Splat Force: The Gifted; Chapter 7

(Another Feature, I'm honoured! ^^)

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad, back once again with yet another Chapter of Splat Force: The Gifted.

The last Chapter left on a cliffhanger, with the proper introduction to Bolton's character. This chapter will also properly introduce another character.

This chapter is a shorter one but an important character is introduced, one who is heavily tied into the plot.

So without further ado, let's get right into it!

(EDIT: I've fixed some SPAG issues and changed some interactions)

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

(Previous Chapter) (Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R 7 : T H E A P P R O A C H

The news was on. It was a different news channel called What's The Freshest.

"Good Morning, this is Whats The Freshest here with the latest stories. We have just received reports that Henry Spence, former Major of the Splat Force, was just found dead in his apartment. This news report came in hours after Spence made his appearance on the Squid Sisters' After Hours show in which he outed the ominous Octoling seen at the Once Great Symbol."

The reporter announced to the world as the show began to show a clip from Henry Spence's interview. After the clip finished, the reporter continued with the story.

"ing us this morning is Spence's next-door neighbor, Maggie Sepia."

An elderly lady slowly walked her way onto the news set. The host got up and shook hands with her before sitting back down on the purple couch.

"Good morning Mrs Sepia, would you like to tell us what happened from your point of view?"

"Well it was eight pm last night when I-I heard shouting coming from next door, This shouting was then followed by what I think was the sounds of gunshots. This lasted for what I think was a good seven seconds until it all went quiet... I decided to investigate what was going on. I tried knocking on the door but nobody answered. I tried again, but nobody answered. I then tried to open the door but it was locked. The only thing I had in mind was to call the ID. When they arrived, they managed to bust open the door. They looked around, everything looked normal as if nothing happened, that was until they found his dead body tucked away in his bed. T-They said the death was caused by what looked like a stab wound, but everything in his body had melted, s-so it must've been a hot knife or something..."

Mrs Sepia commented with a sense of dread in her voice.

"Was he any close to you by any chance?"

The host asked.

Mrs Sepia sighed before answering the question.

"He seemed like a kind gentleman. He helped carry up my shopping, because it's quite hard carrying shopping up several apartment floors, you know? I'm sure everyone on the floor will miss him certainly..."

"I see..."

The host sighed.

"To anyone affected by this loss, please go to our website for ."

Frederick sat on the couch staring at the TV. His face was lifeless and broken. Drift walked into the living room, carrying a plate that had toast on it. He looked at his father, concerned about what was wrong. He sat down next to him

"Dad... are you okay?"

He asks, hoping to find out what is going on.

It took a few seconds, but Frederick quickly snapped out of it.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if you were okay, you seemed worried about something."

Drift explained.

"Oh..."

Frederick whispered before explaining what had just been announced.

"An old friend was murdered last night."

"Man... I'm so sorry..."

Drift whispered, patting his father's back.

"Thanks... he was one of the original six of the Splat Force. He was also the oldest of us. He always carried many burdens with him, many of which came from the Gifted Wars... nonetheless, he was very skilled and a great friend to many."

He explained, feeling devastated that he was now gone.

"He sacrificed himself to do a good deed, to let the world know about this Bolton Vulcan maniac."

Drift didn't say anything else, he knew that his father needed to mourn. He got up from his seat and walked to the kitchen. He put his plate inside the dishwasher. Not long after he got changed into his multicolored Takoroka jacket and brushed his teeth before setting off for school.

"Bye Dad! See you after school!"

Drift called out as he walked out the front door.

Just after Drift left, Frederick turned off the TV and sighed heavily.

"Goodbye..."

He whispered, still trying to process everything.

Frederick got up from his sofa and grabbed a lighter that he found in a drawer. He started lighting up candles that were on top of his fireplace. They lit up like a bonfire. Frederick closed his eyes and sighed, allowing one tear to fall from his eye.

C R E A K . . .

Frederick opened up his eyes as he heard the loud creak coming from behind. He turned around... nobody was there, He thought that he was just hearing things. After all, he was a war veteran who had heard plenty of things in life. He went back to the candles and closed his eyes once more.

C R E A K . . .

"Alright who's there?!"

He called out after hearing the creaking again. Nobody responded.

"Squit..."

He grunted as he left the living room to go investigate the sound.

He entered the hallway and looked to both sides. Despite the sound coming from the hallways, nothing was there. He checked every room in the house to try and find the origin of the sound only to find nothing. Thankfully, it was safe to assume that nobody was inside the house.

Frederick sighed in relief, feeling much more relaxed now that he knew for certain that nobody was inside the home. It was just him, or so he thought...

He walked back into the living room and slammed the door tight shut. He held against the door with all his might, breathing nonstop for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the candle, only to get quite the shock.

"Hey..."

An Octoling woman with long, blue hair greeted.

Frederick jumped back in surprise at this surprise visitor. However, he quickly calmed down after realizing who was standing before him.

"How did you get in?"

"Your window was wide open. Anyone could have gotten in."

She explained, pointing to the wide-open window. Frederick looked to the open window before looking back at the Octoling. The woman wore the Splat Force gear, but it was in the color of her blue hair and she wore a blue scarf to go along with it.

"Why do you need your window open that wide?"

"That's not important... now, why are you here?"

Frederick asked.

"After what happened with Henry... it doesn't feel right saying that..."

She tried to explain, sounding sad just mentioning Henry.

"We just needed to know if you and the others were safe. I've already checked on Barry and Ollie, they were in shock too. Apparently, they even saw him only yesterday..."

"What about Oscar? Or the others?"

Frederick asked.

"I haven't told any of them, yet, but I can imagine they're in shock too."

The Octoling woman informed.

"What about my old friend? Is he okay?"

Frederick asked, referring to a very specific individual.

The Octoling nodded.

"He's safe at home, though he is in just as much shock as everyone else..."

She informed before getting down to the chase.

"I'm also here because it won't be long until Bolton makes his next move. Whatever that might be, whoever he may target, we need to be ready for him."

"Who even is Bolton?!"

He asked, sounding spooked. Normally, names wouldn't shake him up all that much, but under these circumstances, the pressure was irritating.

"Bolton is that red-haired man from the news, he was a resident of Baxter Village before the Splat Force attacked. He's the same person who killed Jamie, Chester, and many others..."

She explained to him.

Frederick looked down at the ground as he thought back to what happened with all those men. Suddenly, it all clicked together.

"Please, I don't want to do this right now..."

"Frederick, I know things have been difficult for you and your Drift, I'm deeply sorry about what happened with Abbie, I can't imagine what that must've been like..."

She sighed.

"Thanks..."

He uttered.

"Don't you think she'd want you to step back out there and fight for Henry? For Jamie? For Chester? For-"

"I can't! Jamie, Chester, Henry, all those brave, innocent men weren't enough to stop him? How could we ever stand a chance?!"

The jaded Splat Force Commander asked.

The woman frowned at him.

"I'm not saying we would win, but if more of us are against him then the odds of taking him down could increase."

She said to him. To Frederick, her optimism had blinded her from the reality of the situation.

"That's what we all thought when we sent Chester and twenty-five Rookies after him, but look what happened there!"

He exclaimed, getting more stressed by the second

"But we know what to expect this time, we have to-"

She exclaimed before being cut off.

"It won't work!"

He snapped, yelling at her. The two of them went quiet, the only sound heard was Frederick panting slowly. He cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry... it's all been so much for me to take in..."

"It's okay. I know what you're feeling. I'm sorry for coming at you with this."

She whispered with a frown on her face.

"It's alright... what are you going to do now?"

"Help out the best I can, because the best I can is good enough. I'm gonna make sure that everyone else is safe and well."

The woman said before grabbing a small note from her belt and handing it to Frederick.

"If you need me for anything, even if it's just to talk, feel free to call me."

Frederick took the note from her and looked at the phone number on it.

"Thanks..."

"No problem."

She said to him before making her way to the living room door. As she reached the door frame, she stopped and tilted her head back.

"Stay safe out there for us, okay?"

"I will... tell my old friend that I said hi, okay?"

Frederick responded.

The Octoling woman nodded before exiting the house, leaving Frederick to himself. He closed his eyes and began thinking about everything that had been going on. He sighed and facepalmed. He needed time to process everything.

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

The trio had just finished Biology class, a lesson in which they were learning more about the Inkling anatomy.

"So all we've gathered from that lesson was that everything inside us is made from Ink... that is pretty weird the think about."

Ami sighed, feeling immensely disturbed.

Drift patted Ami's back and chuckled.

"Not everything, just some of the essential things."

He assured her before letting out a quick chuckle.

"Your reaction to this will never beat your reaction to pu-"

"Yeah I know!"

She said, quickly cutting him off.

"You threw up in the lesson! It was so funny!"

"Yeah! Funny for you, Drift!"

Ami replied, punching his arm. To Drift, the punches felt like light messages.

"So... you still up for the mall trip after school?"

Drift asked, changing the subject.

"Of course! I'll have to check in with some of the others first!"

She agreed with a wide smile. Ami was always giddy when the gang got together after school.

"Alright then! Let me know what the others say, I'm just getting a Hot Dog!"

Drift said as he began walking to the canteen.

"Okay!"

Ami said as she playfully waved goodbye to Drift. She made her way down to her group area and met up with the others.

"Hey guys!"

"Sup Ami!"

Zane greeted

"Drift wanted me to ask you if you guys are still able to hang around at the mall after school?"

Ami asked, sounding excited about the idea.

"Sorry broski, but I have a very long recording session at the studio. I can't!"

T-Dawg said.

"Yeah, sure you do!"

Ivy whispered with a nudge to his elbow before turning to Ami.

"Sorry Ami, I have homework..."

"Same here!"

Kris told her.

"Ah okay, don't worry about it. What about you, Zane?"

"I'm up for it, Ami!"

Zane said. With Zane's acceptance, half the group was now able to make the cut.

"I have nothing to do this afternoon. Besides, my parents aren't home till much later. So I think I'll be able to come."

Ami became overjoyed and hugged Zane's arm. Despite Ami hugging him after the afternoon at his place, Zane was taken aback by Ami's excited demeanor, still not fully used to her positive energy.

"Uh, Ami? What are you doing?"

Ami quickly pulled away from the arm hug and scratched the back of her head.

"Oh sorry, I just get excited easily, haha!"

Zane gently laughed with her before moving on to dire details.

"So, where are we going to meet?"

"Me and Drift haven't discussed this yet. Hopefully, he'll tell me in Inklish."

Ami said, sounding even more excited about the afternoon out.

Zane nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

"Alright then. I can't wait!"

"Yeah! We'll probably have to stay in the main areas because those are the safer and more secure areas. Lots of people might be there because of what happened last night."

Ami explained, knowing that the citizens could be going mad.

"They all want to be at a place of escapism. I don't blame them. Maybe that's why Drift is keen on having this afternoon out."

Zane nodded.

"Yeah, definitely! Plus, if this Bolton guy is trying to stay anonymous, then why would he go into a crowded, public place? Especially after what happened last night."

"Exactly!"

Ami exclaimed, happy that Zane knew where she was coming from.

"Well I don't think I'm in any of your next classes, so I'll see you at the very end of the day!"

Zane said as he and Ami started walking toward their separate classes. Zane had a gut feeling that the afternoon was gonna be a good one, maybe even a great one. He couldn't wait.

T O B E C O N T I N U E D . . .

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

T H X F O R R E A D I N G ! ! !

Thx for reading this chapter of Splat Force: The Gifted. So as of now, most of the main characters have now had a proper introduction. We still have one character to introduce but he won't be introduced until the second half of the story. He'll be the last piece of this puzzle. Until then, have a great day! ^^

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

#CuratorReview