looked at him, Splat Bombs in hand. Quickly, Drift grabbed two more Splat Bombs. The father and son nodded at each other before throwing them at each of the surrounding Sharks.

B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

With the Shark goons out of the way, it was time for their leader.

"Hey! You no play fair!"

Bruce roared before charging at the duo.

He ran up to Frederick and started slashing his sharp sword-like fins at him. Luckily, Frederick dodged each of the slashes. He ran forward and slid between Bruce's legs. Before Bruce realized what was going on, Frederick had mounted him.

S L A M ! ! !

Frederick punched Bruce's back, causing him and run forward toward the pond. Before Frederick could sink, he super jumped off of Bruce's back, landing on his back on shore next to Drift, who helped him up on his feet.

"YOU DEAD MAN! I EAT YOU!"

Bruce shouted before he started stomping out of the water toward them.

"Drift, on the count of three..."

Frederick whispered as he grabbed two more Splat Bombs, one in each hand.

"One... two..."

As Bruce got closer, Drift got out his Splat Bombs. He was ready and waiting for his father's signal.

"THREE!"

Frederick yelled as Bruce reached the shore. The pair of them threw their Bombs at Bruce, all of which were eaten.

B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

Bruce let out a huge echoing roar before falling onto his back. He was out for the count. The duo looked at each other and started to laugh.

"That's my boy! Come here!"

Frederick cheered as he wrapped his arms around Drift and stocked his hair with his fist.

"I'm so proud of you!"

The pair of them celebrated their victory with laughs and cheers. Eventually, as the pair of them calmed down, Drift looked to his father.

"Hey, Dad?"

Frederick looked down at him, his mood shifted upon seeing the look on Drift's face.

"What is it, son?"

"I... uhh..."

Drift uttered. He struggled to find the right words to say to his father. It was about earlier at Baxter Village, he wanted to speak about it, but he didn't know how to get the words to come out.

"Hey guys!"

A voice called out from the top of the grassy wall. Frederick and Drift looked up to see who it was. It was Alyssa, along with Zane and Ami behind her to her left and right respectively.

"Guys!"

Drift yelled as he ran to his friends. Zane and Ami jumped down and greeted Drift on the ground. Of course, Drift hugged Ami first and tightly. They rocked side by side.

"I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, Drift!"

Ami exclaimed. The pair look into each other's eyes before embracing each other again.

"It's okay, I'll just stand here, it's fine!"

Zane said, acting like the third wheel, though he didn't mean it.

"Come here, Zane!"

Drift called out whilst reaching his arms out to Zane, who ed the pair in a group hug.

Frederick smiled at the young trio as he was greeted by Alyssa.

"You've seen better days, that's for sure!"

She said sarcastically.

Frederick chuckled.

"I never was the pacifist kind now, was I?"

"Oh no, absolutely not."

Alyssa replied before glancing at the Shark behind them. She walked over to Bruce and looked down at his unconscious body.

"I could've sworn I've seen him before..."

"It's a small world."

Frederick replied with a smirk before looking over to the trio.

"How've Ami and... Zack been?"

"Zack? You mean Zane?"

"Yeah, yeah! Same thing!"

"Uh huh..."

Alyssa replied before answering his question.

"They've been great! Zane has always been a helpful one, always looking out for us. Ami, although having a little meltdown last night, is still such a sweet angel! She reminds me of Platinum."

"I can see that."

He replied before moving on to his kid.

"Drift and I had a little bonding session, as you can see."

"Oh yeah, that must've been cool for him!"

Alyssa said as she looked at all the unconscious Sharks among them.

"I'm guessing he did well."

"Absolutely. I'm proud of the young man he's becoming. I mean it!"

Frederick responding. Alyssa smiled at Frederick's reply. It was nice to hear a father gush over his son.

"Wanna call them over?"

Alyssa nodded before looking over to the three kids, all of whom were doing Ring Around The Rosies.

"Kids! Come here for a second!"

She called out. The three of them ran over to her.

"We're nearly there now, just about an hour away! We can do this!"

"Yeah!"

Ami cheered.

"You got it!"

Drift replied.

"Good, let's move!"

Alyssa said as she and Frederick continued the journey.

"Okay, Alyssa!"

Zane replied as he and the other two kids followed their leaders.

Drift was confused.

"Alyssa?"

Ami lightly jabbed him on the shoulder.

"It's a long story."

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

Bruce's roar echoed throughout the entire forest. Unfortunately, it also meant that it inevitably reached Bolton, who was still sitting and resting by the pond.

Bolton opened his eyes and looked behind him to where the roar had come from. Finally, he had an idea of where they could be now. No one else could've caused that reaction from someone, right?

Bolton stood up and pulled his blade out from the ground. He walked in the direction the roar came from. It was hunting time.

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 Chapter 16 of Splat Force: The Gifted. I've had loads of fun with this one this week! I certainly loved doing the Shark fight scene, that was fun to do! With that ending showing Bolton being alerted to them, how do you think things will play out next time? I guess only time will tell... until then, Stay Fresh! ^^

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