Splat Force III: Bolton's Reign; Chapter 12

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! Today I'm back at it again with a new Chapter of Splat Force III: Bolton's Reign!

In the last Chapter, we caught up with some of our cast as we ventured into this new world run by Bolton. There are still more characters to catch up with, and some are yet to be introduced, so keep your eyes peeled!

This Chapter is the only one of the second half that I would call light-hearted, so see this one as the light in the darkness of Splat Force III.

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 2 : F E A S T O F A L I F E T I M E

Z A P ! ! !

In a back, graffiti-filled ally way at the working-class side of Inkopolis, Led struck a massive hole through the right building. A young Inkling man was sent flying back into the opposite wall on the left. The pale Inkling groaned in pain, her entire body in agony. She flipped up her cyan hair and saw the gifted Octoling slowly approach her.

"N-No...Please!"

She cried out, begging for her life, unfortunately for her, begging wasn't going to get her anywhere.

Led stared down at her, showing no remorse. Both of his hands sparkled with electricity. The Inkling closed her eyes, crying as she placed her head against the ground. She knew that it was too late for her...

Z A P ! ! !

One strong thunderbolt from Led and she was out. Her fried body let off a foul scent, one that even he found a little too much. Led quietly groaned before walking away from the body, not before wiping off the dust from his Squid Satin Jacket and his short, dark brown Beanie.

As he neared the end of the ally way towards the city streets, a familiar Inkling stepped into view. Led stopped walking and stared at her, fixated.

"Mel?"

Melissa Sabrina slowly approached her old troubled friend. Her appearance hadn't changed one bit since he last saw her. Although she knew of his strong attachment to her, she also knew of the vengeful path that he had gone down, which caused her to become hesitant.

"I sensed a vengeful, scarred presence and tracked it here. I knew it was you, Led."

She explained to him. After making her approach, they were both a meter apart.

"I'm not scared!"

Led exclaimed, his denial not enough to manipulate Melissa, let alone faze her.

"That's not true, and you know it!"

Melissa replied.

"The last time I spoke to you was when all of this started, even then you still had the same vengeful and scared aura. Nothing has changed!"

"Things have changed, Mel! Do you even know what I've been doing this past year? Do you know every mission I took part in? Every life I've taken? Do you?!"

He snapped back. His right hand lightly sparkled with small zaps of electricity, leaving Melissa both silent and horrified.

"Everything has changed, Mel. Stop being in denial!"

"I'm in denial?!"

Melissa shot back. There were five seconds of silence after Melissa's words. Led looked into her eyes and scoffed before walking off, not wanting to look back at her.

Suddenly, Led's smartwatch started to vibrate. He looked down at it and within seconds answered the call.

"What is it?"

"We've managed to locate the former Splat Force Rookie that escaped yesterday. Emperor Bolton requests that you take action now."

The messenger informed.

Led looked forward with determination. He was willing to do what it takes for him to satisfy his master.

"Where are they?!"

"They have been located at Inkopolis Plaza."

He answered.

"Copy that. Tell Emperor Bolton that I don't plan to fail him again!"

Led replied before ending the call. There was another moment of silence between him and Melissa. He sighed loudly as he began to walk away, not even saying goodbye to her.

M E A N W H I L E W I T H T H E S P L A T F O R C E . . .

Out in the city, Samantha, Ami and Magnus roamed around in search of their friend. They all wore their casual clothing on top of their Splat Force gear. One by one, they each took turns calling out her name but to no prevail. Things were starting to look hopeless for them.

"Ami, could you try and give her one last call?"

Magnus asked. The group of three were on the verge of losing hope over her and returning to the bunker, which was the last thing that any of them wanted.

Ami nodded before reaching for her phone, and grabbing it out of her pocket. She turned it on and was immediately on her list. The Inkling started a call. Seconds slowly and yet she wasn't picking up. Just as the seconds approached a minute, Ami was sent to voice mail.

"Nope, still nothing!"

"Aw shucks! Now, what do we do?"

Magnus exclaimed before gently face palming.

"I hate to say it but we should head back. We're hopeless out here if we just wander around hoping for a miracle. Besides, Emily may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but I know she can't be stupid enough to stay outside for too long, not in these conditions anyway."

Samantha instructed with a heavy heart, frustrating both Ami and Magnus.

"Samantha, how could you suggest something like that?! Emily is our friend!"

Ami shouted, taking her older sister by surprise. Not wanting to get involved in the heated argument, Magnus slowly took three steps back.

"I can't allow you to stay out here for too long! It's too dangerous!"

She exclaimed back, not realizing the wrong choice of words that she had used.

"Me?!"

Ami scoffed as she took two large steps closer to her.

"Samantha, I can take care of myself! I can fight for myself! How do you I was able to survive multiple of Bolton's encounters?!"

"These are different times, Ami! The world back then is different to what it is now! Nowadays, you can't do something as simple as going to the shops without being worried about who might be following you!"

She shot back.

From afar, Magnus looked around him and saw that a few of the civilians walking by were starting to take notice of them. He knew he had to step in sooner.

"Keep it down you two! You're causin' a scene!"

He exclaimed as he dashed to their need, wanting to end the fighting.

The two sisters looked around them and saw that Magnus was right. They both looked back at each other, both cooled down.

"I-I'm sorry, Ami...I just want you to be okay."

Samantha whispered as tears slowly formed in her eyes.

"So much has changed: Rex and Alyssa are gone, and we all have to share a bunker now as the world falls apart. I just wish I was still as optimistic and as positive as you are..."

Ami frowned. She too felt bad for the argument that they had just started. Despite seeming overprotective towards her, at the end of the day, Ami was still her sister, she was still the only family that she had left.

Ami was about to respond to her until she heard her phone go off, its ringtone being a remix of Bomb Rush Blush by Callie of the Squid Sisters. She saw that it was Emily calling her, causing her face to light up almost instantly.

"Hello? Where are you?!"

"I'm at a pub called the..."

Emily answered, pausing mid-way to the name of the pub. Ami heard Emily asking others what the name was from her side of the call, it made her lightly giggle.

"Octo-Marine. The pub is called Octo-Marine."

"Where is that?"

Ami asked, not having a clue where it could be.

"It's by where one of the Grizzco establishments used to be, not the one at Inkopolis Square."

She answered.

"I'm safe and sound in here so there should be no rush to get here, don't worry! Feel free to come over if you want."

"Okay. We'll be over there as soon as possible, okay?"

Ami responded.

"Sounds good to me! See you then!"

Emily responded, ending the call just as Ami was about to say goodbye.

The abrupt ending didn't stop Ami from being happy to tell Samantha and Magnus the good news.

"Well I have some good news: Emily is safe and sound somewhere, or that's what she told me anyway."

She told them, putting both Samantha and Magnus at ease.

"She's at a pub called Octo-Marine. She said it's by one of the old Grizzco buildings."

"Oh, I know where it is! Me and my ex used to go there after a long Salmon Run shift. I can show you the way if you want?"

Samantha told them. Feeling delighted, both Ami and Magnus were on board with her suggestion.

"Yeah, that would be a good thing for us!"

Magnus replied.

"Okay, great! We should quickly go back and get her some outside clothes to wear instead of her pyjamas."

Samantha told them.

"Hopefully she won't mind the delay."

"Emily said that there is no rush to get to her, so I think she'll be fine with it!"

Ami informed, putting her sister more at ease.

"Awesome! Let's get moving then!"

She told the team as they began to move out. What they originally thought was a rescue mission turned out to be a simple picking up, like a child getting picked up from an after-school club.

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

The three of them arrived outside of a large row of brick-built flats. At the far left of the buildings was a small staircase which led them down towards a wooden door. All three of them still wore their gear under their clothes, just in case they were attacked. Magnus held a bag that carried spare clothes for Emily.

Samantha walked down all five steps, with Ami standing on the third step and Magnus on the first, the latter of the three had never entered a pub before which caused him to become nervous over his first time, especially in the times that he was living in.

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

Samantha waited a total of ten seconds after knocking until the door opened. A female Sea Urchin with pitch-black spiky hair and tanned skin greeted them.

"Id?"

She asked with a moody, monotone voice. Samantha grabbed her purse from her pocket and took out her Id, flashing it at the Urchin.

"Come in."

The pub was a large, rectangular room with smooth wooden floors and smooth brick walls. Ahead of them was a dark wooden till which had a counter, six different taps, with each containing different drinks, and small leaflets containing events night details.

The corner opposite the entrance was a large open space that was used as a dance floor. To the right of it was a DJ Booth for music. To the right of the entrance was the seating area, filled with tables and seats for people to either drink or eat at, more than likely the former.

Samantha checked her purse once again to see how much cash she had on her. Unfortunately, she was running short with only a five cash note. She sighed, knowing that the next step after this was scrap food.

"We hardly got any food from any shops earlier. Are you two up for a large plate of cheesy fries? We'll have to share, however."

"That sounds great!"

Ami answered, her need for food distracting her from how broke they all were.

Though was happy about being fed, Magnus had the reasonably concerns that Ami lacked.

"We're gonna be even more down on money, though. How are we gonna pay for more food after tonight?"

Samantha thought of Magnus' question hard before answering.

"As gross as it is, we'll have to start eating from the trash. Besides, we'll still have some money left, not much, however."

She answered before thinking of a plan.

"Okay, Magnus you go and find Emily, me and Ami will-"

"Sorry to interrupt but wouldn't it be more reasonable if Ami went to find Emily?"

He asked, only to get a confused look from the older Stewart Sister.

"She seems to be the only one that Emily gets along with: you two don't talk often other than the occasional order and...We'll she still ain't a fan of me, or at least that's what I think."

Samantha had a hard think about it. Of course, she wanted to take into what Ami told her earlier, and what the two of them had been arguing over, but she was still her little sister, and she didn't want anything to happen to her.

"I'll be okay, sis. If anything happens I'll call you over, okay?"

Ami assured her with a gentle smile.

As paranoid as Samantha was about Ami's safety, she knew that she was now old enough to make her own decisions, but that didn't stop her from being hesitant.

"I-I...Okay, just try not to start any fights."

"I won't. See you in a bit!"

Ami promised before walking off into the sea of tables.

Ami paced around the entire building looking at every Inkling woman she could find. She could see blue, red, green, yellow, and black hair but no white. She began to panic. Did she just lose another friend?

Fortunately, she had only checked the women with no hats. Sitting in the corner, opposite where the cue was, was Emily. She was sitting opposite a ed-out Tiger Prawn and was wearing a cowboy hat that she had taken from him.

"So, have you found anythin' in your life? Do you have people who love you and don't fight each other over nothin'?"

She asked him. Unfortunately, the Tiger Prawn was too deep into his sleep that he didn't hear the Inkling girl. It wasn't as if he would actually care if he was awake. Emily sighed and looked at the Crumb spilt floor.

"Yeah, me neither..."

Ami rushed over to where Emily was and stood to her right. To grab her attention, Ami poked her shoulder, which proved to not be the best course of action

"AH! WHAT DO YOU-Oh, it's you..."

The pink-haired Inkling noticed that the cowboy hat was tipped over her face, nearly covering her eyes. Ami tilted it upwards and looked into her charcoal-coloured eyes.

"Are you okay?"

She asked slowly before looking at the wet dark circles under her eyes.

"Have you been crying?"

"A little bit, yeah...Sorry I ran off, I got scared, you were all bein' too loud."

She muttered.

"Hey, don't feel bad! Sometimes I get scared too."

She assured her whilst gently stroking her right cheek.

"We don't blame you for what happened but it was not that good of an idea to run off, we all got worried."

"I know..."

She said with a sigh as her lips trembled. Emily leaned her head against Ami's stomach.

"Thank you for coming..."

"Anytime!"

Ami whispered as she began to stroke her hair.

Back at the cue, Samantha was paying for the fries as Magnus was being checked out by an Inkling woman with dark hair with bangs, who wore a leather suit. She was checking out his arms, particularly at how large they were.

"Say, I could use an arm like yours for some...Chores."

She whispered as she started to slide her palms up and down his arms.

Magnus was on the verge of throwing up. Of course, he couldn't tell her what was beneath his green jacket, so he had to use his other excuse.

"Sorry, I'm gay!"

He told her, cringing at the words he had just uttered. Luckily, Samantha was given the fries, allowing them to leave the cue.

Samantha carried the white plate with her dominant left hand. Both she and Magnus looked around to see if they could find the two Inkling girls. Luckily, Ami's bobble hat and red hoodie made her distinct from the brown, dark leather-wearing folk. The two of them approached the top right corner from the counter.

"Here! We've brought you somethin'."

Magnus told her, handing her the bag of clothes. Not having the energy to thank him with words, Emily instead chose to nod at him with the smallest smile that she could form.

"Got some food."

Samantha told them before glancing at the sleeping Tiger Prawn.

"What are we gonna do about them?"

Without answering with words, Emily stood up and pulled her stool back before pulling the table back, giving the other three room to sit down.

"Get some chairs."

Magnus and Ami searched for open stools to sit on as Samantha placed the fries on the table.

"How are you feeling, Emily?"

She asked.

"Could be better, could be worse."

She answered, shrugging it all off like it was nothing as Magnus and Ami returned with seats, the latter of which carried two stools.

The four of them sat down together around a small, circular table, with Emily and Samantha, and Ami and Magnus sitting opposite each other. Emily noticed that Magnus was looking at her curiously.

"If you're gonna ask how I am then just ask either of these two, I've told them already."

"No, no, it's not that!"

Magnus assured, making Emily curious about what he was wanting.

"I just wanted to ask if you've heard any gossip whilst you were out?"

"Oh plenty! I've heard that the lightning guy is wiping out more and more resistance groups."

She told them. Unfortunately for Emily, Led's rampage was something that the entire world knew about, including the three of them.

"Led, right?"

Ami asked, knowing him from experiences in the past. Emily, who wasn't aware of his name, slowly nodded at Ami awkwardly.

"Well, obviously we know that!"

Samantha exclaimed whilst face palming. She ate a couple of fries before continuing.

"Anything happening here?"

"Tonight is some event night in which people could earn a few hundred in cash. From what I've seen, this happens weekly. Tonight it's some sort of duet dance-off thingie. It starts in like ten minutes."

She explained as she read off a leaflet on the wall. The other three looked at them with shock painted all over their face.

"What?"

All four of them looked at each other and together in unison, they all asked:

"Who's doing it?"

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

As the dancers lined up to prepare for their spin on the dance floor, Emily was getting changed into the clothes in the bag, that being a plain white shirt and light grey jeans. Ami was close by the dance floor getting make-up done by a face artist, who gave out free make-up jobs for free.

"Good luck!"

Samantha told Emily, who responded with a thumbs-up as she walked away, still wearing the cowboy hat.

Emily walked up to the DJ Booth and wrote down her song of choice, that being RIP Entry by the band Wet Floor. After finishing the request, she was greeted by Ami.

"Hey! Everything all set up?"

She asked. Upon turning toward her, Emily's eyes widened at the sight of her face.

Ami's face had a paler colour with light rosy cheeks. In addition, she had been given eyelash extensions. Her hat had been given to Magnus and Samantha for them to look after.

"W-Woah..."

Emily whispered. She wanted to tell Ami how beautiful she found her to be but she didn't want to throw her off.

"Y-Yeah, it is!"

"Awesome! Shall we get ready? I'm really looking forward to this."

Ami asked. Her gentle voice made Emily feel calm about dancing in front of strangers.

"S-So am I...But there is just one thing you might need to know."

She said. Ami looked at her curiously.

"I-I don't really know how to dance."

Ami stared at her in stun silence. She was in disbelief.

"What?"

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Let the dance-off begin!"

An Octoling host with a massive black curl announced to the crowd as the first couple made their way onto the dance floor.

"Okay, what's the plan?"

Emily asked.

"What song did you pick for us?"

Ami asked, wanting to know so she could think of what dance moves would floor well with it.

"RIP Entry by Wet Floor."

Emily answered. Luckily, Ami was pretty familiar with that song. Emily began to panic.

"It's okay, we'll start there. Just don't panic, okay?"

She said. To calm her down, Ami held both of her hands gently.

Minutes go by and more and more couples do their dance. With Emily and Ami's turn drawing closer and closer, the plan kept expanding. Luckily, they were the last acts so they had the longest time to plan out, however, they can only plan for so long.

Eventually it became their turn to get the party going on the dance floor.

"And for our final act, please welcome to the dance floor: Emily Rogue and Ami Stewart!"

He exclaimed as the crowd started cheering. Ami dashed into the middle as Emily slowly treaded behind her. The two girls nodded at each other before the music began to play.

For the opening guitar riff, Ami led the dance by moving her right leg and left arm forward before doing the opposite arms and legs before spinning. As she was spinning, Emily did the exact same as her. Once the drums kicked in, they began to break dance.

They did all sorts during the dance. For starters, Ami did some risky flips over Emily as she did a windmill, the only dance that she actually knew how to do. Afterwards, Ami quickly helped her friend up onto her feet as the two held hands and skipped around each other in sync with the drum beat. Emily stood still and held Ami's hands tightly as she jumped up and slide between Emily's legs before getting back up. As soon as Ami was back onto her feet, she spun closer to Ami as the music began to reach his climax. At the exact second the song ended, Emily and Ami went into the dip to end the song, with the former of the duo taking off her cowboy hat and covering both of their heads with it.

It was unclear what happened behind that hat but it had the audience gasping and cheering. Both Samantha and Magnus watched with their eyes widened.

"Did they just..."

Magnus whispered in awe.

"I don't know but it sure seems like it..."

Samantha responded just as in awe as he was.

Seconds later, they both exited the dip and Emily put the hat back onto her head as she looked into the cheering crowd.

"Was that last part necessary?"

Ami asked whilst blushing.

"Yup!"

Emily responded, feeling immensely proud of herself, making Ami giggle.

5 M I N U T E S L A T E R . . .

Samantha and Magnus had ed the dance duo next to the dance floor as the host announced the results.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the results are in!"

He announced, grabbing everyone's attention.

"The winner is...Emily and Ami by a long shot!"

The four of them immediately cheered to themselves and the group hugged as the crowd cheered them on.

"Yeah! Team Splat Force for the win!"

Emily accidentally screamed out in excitement.

Within seconds the entire pub went silent and glared at them. The pub manager pushed his way through the crowd with a taser on hand. He noticed Magnus' unusually big arms and decided to explore them further.

"You! Take off that jacket! I want to see those arms in person."

The short purple-haired Octoling demanded.

None of the Splat Force had their weapons on them, otherwise, they would've never been able to enter due to the guidelines. The only thing they could do now is comply with the Manager. Magnus removed his green jacket and revealed his red Splat Force gear, causing confusion and anger within the crowd. At the back of the room, a staff member flipped open a switch, giving him access to a dark blue button. He pressed it without a second thought.

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

In the centre of Inkopolis City was a pitch-black skyscraper with dark grey tinted windows, known to many as the Watchtower. The Watchtower tower kept track of any activity within the city. Whether it be small ally fights or store robberies, those who worked there knew of it all.

At the very top of the building was an isolated black room that was lit up by a large computer which showed cameras from across the city. A group of five men worked from inside, monitoring every corner of the city. Everything seemed normal to them, until...

B E E P , B E E P , B E E P ! ! !

A loud alarm echoed around the room, alongside a flashing blue light. Each of the men looked through the computer to see where the alarm was coming from, eventually finding the Octo-Marine pub and seeing the Splat Force surrounded in the building. One of the men opened a hatch which held a dark red button. Without a second thought, the button was pressed.

Seconds later, a flame ring opened from behind the men on the other side of the room. On the other side was Bolton who stood alone in a dark room. The light from the flame ring made his silhouette visible to the men.

"What is it?"

"The Splat Force have been located, my lord."

One of the men informed.

Bolton remained where he was but stared at the screen. Yes, it was the Splat Force, but to him, it meant very little.

"They aren't worth my time."

"My lord, with all due respect, if we just leave them then-"

Another man spoke out, worried.

"I never said I was going to leave them."

He interrupted, intimating the one who spoke out.

"What's not worthy for my standards could be worthy for another."

The room remained silent as they awaited what Bolton would say next, hoping that he had a plan to take care of them. Luckily, he did.

"I know exactly who could take care of them. He's been hungry for quite a while..."

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

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

C H O M P ! ! !

S L A S H ! ! !

Bruce Hammerhead cut down and devoured the group of Jellyfish submariners who had ed his land by the swamp. All of the small men and women in tiny dark navy blue jackets and hats each met their maker one by one. Their weapons did little to nothing against the Shark's tough skin.

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

S L A S H , S L A S H ! ! !

Using his sharp fins, Bruce sliced up the Jellyfish before devouring their tentacles and moving on to the rest of what remained of their bodies. Fortunately for him, all of the Jellyfish was now bitten up inside of his belly. Unfortunately for him, all of the food was now gone.

As a flame ring opened from behind him, Bruce pouted and went into a strop as he sat down.

"Hungry?"

Bolton called out from behind. In an instant, Bruce turned his whole body around. He couldn't see clearly in the dark but he faintly managed to make out Bolton's silhouette from the flame ring's firey light.

"You have attention!"

Bruce yelled with an excited smile on his face before licking his chops.

"I have a task for you, Bruce. Your reward is the feast of a lifetime."

Bolton told him, convincing Bruce with ease.

"I'm interested! What is task?"

Bruce asked as he approached Bolton slowly as he fantasised about what the feast could be.

"I'll fill you in..."

Bolton responded as the two walked through the closing flame ring.

B A C K A T O C T O - M A R I N E . . .

"W-What did that button do?"

Emily asked worryingly.

"Emperor Bolton will soon have word of your presence."

The Manager told them, sending them into a state of panic.

"Oh no, no, no!"

Emily silently panicked.

"What do we do?!"

"Don't worry, I have an idea!"

Magnus assured her before looking over to the front entrance of the place.

"There he is, it's Bolton!"

All of the pub residents fell for Magnus' trick, due to how lightheaded they had become from all the drinks that they had downed. Whilst the moment was still there, Magnus grabbed a nearby drink and poured it all over one of the drinker's head and rushed back into his position.

"Magnus, what the f-"

Samantha exclaimed frighteningly before being interrupted by Magnus telling her to shush.

"Hey, what was that for?!"

The resident yelled to the man next to him, not taking notice of the direction in which the drink had hit him.

The man to his right looked back at him, confused.

"Did what?! I didn't do-"

S L A M ! ! !

The soaked drinker attacked the man, sending him flying into a crowd of people, starting a chain reaction of fights that spread throughout the bar.

"Now's our chance!"

Magnus told them before going into his Octo form. As the other three went into their Squid forms, Magnus led the way out of the pub towards the front door as the staff tried to sort out the massive fights.

As soon as they were outside, Samantha closed the door after everyone went back into their respective forms. Unfortunately, they weren't able to grab Emily's clothes in time, meaning she had to sleep in her casual clothes instead of her pyjamas. To make up for it, she now had a cowboy hat.

"Magnus, I don't know what you did, but that was brilliant!"

Samantha exclaimed with pride as the four of them began to run away from the pub.

"Thanks! It was easy to come up with! All I had to do was anger the drunk people and blame them on themselves and then boom! Massive fight!"

He explained, impressing his peers.

Emily laughed hysterically at the plan.

"It's so stupid, that plan! But it worked! We are bound to be ok-"

S L A M ! ! !

All four of them stood still and turned around, instantly going into panic mode yet again. Bruce Hammerhead had landed behind them.

"O-Okay, that is a big Shark!"

Emily yelled.

The Shark looked at the four of them and licked his chops. He let out a mighty roar, one that echoed throughout the city, before he prepared for his attack.

"So many snacks, so much time!"

He muttered out loud as the Splat Force prepared their great escape.

"This is gonna be the feast of a lifetime!"

"Go, I'll take care of this!"

Samantha yelled to her peers. As Magnus and Emily ran away, Ami stayed behind.

"You too, Ami!"

Ami shook her head and glanced back to the Shark who now made his move. As he dashed towards the sisters, they both leapt onto his back and started to ride him like a horse. They each began to pull back against his back fins like a dog and its lead.

"Ami, I told you to go!"

Samantha yelled at her.

"You can't take this brute alone! I have to help in some way!"

Ami yelled back.

Knowing that now wasn't the time to argue over it, Samantha went with it.

"Okay, we need to slow him down. Pull him as hard as you can!"

She ordered. They both pulled back, but it was no use.

Magnus and Emily was super jumping none stop to escape Bruce, but he kept going and didn't stop, causing them to grow tired. They were approaching the Splat Force warehouse when they both collapsed out of exhaustion. As he caught up to them, Bruce stopped running to throw Ami and Samantha off him, throwing them into the pile.

He took a moment to look at his feast and smirked. He stamped his right foot on the ground like a hostile bull and prepared for his next attack until all of a sudden, he felt a warmth hitting his back. He turned around in a flash and saw someone blasting fireballs at his back.

He couldn't make out what species they were, as they wore a torn, burnt hoodie, the hood went over their face, and the only thing he could take in was their fire gifts. However, the fire was only a distraction. Leaping up from behind them was another hooded figure who somersaulted over him, throwing Suction Bombs all over his body, front and back. Before Bruce knew what was happening...

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 mass amount of explosions knocked the great shark unconscious but didn't kill him, it would take so much more to take out someone with skin as tough as his. After Bruce went down, the two hooded figures approached the Splat Force, all of which were shocked at how they took down Bruce with ease.

"You four shouldn't be out here, get inside as soon as possible."

They told him. The one who spoke had a male-sounding voice, one that sounded familiar to Ami, but she didn't know where it was from.

"We're the Splat Force, we can depend on ourselves!"

Emily told them.

The shorter of the hooded figures moved closer to them. It took a while until they responded. It was as if they were thinking about what Emily said they were.

"If you're the Splat Force then you should take cover. We can't lose heroes through accidents like this."

They said. This time, they had a young, female-sounding voice.

The Splat Force didn't have much to back themselves up. She was right, they couldn't stay out in the open anymore. Samantha got back onto her feet.

"She's right, come on guys!"

She ordered. The Splat Force headed towards the warehouse that was only a few meters away from them. The two hooded figures looked at the warehouse with interest. Who were the hooded figures? Only time will tell...

M E A N W H I L E I N T H E C I T Y . . .

A young couple ran down a back ally in an attempt to escape a chaser. Unfortunately for them, they were cornered. They looked back and saw an Octoling with short yellow hair and a bright red bandana approach them. He wore a padded grey shirt with no sleeves and wore a dark grey pair of shorts. His right shoulder had a money tattoo.

"End of the line now, punks!"

He yelled aggressively as he slowly pulled down his bandana, revealing a crooked, pale mouth.

On a rooftop at a building opposite the back ally, a Splatterscope was aimed directly at the Octoling. However, at the last second, the weapon's aim moved away to avoid taking his life.

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

The weapon opened fired at the ground before him, intimating the Octoling thug, who was caught off guard. He closed his eyes briefly to avoid any dust getting in them. Seconds later, the sound of a super jump was ahead. He opened his eyes and saw a silhouette of an Inkling man. As the dust settled, the Octoling gasped at who the Inkling man was.

Rex Allen was stood ahead of him, and he wasn't messing around. He wore a dark brown jacket over his torn Splat Force gear. He had stubble all across his face and his hair was ever so slightly longer than it was before. On his back was a shield that was held by straps. He slowly got himself into a fighting posture and took in a deep breath.

The Octoling slowly inhaled, the breathing turning into gurgling before throwing up shots of acid. Rex dodged every last one of them using his Squid form to jump over the shots and navigate around them.

"I have his distracted!"

He said over coms, confusing the Octoling thug before him.

"Distracted? I've got you right where I-"

The Octoling glouted before getting hit by a light blue beam. He fell forward face-first onto the ground and groaned. The thug slowly got back onto his feet and looked behind him.

There stood Alyssa Frida, who now wore a black leather jacket over her torn Splat Force gear. There was a visible cut on her left cheek, it looked as if it had happened recently however and was unlikely to scar. Whilst the Thug was distracted by the site of Alyssa, Rex took his chance.

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

The Splat Force Commander uppercut the thug and gave him a strong jab against his jaw, knocking him back. Alyssa tended to the couple, making sure that they were okay.

"Don't worry, you're safe!"

She assured them before glancing back at her husband, who had the thug pinned against the wall.

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

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

"Rex!"

Alyssa called out, ending her husband's violent rage against the thug. Rex looked over to his wife before glancing at the thug one last time before letting him go.

Rex approached the couple with caution after noticing the shook on their face after his outburst against the thug.

"You'll be safe now. Go, before anyone sees us!"

He instructed. Without a second to lose, the couple ran away from the scene. As soon as they were gone. Alyssa looked over to Rex. She was concerned about him and how his behaviour since it all of started. Bolton's reign had changed Rex. Alyssa feared that he had changed for the worse...

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 III: Bolton's Reign! Wow, what an ending! There is still so much more to come folks and I cannot wait to see your reactions to it! Next week's Chapter will be one of the darkest Splat Force Chapters yet, so stay tuned for that! Until next time, stay safe out there! ^^

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