Splat Force II: Allegiance; Chapter 9

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! Welcome back to Splat Force II: Allegiance!

Last chapter we got to spend time with the villains of the story as the plot advanced. You will see them briefly in this chapter as well.

This chapter will be a shorter one that will bring the focus back to our favourite existential crisis facing Inkling, Drift!

Without further ado, let's get into this!

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(Previous Chapter) (Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R 9 : L E T M E L I V E

"Hey man, I don't want trouble okay?!"

A young adult Inkling exclaimed as he was slowly getting cornered.

"We won't have any trouble if you just cooperate as you should!"

The taller buzz-cut Inkling replied as he got into a fighting stance.

"Just give me your money, I need it way more than I do!"

"That shouldn't be necessary!"

A voice called out from behind him. The buzz-cut Inkling turned around and saw an Inkling with green Spat Force gear. His hair was green but looked as if it was turning red.

"I don't want any battles, just surrender and I'll let you off, whatever your name is."

"The name is Rick! And I highly recommend not messin' with me: I used to be a student at the Curry Dojo-"

He said sharply as his target victim started to run away.

"Damn it, you made me lose him!"

"Don't move-"

Drift tried saying but it was too late: Rick had already started to charge at him.

"Frack it!"

Rick started the fight with a jump kick, Drift managed to quickly slide back to avoid the attack, which caused Rick to land on the ground in an awkward position. Drift aimed a Splattershot at Rick in an attempt to subdue him, only he underestimated Rick's might.

Rick whacked the weapon out of Drift's hands. Now weapon-less, he had to resort to using Splat Bombs. He got two out and pressed an orange circle button, causing them to grow into their actual size. He threw them at Rick. To his dismay, Rick was faster. He jumped out of the way of the Bombs.

B O O M , B O O M ! ! !

With each of his weapons failing him, Drift reluctantly had to resort to hand to hand combat. Rick charged forward at him and began to repeatedly spit punches at him. Drift was only able to block for so long. Each punch was causing more and more pain. After nearly twenty seconds of continuous punches, Drift became overwhelmed and got knocked back by Rick.

He groaned in pain as soon as he back hit the floor. He then went into a state of panic when he started to feel the heat rise in his right hand.

"No...please not now!"

He whispered to himself as Rick walked closer to him.

Rick stood above Drift and chuckled at him.

"What an actual pity. From what I've heard, the Splat Force was a group of strong fighters. Look what they've turned into...Frederick Evans would definitely be disappointed!"

He said as he started to build up another punch.

Rick's words hurt Drift: he was scared that maybe it was true and that his father would be disappointed in him. Rage was starting to build up inside him. He clenched his teeth and hard as he prepared to fight back.

His hand burst into flames as it drew nearer and nearer to Rick's stomach. He screamed in rage. Rick didn't have time to even process what was going on as he was distracted by the light that came from the flame.

S L A M ! ! !

The punch sent Rick flying back against the wall. He gasped out in pain after hitting the floor. His stomach was not just in pain but also burned. Realizing what had just happened, Drift got up and tried to approach Rick.

"Stay back, please! Let me live!"

Those last three words hit Drift different than the others. It was just as he feared would happen: his gifts had caused someone to fear him. He felt nothing but shame. He turned around and ran away from the scene. As soon as he left the alleyway, he super jumped away from the area.

He landed at the Splat Force warehouse which was only a few turns away so it wasn't that long of a super jump. The only one who was there was him. He quickly took off his gear and put on his casual clothing, still in a state of fear. He ran out of the warehouse and away from the area.

2 0 M I N U T E S L A T E R . . .

After continuously moving away from the warehouse, he found himself at a bridge by Moray Towers. He jumped up on the wall and sat down on it. He faced towards the two towers and let out a heavy sigh. He didn't cry but was very much close to. All he heard were the cars ing by, the occasional helicopter and some young teens playing Turf Wars on the towers. Those words still echoed in his head continuously

"Let me live..."

He whispered to himself as he tried to make sense of everything. He suddenly felt vibrations coming from his phone. He took it out and saw that Magnus was trying to call him. Drift knew that in these situations that it was best to talk to someone, a lesson that he learnt that hard way.

"Hello?"

"Hey Drift! I'm just checking in on ya! I know it's been a day since we last saw each other but I guess I'm just a really worried person when it comes to stuff like this."

The Octoling replied as he started to ramble.

"I'm doing fine, I guess...Thank you!"

He said.

"I was wondering if I could ask a question?"

"Sure! Spill the beans!"

Magnus exclaimed.

"What if you are the son of a great hero? What if the public would start to feel negative about you?"

He asked him. He sounded desperate to get the answer that he needed.

"Is it because you're gifted and that people are giving you a hard time?"

He asked.

"Well yeah. All I wanted to do was just make my Dad proud yet someone said that he would be disappointed in me. I'm scared that maybe he's right."

Drift sighed as he painfully recited what went down.

"Dude, your father would always be proud of you for what you would accomplish, even if you are different to him. You are strong, Drift. If the public doesn't see that then screw them!"

Magnus answered.

Drift sighed as although Magnus was trying his best, it wasn't the advice that he needed to hear.

"Thanks Magnus...I'll call you back soon, alright?"

"O-Oh okay then..."

Magnus replied before Drift hung up on the call.

Drift looked back out into space and sighed before he climbed down from the wall and started to walk down the pathway again, back down the way he came from.

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

At the Iceberg, the base of the S.A.I, Bolton and his followers were now in the library. It was smaller than expected and not all that interesting to look at. Metal plates, metal walls, metal ceiling, metal bookcases. It became clear how much they enjoyed metal.

"Third shelf, middle row."

Bolton repeated as he headed to the third row. The wanted book stood out like a sore thumb: it was bigger, longer and looked older than the others. Bolton picked up the book and looked through it.

"It's a different language, one that I don't think I've ever seen before. Bruce, take this back to the base."

"But water will make it ruined!"

Bruce said.

"Put it in your mouth and don't open until you get to the base. Led, Melissa, you two will come with me."

He instructed.

"W-Where are we going?"

Melissa worryingly asked.

"In order for me to understand the book, we'll have to enter the public eye once more."

Bolton answered. He thought of the Inkopolis Mall and started to form a flame portal and walked through, Led and Melissa followed behind as it closed.

Bruce placed the book in his mouth to keep it drier than it would be in the sea. He busted down the door and ran down the hallways, getting lost almost instantly.

M E A N W H I L E A T R E E F R O A D . . .

Rex was in the kitchen making lunch for the family. He was listening to the jazz music that was being played on the radio. He hummed to the beat. The radio suddenly cuts the music. The former Splat Force Commander was confused by this. After all, it wasn't every day that the radio randomly cut its music.

"Breaking news! The gifted Octoling, Bolton Vulcan has been spotted in Inkopolis Mall. He is heavily armed with a blade and his clothes are reportedly stained with blood. He has been seen with two other allies. If you are in the area, please get as far away as possible!"

The radio host announced.

"Alyssa! Come quick!"

Rex called out to his wife. Within seconds, Alyssa was down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"What is it?!"

She asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Bolton's been sighted at Inkopolis mall!"

He said to her.

Alyssa gasped in shock.

"Oh my cod...W-When?!"

"Just now!"

Rex answered.

Alyssa was in a state of panic after hearing what Rex had just told her.

"Stay with Platinum!"

She exclaimed before running out into the garden and super jumping away.

B A C K W I T H D R I F T . . .

Drift was back outside the warehouse. He stared out into the ocean. A lot was going through his mind. He felt bad that he rudely cut off Magnus. He got out his phone and sent Magnus a text message:

'Hey! I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that I cut you off so quickly. Today has been somewhat stressful and it got the better of me. Hope that we can chat soon!'

After sending the message, Drift put his phone back in his pocket and continued to look back into the ocean before he heard someone coming up from behind him.

"Drift, thank cod!"

Alyssa exclaimed.

Drift quickly turned around.

"Alyssa, are you alright?!"

He asked with a worried tone of voice.

"We need to suit up now!"

She told him as she rushed inside. Drift ran up behind her and into the warehouse, feeling curious and worried as to what was going on.

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 today's Chapter of Splat Force II: Allegiance! I promise that the next one will be more longer and will have a bigger fight scene as it will be mid-story next week. So stay tuned for that! Until next time, stay safe out there! ^^

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