Redemption: A Splat Force Story; Chapter 2

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! Are you all doing okay? If so, your mood is about to be ruined as I bring you the second Chapter of Redemption: A Splat Force Story!

So, you made it through the bloodbath that was the first Chapter, congratulations! You only have nine more Chapters to get through! (plus three bonus content posts, but that's for later). Good luck!

This Chapter is definitely going to slow things down a little, especially so we can all still process what we witnessed a week ago.

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

:warning: WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS STRONG VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, AND SUGGESTIVE REFERENCES. PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION! :warning:

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(Previous Chapter)(Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R  2 : W H E R E E V E R Y B O D Y K N O W S Y O U R N A M E

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

Every light in the cell block was switched on, followed by the sound of groaning from every cell. Led was no exception. He sat up and noticed that Melissa never returned overnight...Weird? She should've been back by now. He wondered what was keeping her occupied.

He opened the back curtain to greet Bruce, only to stumble into an execution. The prisoner was yet again shrieking in fear as he grew closer to his fate. Unlike the previous feast, the Octoling willingly jumped in, only to be gobbled up by Bruce. His body was torn apart and blood splattered in his mouth. His head bounced in Bruce's mouth before getting caught in his teeth and caught.

Prisoners who watched began cheering, Led remained quiet and motionless, years of fighting had made him motionless to blood and guts.

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

Led quickly turned his head to his door as it opened. He walked out slowly and was escorted down the stairs along with every prisoner in the cell block. Whilst walking down, he noticed an old Inkling with light brown, cornrowed hair leaning against the wall at the dark, top left corner, was he waiting for something? All the other prisoners were left confused.

Breakfast had already been served on each table. Led walked to the top left table and sat at the furthest seat, wanting to be as far from the others as possible. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long.

"Hey! Aren't you Led Volteer!"

A buff Octoling asked as his group of four other Octolings stared him down. They each had a half-shaven cut, the same black color, and the same prison clothes.

"Levin!"

Led yelled back, keeping his eyes on his noodles.

Not liking his attitude, the gang leader picked up his pot and tossed it against the wall. Angered, Led jumped onto his feet and slowly walked to the other side, fists clenched. He was now at the top center of the room and all eyes were on him. His gifts, or lack of gifts, were of no use. Instead, he took a deep breath before making his move.

S L A M ! ! !

With all his power, Led punched the buff Octoling in the chest. He did absolutely no damage to him, to even a flinch. The Octoling looked down at Led and chuckled. At that moment, Led began to question every last one of his life choices.

"Oh fuck..."

He muttered.

S L A M ! ! !

One punch to the bridge of his nose caused both a nosebleed and a cut. Suddenly, the entire block began to fight one another as guards came rushing in. During the fight, Led managed to bunch the buff Octoling where the sun didn't shine, finally making him flinch. He smirked as he finally got into the groove, right until-

Z A P ! ! !

In an ironic turn of events, Led was taken out by an electric shock, as were all the other prisoners. Still watching from the second floor, the middle-aged Inkling took notes in his diary before leaving the room.

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

The middle-aged Inkling stood at the prison roof, looking down at every outdoor area, hands behind his back. Bruce's garden, the training area, the benches, the pool, he saw it all, yet nobody down below noticed the man with the charcoal suit standing on the roof.

He heard footsteps coming from his right. He turned his head.

"Any updates on Volteer?"

"He's doing okay, just needed a lie-down."

His assistant replied, pressing against his tiny glasses as his slicked-back hair tried to force its way to move, but failed due to the excessive gel, gel which spilled onto his white lab coat.

"Good. It's strange to believe that he was the most powerful being on this planet, well next to Bolton before his ing, yet he got taken out by his own weapon."

He said with a light chuckle.

"Well, if the General needs him, so be it."

The two old men began to look down into each section, starting with Bruce's garden.

"What can you tell me about the Shark?"

"His name is Bruce."

The Scientist answered. His awkward silence confused his boss

"That's it? That's all you got, Albert?"

The man asked, squinting his eyes.

"Pretty much. All we know is that he served Bolton, and that's it. He doesn't have much of a record other than his name."

Albert said.

"Huh, okay...I feel that something is wrong with his name. He is an ancient Shark, with no known background, who served alongside one of the world's greatest dictators, yet all this time, he's been named Bruce? I'm sorry, that just doesn't add up."

He said before adding another point.

"Also, why didn't they bust him out to begin with? That massacre on the beach wouldn't have happened with him there!"

"The General said he wouldn't fit on the Jet, that and he'd be hard to control since the average IQ of a Shark is significantly lower than that of the average Inkling, and you know how dumb they can get."

Albert said before sidestepping to the right.

"Anyways, shall we continue?"

Both men walked to the right and were now hovering above the pool area.

"Who am I looking at now?"

The businessman asked.

"Three individuals, starting with that Octoling with the weird skin condition."

He said before pointing to an Octoling girl with blue hair and strange green skin. She was crying.

"That girl hasn't stopped crying since she was sent here. From what I heard, she caused the deaths of her parents, but I've had no further elaboration. I just want to know what that skin is about. Do you have any idea?"

The man was puzzled as he stared at the Octoling. He had never seen anyone quite like her before.

"I have no idea. Do you have info on her gifts?"

"Bright lights, and I mean really bright lights. Lights that could blind anyone."

He answered before another question came to mind.

"Didn't you already make those technology gifts?"

"I was told what to make, but they never elaborated."

He briefly explained before pointing at a strange-looking Sea Urchin with yellow quills and bizarrely, two eyes. They were flipping off inmates who walked past.

"What about her?"

"They had the gifts in which they can spit out any type of spikes from their quills. It's quite extraordinary, to be honest."

Albert explained, already confusing his boss.

"They?"

The man asked, unfamiliar with the Sea Urchin's identity.

"Yes, they identify themselves as Non-Binary."

He explained.

Vincent was unsure what to say to that. Of course, he didn't hate anyone who identified as that but as he would say.

"Huh? I'm new to this stuff, I need to look into it."

He muttered, glossing over that point to ask for more.

"Any other details."

"They were born with a birth defect, causing them to have two eyes instead of one, like a Normal Sea Urchin. This wasn't caused by the gifted, it's their genes being ed down from generations. I think we found one of a kind with them!"

Albert explained before moving on to the next one, an Octoling with a long, thin ponytail and tanned skin.

"Diane Feuer, or as everyone down in the lab says: Knock-off Bolton, has the exact same gifts as the gifted dictator, hence the nickname, but without the fighting experience. She mostly spends time hitting on men and making them do-"

"What is she doing?"

The man asked as he saw Diane lead an Inkling lad into the showers with her after flirting.

"She likes getting, what she calls a golden shower."

He muttered, sounding uncomfortable.

His boss squinted his eyes once more and looked at his assistant.

"A golden what?"

"Basically a shower but instead of regular liquid, you are instead getting rinsed by urine."

Albert explained as he went pale, feeling as if he would throw up.

The man scoffed and held his head in his right hand.

"That's fucking disgusting! She needs help, asap!"

He said before coughing. After an awkward silence, the man walked away slowly to the other side of the roof.

"Anyone else I should know about."

"We do have one more. He's got his own personalized place at the medical wing. His name is Carson Drummond, or as everyone in the lab is calling him: Elongate."

Albert answered, making his boss feel interested.

"He's suffering from an incurable disease, a disease that will kill him if not checked up. We've tried offering him medication but he refuses. It's like he wants to die..."

"So, he's Suicidal? Has he tried getting a therapist?"

The boss asked to which the assistant shook his head.

"From process of elimination, based on the weapons I've made, I'm assuming he's the one with rubber, stretchy skin, or was the one."

"Correct! And I think that's all the ones we need."

Albert said as the pair of them began to walk to the roof door ahead of them.

"What do you want us to do, Mr Fisk?"

Vincent Fisk stopped walking and turned his head sideways.

"Bring the team together, we'll leave here sometime in the afternoon."

He said. Albert nodded before Mr Fisk walked through the roof door. A long day of preparations was ahead of them.

3 0 M I N U T E S L A T E R . . .

Led was sat against the doorway of the garden door. Things were quiet for a moment until he heard rustling from outside. He looked out to see the front cage open and Bruce was escorted elsewhere. As the Hammerhead Shark left, the cage was closed, and Led was alone, again.

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

Led jolted at the sudden banging on his front door. He rushed inside and was greeted by the same Jellyfish from the day before.

"General Swannack needs you. It's urgent!"

He said before escorting Led out before he could say a word.

Led was escorted out of his prison block and towards where he had previously been taken. Along the way, he saw two Octolings and a two-eyed Sea Urchin make their way through the same door he had gone by. They each went into a cue, the Octoling with the ponytail first, followed by the Sea Urchin, and then the green-skinned Octoling. One by one, they were all sent through.

Led experienced heavy déjà-vu as he was taken into the open, light grey hallway. The four of them turned the corner towards the General's office before there was a pause as only one of them could enter at a time.

A short minute ed and Led, the green-skinned Octoling and the Sea Urchin waited outside. With the Sea Urchin tapping their foot and the Octoling wiping her eyes. Eventually, the conversation finally struck as the Sea Urchin glanced at the girl.

"Are you crying again?"

They asked. The girl gently nodded.

"Wow! Seeing you across the pool already gave me a clear indication of who you were but man aren't you a pussy!"

The girl moaned loudly as she looked to the ground, getting more emotional.

"I-I-I-I'm o-o-okay..."

She whimpered, getting a light chuckle out of the Sea Urchin.

They glanced at Led and were taken aback by the large, purple scar over his mouth.

"Holy fuck, what happened to you, bud?! Did someone fry you or what?"

Led squinted his eyes at them, remaining quiet to not cause another scene. Thankfully, the ponytail Octoling exited the room and was escorted down the hallway and to the right, into the training grounds. The Sea Urchin was taken into the office, leaving Led with the Octoling.

Led leaned against the wall as he heard her sniffling.

"Hey kid, you okay?"

He asked. At first, he thought it was the Sea Urchin, but then he ed her getting emotional before their interaction.

The girl turned to Led, face wet with tears. She was more uneasy upon looking at his scar. Having a full look at her, Led felt mixed. Sure, he was used to the unusual, but he had never seen an Octoling like her before. Not only was the skin green and the hair blue with green highlights at the ends, but the eyes looked lifeless with black scleras instead of white. The longer he looked at her, the more he felt uneasy.

"I-I'm scared..."

She muttered as more tears fell from her face.

Led was confused as to why she could be scared until he ed the day before and the fact that Melissa still hadn't returned yet. Maybe the supposed team needed extra ammo.

"I'm sure you're gonna be okay-"

"N-NO!"

She suddenly screamed. The sudden increase in volume caused him to jump. He took a tiny step back as the Octoling began to cry harder.

"I-I don't want to be someone's weapon!"

Those words struck a chord with Led. He had no idea what they were being sent off to do, the girl's cries only served to make him more nervous. After about a minute, the Sea Urchin walked out of the room, being escorted by the Jellyfish but was unafraid to pull a prank on the girl.

S L A P ! ! !

They slapped the back of her head, causing her to hold her head crying heavily. In return, they were zapped and escorted out of her sight quickly. The Jellyfish returned and took the girl into the office, leaving Led alone, again.

As the interview with the girl went on, the loneliness started to hit Led like a train. Melissa was all that he could think about. He missed her. Even minutes after she disappeared the day before, he missed her. He wanted to be with her, he wanted to stroke her soft hair and cuddle her. No matter how hard he tried, his mind was set on Melissa.

He thought back to old, peaceful memories between the pair of them: them hanging out at the noodle store she loved; them going on a hike with his family; and even intimate moments between the pair of them at night in his bedroom, moments that filled him with peace and self-assurance. He wanted to feel that. He wanted nothing more than to be in her arms. What was this feeling? Was it love? Surely not?!

The timid Octoling girl was taken out of the office and escorted away. Once the Jellyfish had returned, Led was now the one being taken into the office. Led was sat before the General. The Jellyfish closed the door whilst remaining in the room.

"I already told you my answer, General."

"I know you did, but we're at a time of uncertainty. Something bad has happened to the team and one of our own has been captured by the Acid Squids."

The General said, cutting to the chase. Led focused on the possible bad thing that happened to the team, to Melissa. It lurked in his mind. Was she captured too? Was she taken out? Was she-

"Mr Levin, I know what you want, and believe me I do respect that, but millions, maybe billions are on the line here. With our finest out of the equation, I can only dread what will happen."

"The team...You said about the team having something bad happening to them. Is Melissa with that team? Is she okay?!"

Led asked desperately, only to be hit with a worrying answer.

"You'll be given details later on."

The General answered. There was no response. Suddenly, the General had thought of an idea. He leaned forward.

"How about a new arrangement."

Led tilted his head sideways.

"What do you mean."

"If you help us, and survive, you're be taken to your own private island where you can live out your days away from society."

General Swannack offered.

Led was unable to think straight. That offer had come out of nowhere and it had hit him like a truck. It sounded like everything he ever wanted.

"I-I-"

He whispered, at a loss for words.

"We have already selected a spot for you. You can live out your days alone, not having to worry about any big burdens in your life. All of it will be gone if you can help us out."

The General continued.

"Please, Mr Levin, we need you now more than ever, you might just be our savor. Best of all, you can find the redemption that you have been wanting. Please, one more fight, and then it's over, for good."

Led was conflicted, General Swannack offering his hand made him feel more anxious about it. Was he really telling the truth? Surely he couldn't do it just for one prisoner. And living alone, what about Melissa? Or Bruce? Couldn't they come along too? Finally, he made up his mind.

"Okay, I'll do it. But when all this is done, you better live up to your promise."

He answered, accepting the offer whilst shaking his hand.

"Thank you, Mr Levin. I shall be seeing you soon."

He said with a light smile. It was strange seeing the General smile, though Led had only seen him for who he was on the battlefield.

The Jellyfish escorted Led out of the office, to the right, and into the training grounds, or at least the waiting room. By now, the three others from the line were taking down the training dummys, or at least the first two were. The ponytail Octoling, who now wore a slim, grey dress, burnt hers down in a flame of glory, making Led mildly unnerved.

The Sea Urchin, who wore a transparent dress with fishnets going up to her shorts, had a headpiece on which shot out sharp quills, each with a different side effect, some were fire, others were water, others were poison, it was all random.

And lastly was the mysterious green-skinned Octoling, who now wore a blue prune parashooter. She timidly stood before her dummy, staring at the device in her hands. Led managed to make out mild illuminations from the devices.

As Led watched the three of them, another Jellyfish approached him, holding a small briefcase. Inside was his own suit.

"Feel free to get changed in there."

He said before handing it to Led. The Octoling walked into the cupboard and began to get changed.

Out with his prison clothes and in with his normal, familiar get-up. His Squid Satin Jacket, a brown beanie, long black tros, charcoal boots, and most importantly, his red bandana. Whilst getting dressed, he noticed a small, circular metel device attached to the back of his jacket. He just assumed it was a tracker. He was all set now. Led walked out of the cupboard, his look intimidated some of the Jellyfish, nevertheless, he was taken into the training room where he got looks from the others.

The back door opened and a slim, pale Inkling with short blue, slit-back hair walked out slowly, being assisted by the Jellyfish. His white suit was slim with blue and red lines. Led watched as he made his way to his training dummy after being handed his device at the counter. Unfortunately for him, he pointed his fist directly upwards as it was activated.

S L A M ! ! !

A large fist embiggened from the device and directly hit him in the nose, sending him flying into the air. The Sea Urchin laughed their ass off at him.

"Oh baby boy, are you okay?"

The ponytail Octoling whispered, coming to his need with a cheeky smile. The green-skinned Octoling was frightened and began to cry once again.

Led, having no idea what to think of any of it, was taken into the back room. He was seated and strapped onto a chair in the middle of the square room.

"This should only hurt for a second at most!"

An Octoling nurse with full white clothes from head to toe whispered as she grabbed a needle. She walked to the back of Led and held him down with her left hand, keeping him in place as the injected the back of his neck, putting an explosive into his head. Led didn't feel a thing, he was too confused as to what was even happening.

He was taken out of the back room and walked to the counter. There was only one device left. Led put on the silver gloves on both hands.

"It'll work just as when you had your gifts, just focus."

The Jellyfish said before taking him to his training dummy and finally leaving him alone.

Led looked at both gloves carefully and began to wonder if all of it was just a dream, it should be, right? Techno-Gifts? How would it even work?! Led soon found the answer to the final question as he closed his fist before quickly forcing them open, causing electricity to sparkle. The Jellyfish was right, it was like how it was back then. He pulled his arm back before thrusting it forward at the dummy.

Z A P ! ! !

A lightning bolt shot from his fingertips and blew up the dummy. The sound alone made everyone jump, and the timid Octoling screamed. The Sea Urchin had a grin on their face, now able to recognize properly who it was.

Not long later, two Inklings with navy, camouflage clothing walked in with four separate Jellyfish, alerting the five of them.

"The General wishes to see you all."

One of the Inklings said before taking them each out in a line, with Led being first.

They were all taken to the door at the far left of the waiting room, crossing into the hallway with white and blue walls. When they got to the halfway point, the Inklings stopped and opened a door to the left, and stepped aside, allowing the crew in.

On the other side of the door was a wide square room with seven rows of small, blue chairs, with each row getting higher than the last. The walls were now a blueish grey. At the front of the room was a small wooden stage with a whiteboard. Coming from the ceiling was a microprojector. Opposite the front door was the fire exit. Standing on the stage was General Swannack.

The five of them all took their seats, with Led sitting on the fourth row, the slim Inkling sitting at the far back with the Sea Urchin further down that same row away from him, the green-skinned Octoling sat on the second row and the ponytail Octoling sat on the third row in front of Led, giving him dirty looks.

Now that everyone had been seated, General Swannack began his presentation.

"Thank you all for coming! We are still waiting on the Hammerhead to show up, but I'm sure we'll be able to-"

S M A S H ! ! !

Bruce smashed his way through the fire exit, giving everyone a jump, even the General, who shielded himself with his left arm and right elbow. The green-skinned Octoling screamed but was very quickly put at ease by one of the Inkling soldiers, who stood by in case of a situation with any of them.

Bruce was quickly escorted to the fourth row of seats and sat on the far left-hand side of it. General Swannack looked back at the broken fire exit and sighed.

"Well...Now that everyone has ed, we can now begin. As you've all been told, the insurgance of worldwide power after Bolton Vulcan's death has been a severe problem for Cephalopodkind. Our men are at every corner of the planet trying to help, but we can't reach everywhere, and that's where you come in. The Acid Squids at the Coraldia are about to go to war with the Shark Kingdom, a war they want no part in."

The General explained before the projector showed a photo of the previous team, including Melissa.

"A previous team was sent out yesterday with Sargent Gunn to try and help the Acid Squids. Unfortunately, the team went hostile and turned the Acid Squids against us. Sargent Gunn was captured and the whole team had been wiped."

The photos of every team member went black and white as he said that. Led's heart dropped. He zoned out as the General continued to speak. He couldn't focus on him, Melissa was gone, just like that. He wasn't there for her, and worst of all, every kill he made last year felt worthless now. His eyes teared up and his lips trembled under his mask. He felt his heart race. With Melissa, a part of him had died.

"With the Acid Squids now enemies, our first questions went around whether or not King Salazar would be willing to negotiate for ending the war. However, as Mr Fisk pointed out, King Salazar isn't the type for negotiation."

He contained. The name of the King angered Bruce, causing him to growl. Did they have history? Why would he get mad about it?

"Now, onto you lot, your main goal is to prevent the war from happening, or at least stop any of the two sides from persevering each other. Now, some ground rules for the battlefield: the people who sit with you will be your teammates and you must address each other like so. If any of you go rogue, try to run away, or kill each other, that device that was implanted into your head will be detonated, in the case of Hammerhead, we have Shark-killing weapons, have I made myself clear?"

Four out of the six of them were shocked. That injection that they went through was an explosive being placed in them?! Of course, the green-skinned Octoling cried. Led's mind was still trying to process the loss of Melissa to even take in what was just said, and Bruce had little to worry about due to the injection being unable to pierce his skin.

"Now, I'll call each of your names out, you will then be given a codename of go-by. Some of you will like it, others won't, but that's your set codename and you're just gonna have to deal with it."

He said, sounding mildly frustrated about the whole situation. He was anxious about a repeat of the previous day happening. He began to call out each of their names, starting with the green-skinned Octoling, then the slim Inkling, followed by the ponytail Octoling, then Bruce, then the Sea Urchin, and lastly, Led.

"Shauna May-Deacon, Bright-Light. Carson Drummond, Elongate. Diane Feuer, Flamethrower. Bruce, Hammerhead. Bee Brislen, Razor-Quill. And finally, Led Levin, Volteer."

Led's eyes rolled to the back of their sockets upon hearing his codename. Learning of Melissa's death was hard enough, but his codename being a former name of his, a name he detested was overkill. Bee began to laugh over Shauna's nickname.

"I get this badass name and that whiney bitch gets Bright-Light? Hahaha!"

Shauna moaned as her face sank even more. More tears fell from her eyes.

"Razor-Quill, please keep comments like that to yourself!"

The General exclaimed, causing Bee to lift their hands and gave a funny face. The General sighed, deciding that the meeting had now concluded.

"Your journey will now begin. Please follow our men outside."

Almost everyone followed the men out the front door, Bruce followed his men out of the smashed wall that he had caused. Led was the last to leave. After slowly walking down the stairs, he was stopped by the General.

"I am sorry for your loss, Volteer."

"Levin..."

Led whispered.

The General breathed in, even he was taken aback by Led's cold attitude.

"Look, we're gonna try our best to make sure that Miss Sabrina didn't-"

"You should be glad that I have an explosive planted in me because if I didn't I'd blow that fucking face of yours away..."

Led muttered, glaring into the General's eyes before walking away, and ing his team.

The General knew that Led was serious, he knew what he was like, and with Melissa gone, he now had very little to lose, possibly nothing to lose. To take his mind off it, General Swannack turned his attention to the broken wall. He sighed once more and slapped the side of his left leg.

"Fuck sake..."

He whispered to himself.

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 second Chapter of Redemption: A Splat Force Story! With the new team now assembled, the adventure has begun, for real this time! Get used to this team because we'll be with them for the rest of the adventure, though others may come and go along the way, so be on the lookout! Next week's Chapter will give the spotlight to a certain Shark who has yet to have his own moment in the spotlight, so stay tuned for that! Until next time, stay safe out there! ^^

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