Splat Force: The Gifted; Chapter 10

(I'm glad that people have been enjoying it! ^^)

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! Back with the mid-season, or mid-story, of Splat Force: The Gifted.

This Chapter will now shift the focus onto Frederick and Cosmo as they must make their way to the trio.

Without further ado, let's get into this!

(This Chapter has been Remastered)

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(Previous Chapter) (Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R 10 : C O N F R O N T A T I O N

R I N G , R I N G ! ! !

Hearing his phone start ringing just as he was pulling into his parking space on the side of the road, Frederick was quick to stop the car and answer.

"Hello?"

"Frederick! Thank heavens! I've been trying to reach you for a while!"

Cosmo answered with sighs of relief.

After speaking with her in the morning, Frederick was quick to recognize her voice.

"I take it he gave you my number?"

"Yes! He did! Please listen to me, this is serious!"

Cosmo told him.

"Okay! What's wr-"

Frederick said before cutting himself off after getting out of the car. The front door was wide open. He knew it couldn't have been Drift, he was smart enough to close the door after coming in. Something was wrong.

"Someone's broken into my house! I'll call you back!"

"No! It's a trap! Don't go in! Don't-"

Cosmo begged. It was too late, Frederick had hung up.

Frederick approached his raided home and inspected the footprints. They weren't shoe prints, they looked like they belonged to a boot wearer. As far as he knew, neither he nor his late wife wore boots, but Drift did. However, he would know to close the front door.

"Whoever is in there, this better not be a prank!"

He shouted through the front door, hoping for a response. Unfortunately, all he got was the silent treatment. At last, Frederick moved forward, confident that he was going to put this prank to an end. However, turning the corner he was greeted with another obstacle.

"What the hell happened here?!"

Frederick asked himself, eyes stuck on the melted door. The whole center part of the door was gone, the edges, top and bottom of the door were just bearly intact, however, there was blacker, and tiny rubble started falling slowly, like a piece of paper.

Frederick looked into the living room and saw burn marks on the wall and floor. The room was a mess, the furniture had been blown apart. He looked over to where the ruined coach was and saw someone sitting in the middle of the floor meditating.

In a flash, he left the living room and headed for his bedroom, grabbing a box from under his bed and grabbing his old N-Zap, alongside a singular Splat Bomb. He made sure to load the N-Zap with ammo before heading back into the living room. He pointed his weapon at the meditating man.

"Bolton Vulcan, I presume!"

"Frederick Evans, we finally meet. I never thought the day would come."

Bolton replied, opening his eyes. His spin-chilling, crisp voice intimidated the retired Commander.

"You killed a good man, last night!"

Frederick growled, hand on his trigger.

"Good man? Wasn't he present at Baxter Village all those years ago?"

Bolton asked as he stood up, his red hair was lit up by the moonlight.

"That attack was led by me! Not him! ME!"

Frederick grunted, pointing the weapon at his forehead.

"Everything that happened that day is on me! So if you're gonna kill someone, you'd be best off killing me!"

"Yes, I will kill you, Frederick Evans. Not just for what you and the Splat Force did to the village, and to the many innocent lives that you hypocrites took, but also for what you did to me!"

Bolton exclaimed as he unleashed his blade, ready for the face-off.

B A N G , B A N G , B A N G ! ! !

Bolton was quick to take care of the bullets using his blade to cut them down and melt them with its heat.

"You're past your prime. Are you sure that you want to fight? Wouldn't it be easier to face judgment for your sins?!"

Bolton hissed.

Frederick clenched his teeth and fists.

"Shut up!"

"We were living in peace, all of us. The children, the adults, the elders. Everyone. Until you started the attack!"

Bolton said, getting into his head.

"Everything that's about to happen now is on you!"

Frederick closed his eyes and thought back to his war days, thinking about the choices he made, and the lives that were lost on both sides.

"I'm sorry about what happened! All I wanted back then was to take down Terrador for starting that war! I never wanted any of this to-"

"LIAR!"

Bolton shouted. Enraged, he threw his blade at the Commander, who managed to dodge the attack. The blade dug itself into the wall.

"Bolton, please! I'm being serious!"

Frederick pleaded. Bolton wasn't having any of it. As Frederick spoke, he reached with his left hand.

"I never intended to cause that much damage! That's just how things played out, and I'll forever be sorry for-"

S L A S H ! ! !

The blade flew out of the wall and into Bolton's left hand, cutting Frederick's side along the way, making him yelp and groan as he held onto the cut.

"Whether or not you're sorry doesn't matter, it's time to face the consequences of your actions!"

As Bolton finished speaking, Frederick activated the one Splat Bomb he had on him and chucked it at Bolton, hoping to do some big damage. Seeing the bomb coming, Bolton sliced it in half effortlessly.

"There's no point in fighting. If you give up now, I'll make sure that you're death is a quick one!"

Bolton whispered. However, Frederick wasn't buying into Bolton's offer that easily. Seeing how useless his weapons were against him, Frederick made a run for it. Bolton watched Frederick leave the room, exhaling in frustration as he slowly followed him from behind.

Frederick ran outside the house and ran down the street, thinking that he could increase the distance between him and his attacker. Not long later, Bolton emerged from the house and stared down Frederick.

Frederick ran and ran until he couldn't anymore. Bolton was right, he was past his prime, his younger self could've run miles ahead of Bolton. He held onto his knees and panted.

All of a sudden, a flame circle appeared before him. Walking through it, and now standing five feet ahead of him, was Bolton.

"You think running from your past like it never happened is a good way to dispose of me? To dispose of all of your problems?"

He asked as the flame circle closed.

"Is that it? Are you here to be my grim reaper?"

Frederick asked. The two men stood face-to-face and locked eyes with each other. The distance between them made the two men look like two cowboys in a stand-off.

Looking past Bolton, he saw Cosmo in the distance, running towards the pair of them. She stopped running after and looked on in shock at what was happening. Frederick looked back at Bolton and threw his weapon to the floor.

"If so, finish the job!"

He told him, seemingly giving up. He placed his hands on the back of his head and stood still, not moving a muscle. He noticed Cosmo shake her head at him. Under his breath, he whispered one word to her.

"Wait..."

Bolton started to slowly walk up to him, his blade shinned brighter than over and began steaming from the heat.

"You've made the right call, Frederick Evans. As I said before, I'll make sure your death is a quick one."

Bolton whispered. He stood in front of Frederick and held back his blade, ready to go in for the killing blow. Whilst Bolton was too focused on killing him, Frederick looked back at Cosmo and nodded.

Right as Bolton was a split second away from landing the final blow, he stopped. His senses were going haywire. His sixth sense alerted him of an attack coming from behind. Suddenly, a bright blue beam flew at him. Bolton deflected it with his blade, but one beam wasn't the end of it, more started flying towards him. He deflected every single one. As Bolton was about to turn back around, Frederick leaped forward and kneed him in the face, knocking him off guard.

S L A M ! ! !

Bolton responded to Frederick's attack by punching him in the chest, sending him flying back onto the road. Bolton marched his way toward him but was stopped by Cosmo, who tried getting up close with him. Sensing the attack, Bolton quickly turned around, grabbed Cosmo by the throat, and flung her against a lamppost, stunning her long enough for him to have one more word with the Commander.

Bolton returned his blade to its scabbard and stood over Frederick, looking down at him.

"I want our face-off to be between just you and me, no one else. Had she not come along, I would've been fine with finishing you off right here and now, but as things stand, it appears that our face-off will come another day..."

Bolton told him, granting him mercy. However, in return for his mercy, Bolton knocked the Commander out cold with a punch to his face.

S L A M ! ! !

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

Zane opened up a cupboard and had a look inside. All he could see were objects hidden away by the dust that they had collected for the last decade. He looked up and down looking for something to keep him, Drift, and Ami busy. At last, he found something and pulled it out. It had a rectangular shape and was stacked. He placed it on the table and unfolded it, revealing a full square with a silver and brown checkered pattern.

"Is this it?"

Zane asked, looking down at it once more to double-check.

"Yeah that's Chess! I'm surprised you haven't heard of this game before, it's pretty popular!"

Drift answered.

"Well, my family are pretty much nomads who love traveling around and not staying still, so they don't really have any time to sit back and play games."

Zane brought up in his defense.

"I see... well, to get started, this game was originally created by the humans over ten thousand years ago. A while back, a scavenger found the remains of the game, complete with all the pieces. After being analyzed by the research lab, our society remade them to suit our culture."

Drift waffled, letting all of the trivia knowledge in his head slide out.

"So this game is a legend?"

Zane questioned, assuming that anything from the humans was legendary

"Ah yes, that's some way to describe it!"

Drift replied sarcastically.

Zane pouted.

"Shut up..."

Drift laughed at him.

"Haha, chill I'm just messing with ya! If you actually take what I said into fact then yeah, it's kinda ancient, well the original version is. The one that we are about to play? Not so much."

"Alright then."

Zane said, sitting down face-to-face with Drift

"Hey Ami, wanna watch us play? Ami...?"

Ami was on the floor in the middle of the training grounds. She was fast asleep. Her long pink hair covered her like a fluffy blanket.

"Well she's out, I guess it's just us now."

Drift whispered.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Zane said as he turned his attention to the game.

"I hate to hear you geek out again, Drift... but could you maybe tell me about these figures?"

A big smile hit Drift's face.

"And I shall happily do that!"

Drift accepted before going on the longest tangent that Zane had ever sat through.

"So the entire front rows are either Inklings or Octolings, depending on which side you chose. On the first turn, they could move two places forward. Every turn after that, they could only move once. If an Inkling or Octoling reaches the end, they are replaced by any other piece that the player has lost through the match. They can also only take out a piece that is to their top left or top right view."

"So, basically they sacrifice their own life to bring one back from the dead?"

Zane asked.

"That's a bit dramatic but yeah."

Drift answered.

"Now, onto the Rollers. Basically, you can only move, left right, up, or down but the thing is, the direction you go you have to reach the other side or as far as you can go. These animal-looking fellas are Dualies. You move two tiles forward backward or left and right and then after the second tile you move left or right. And now we have Chargers, they are pretty much the opposite of the roller piece, you could only move diagonally but could go as far as possible."

"How do you have the time to know all of this...?"

Zane said, feeling overwhelmed with all the information that had been thrown at him.

"You'd be surprised. Now these two pieces are pretty damn important. This piece is overpowered, it can go in any direction at any distance. These pieces are the duo known as Off The Hook, with Pearl on one side and Marina on the other. They are the second most valuable pieces of this game, only second to the great Zapfish. If one of them gets taken down, the game is over and the team that took them out wins. They could move in any direction, but only one tile. If you are in the killsight, you are in check and you're required to move the king out of the line of fire. If there are too many enemies taking up kill sight. You are in check mate and are dead."

Drift explained all in one breath. He started breathing in slowly.

"Wanna play now?"

"Th-That is a lot to take in but... I guess I could try..."

Zane gulped, not being able to catch everything he just said.

"Awesome! Game on!"

Drift exclaimed competitively.

1 0 M I N U T E S L A T E R . . .

"Damn, I lost. That's what I expected would happen anyway, it's my first game after all."

Zane commented after losing the game of chess.

Drift offered him a handshake.

"Tip for next time, don't be predictable. Be the opposite."

Zane accepted the handshake.

"Unpredictable? Yeah, got it."

He replied. He put away all the pieces and placed the chessboard back in the cupboard.

"So, how long till she'll be back?"

"I don't know probably not for a while."

Drift answered.

"She said that she's looking for... Frederick Evans. Obviously, we don't know if she's found him yet but chances are, like I said, she won't be back for quite a bit."

Zane nodded, not calling Drift out on his sudden pause but still taking note of it nonetheless.

"Why do I get the feeling that tonight is the start of something?"

"What?"

Drift asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Why do I get the feeling that tonight is going to start a massive adventure?"

He asked.

"Zane, what do you mean?"

He asked, continuously becoming more and more confused.

"What I mean is that three teenagers had a near-death experience with an evil man. They are then taken into hiding inside an old base that a military force used before going out after the Gifted Wars, and now someone is getting the former Commander of said force to help us. It just all feels... different..."

Zane explained his point.

Drift realized what Zane meant and nodded, agreeing with him.

"Well, to be honest, now that you say that, it kinda does feel that way..."

"Well. If in the event that things go south, at least have each other, even if we've only known each other for a little while."

Zane assured, giving another one of his well-loved pep talks.

"Yeah! I'll be going out with my best friend and... a new kid... a new kid who has now earned my trust."

Drift said, sounding cheery for Zane.

Zane smiled at Drift's compliment.

"Does that mean you can finally tell me about your father?"

"I'll tell you later!"

"Ugh!"

B A C K W I T H F R E D E R I C K A N D C O S M O . . .

"Frederick? Frederick wake up!"

Cosmo called out, trying to nudge him awake.

Frederick slowly started to gain consciousness again. As his eyes slowly opened.

"Ugh..."

He groaned, placing his hand on his forehead. The punch from Bolton had given him a nosebleed.

"Frederick!"

Cosmo exclaimed. Noticing that he was immensely dizzy, she tried helping him up.

"Thank you..."

He said, thanking her for the help.

"Anytime Frederick, If I'd never shown up tonight, we would have lost you too..."

She sighed, feeling relieved to have been there.

"Why was he at my house?!"

"Because earlier tonight, he followed your son and his friends back to your house-"

"What?! is he okay?!"

He asked, his mood swinging from calm to frightened for his son's safety.

"Don't worry, he's safe! I've been keeping an eye on him all day since he finished school, making sure he was safe."

She assured him.

"They're at the old Splat Force base in Bluegill Town. Bolton can't get to them there. I'm not sure he even knows that place even exists."

"Great! They need to stay there! It's too dangerous for them to be out with him on the loose! We need to meet with them, now!"

"Of course! You still know the super jump way from here to there, right?"

She asked.

"I haven't been there in over a decade, I don't think I could find my way, to be honest."

Frederick answered, giving her a reasonable answer.

"Okay... public transport it is!"

Cosmo replied as she started heading for the nearest bus stop.

L A T E R T H A T N I G H T . . .

After the two bus journeys, the pair of them arrived at Bluegill Town. The sight of the place brought back thousands of Frederick's memories, a lot of which were resentful ones.

"I never thought I'd be here again..."

"I don't blame you."

Cosmo responded as the pair of them walked down the pathway.

"I have some memories of here too, such as that awful speech I made when I first met you all. Obviously, I don't have as many memories of this place as you and Rex."

"Yeah..."

He said with a sigh.

"I just hope that it really is safe down there, the last thing I need is for Bolton to attack here. Where else could we go?"

"I have no idea, but we must stay focused on the present, we'll worry about that when we've settled in!"

Cosmo told him.

After walking down a long pathway they reached the gate. They walked through and were greeted by the two guards, the pair of whom were in pure shock.

"Commander Evans... what are you doing here?"

Oliver asked.

"Henry's killer tried going after my kid is his friends. They're safe in the base right now. I went face-to-face with Bolton, he's too strong for them. He knows where I live, meaning I can't go back even if I wanted to."

Frederick explained.

"You fought him?! Is it true that he has fire gifts?!"

Barry asked.

"Barry, this is the same guy who took out Jamie, I was there to see it..."

Oliver sighed before looking back at his former Commander.

"Commander Evans, you should be safe here. With how dead this town has become since the Gifted Wars, this is the last place that he will check. If he does come, then I don't know if we can-"

"If Bolton finds out about this place, don't hold back! Give him your worst! We need to make sure that these kids are as safe as they can be!"

Frederick ordered them.

Both guards nodded in agreement, feeling inspired by Frederick's words.

"Okay, go through. We'll do what it takes to assure your safety!"

Barry said, allowing them access.

"Oh, and welcome back, Commander Evans. It's good to see you again! Even if it's over something terrible like this!"

"It's good seeing you too, Barry! We'll work something out. We did so with Terrador, I'm sure we could take care of all of this."

Frederick assured them as he and Cosmo walked into the town.

After a walk through the quiet, cold town, they reached the old shed.

"It's a lot smaller than I ."

Frederick commented.

Cosmo looked at Frederick and gave him a comforting smile.

"It was always this small, we just never noticed it when we went here all the time."

She told him as the pair of them walked into the shed, pressing the elevator door. Both Cosmo and Frederick walked inside the elevator.

Down below, Zane heard something coming from the elevator door. It only took him a few seconds to realize that it was the elevator and that Cosmo had returned. Drift ran up to Ami to nudge her awake. After several seconds. The door had opened, and both Cosmo and Frederick walked through.

"Dad!"

Drift yelled, running up to his father to hug him, leaving Zane speechless. Of course! It all made sense to him now.

"Drift!"

Frederick whispered, as he embraced his son in his arms.

Ami rubbed her eyes, trying to fully wake up.

"Wha-What is going on?"

She whispered gently.

"Don't worry sweetheart, help is here."

Cosmo assured her, giving her a wink.

"Hello Ami! I'm glad to see that you're safe too!"

Frederick greeted.

"Thank you!"

Ami replied, giggling with excitement.

Frederick walked up to the wooden stand and looked around him. The trio and Cosmo looked at him from below the stand.

"How does it feel Dad?"

Drift asked, looking at his father in awe.

Frederick tried to catch his breath, but being back in the base got a nostalgic reaction out of him.

"It feels... odd. Odd that I'm back after all this time..."

He whispered back to him. Frederick then looked at Cosmo.

"Can you and I talk in private for a second?"

"Of course!"

Cosmo answered. Frederick led Cosmo into the old office and shut the door.

"Frederick Evans is your father?!"

Zane asked. With the answer finally being out there, Drift responded with a smug nod and a smirk.

"WHAT THE FU-"

Frederick paused to look at the room. It was dark and empty. The only thing standing in his way was an old desk. He switched on the light, walked over to the desk, and sat down.

"Are you alright?"

Cosmo asked, starting the conversation.

Frederick held his hands together and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Bolton knows about them. He knows about Drift. He knows about Ami. He knows about... that other kid. They are now targets, especially Drift. With them being associated with him, they are now in the game. There is no going out for them. They can run, but only for so long."

"What are you trying to say?"

Cosmo worryingly responded.

Frederick looked up at her.

"I'm sorry, but we have to prepare them for Bolton... we have to train them..."

"B-But they are just kids!"

Cosmo exclaimed, not hiding her upset feelings over his idea.

"Yes, kids who got caught in the crossfire! I don't want to force this life on them, but it's the only way. At least they could fight back!"

Frederick said to her with a heavy heart.

"W-What about witness protection?! Surely they can find help through-"

"It won't save them for long... Bolton would just rip through whoever looks after them."

Frederick sighed.

"The thought of bringing my son into my old life makes me feel sick to the stomach, but it has to be done, or else..."

Cosmo fought back tears but came to quickly accept his decision.

"Fine... but this means that they would have to drop out of School, they would have to leave home until it's safe for them."

She uttered.

"Their futures depend on this..."

Both of them left the office and greeted the three young Inklings.

"Okay, listen up you three, Bolton knows about your existence and your connection to my son, who is connected to me. Your lives are now on the line. Child protection and witness protection won't stand a chance against Bolton and staying at your parents' house isn't gonna help you either, which is why we have decided to train you three..."

Frederick told the trio. The worried looks on their faces killed him on the inside, but he couldn't go back on his decision.

"I know you are just kids, but for you to even stand a chance, you have to train for your next encounter with Bolton."

Ami's eyes widened. She started to shiver.

"S-So we have to s-stay here?!"

"As much as I hate to say it, yes. No matter what the cause is. School, going home to your family, Socializing. You have to stay here in the base. I know you're scared about this Ami, I am too..."

Frederick coldly answered.

Cosmo rushed to Ami's need and gave her the most comforting hug that she could give. Ami didn't cry. She was quivering in fear, but she wanted to remain strong, something that made Cosmo already feel proud of her.

Drift looked up at his father and nodded. He and Zane accepted things for how they were.

"I understand, Dad..."

"Can you take the kids to the chambers, please? They need a good sleep after tonight."

Frederick asked. Cosmo led the kids to the chambers, leaving Frederick alone to think about his actions. He buried his face in his hands and sighed, wishing there had been another way. Unfortunately, what was done was done, and all he could do was move forward.

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 ! ! !

Thanks for reading Chapter 10 of Splat Force: The Gifted. Honestly, I'm shocked I'm already at the halfway point! Next week won't be a new chapter but it is something that I'm sure you all would like. Until then, stay fresh!

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