Splat Force: The Gifted; Chapter 19

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! Welcome back to yet another Chapter of Splat Force: The Gifted!

Today we will finally discover the events of Baxter Village and what happened that fateful day.

This Chapter will have a lot of jumping around as it'll focus on both the present, whilst also showing off the past. What both settings will have in common is the fact that both of them have a member of the Evans family running straight into battle.

Without further ado, the show must go on!

(This Chapter has been Remastered)

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

(Previous Chapter)(Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R  1 9 :  B A X T E R  V I L L A G E

The Evans household had several activities going on in the past couple of months. Drift had unfolded a large sheet of paper and placed it on the table in the living room. It was the map of Inkopolis. Sketched-out red crosses were marked on each block, indicating that Drift had already searched there.

Drift finished drawing another cross out before falling back in his seat and holding his head in his hands. It was no use, he wasn't getting anywhere.

Then, all of a sudden, something came to his mind, something he should've realized all along.

"Wait, hold on..."

Drift whispered to himself before quickly dashing to the other side of his living room, picking up his father's old computer.

He switched on the computer and waited for it to load. He got to the lock screen, he knew what the was, he typed in:

'ABBIE'

Drift ed the lock screen and entered the home screen. He opened up the browser and looked up news articles from the past few months.

Upon finding it, he was greeted with various irrelevant stories such as new movie releases, Turf War championship results, new opening restaurants, song releases, and many more. He ignored them and tried looking up stories relating to Bolton.

Many stories showed up, including many about his father's death, to which he scrolled past them in a flash, not wanting to read a single one of them. After many minutes of non-stop scrolling, he found what he was looking for.

News articles about Henry Spence, and his first encounters with the red-haired man. The articles mentioned the Once Great Symbol, the place of their first meeting.

"YES!"

He cheered to himself, happy that he had found a potential hiding spot.

He got up and walked into his bedroom. Drift opened up his cupboard and got out his Splat Force gear, and his Splatterscope. He walked back into the living room and tracked down the location of the Once Great Symbol by looking up the location online. Once done, he ran out of his house, went into his swim form, and super-jumped away.

After a couple of super jumps, he arrived on the outskirts of Inkopolis City, landing in the middle of an empty car park. Drift took out his map once more to have another look at it. The map now had a red circle where the ruins were. Drift now had a path to follow. He put the map away and dashed forward, running into the trees and ing through bushes.

1 6  Y E A R S  A G O . . .

Out in the deep Infantry Forest, on a path next to a small pond of water laid several closed tents. It was eight in the morning and leaves were flying in the chill breeze. One of the tents opened, and out came Commander Frederick Evans.

By now, the rest of the team was all out and ready for the day. All eyes were on Frederick as they waited for their leader to make his great speech.

"It goes without saying that we have only one shot at what we're doing today. If we mess this up, that's it, the war is lost."

He told them, already burying the whole team under a mountain's worth of pressure.

"We need to stay on top of our game. We can't let our guard down for even a single moment. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

The crowd shouted back, ready for whatever battle was coming their way.

"As soon as you put away your tents, toss them aside and start walking, we'll come back for them later. Right now, I don't want any of you falling behind!"

He said aggressively, he started to walk forward once more.

Just like that, the team was now on the move. One of the Rookies ran to try and catch up with Frederick.

"Commander Evans, why can't we just super jump there? It would be a lot quicker."

He asked.

"You mean, super jump into a village packed with the gifted with no plan, purely exposed with no cover? Not to mention they're already expecting us at any point."

Frederick replied to the Rookie, talking sense into him. Awkwardly, the Rookies fell back into his place.

"We are a couple of hours away. Rex and his squad are still lying low, hiding in plain sight.

"You can thank Jamie for that, he's a master at disguise."

Major Henry Spence commented. He turned back to look back at the team behind him.

"Hurry up! We ain't got all day!"

The army started to pick up the pace, walking faster to keep up with their leader. They were on high alert during the journey.

1  H O U R  A N D  3 0  M I N U T E S  L A T E R . . .

For the longest time, all they ever saw was the same old view over and over again, it was quite repetitive actually. Trees, trees, even more trees. Eventually, the walk began to tire them out.

Seeing this, Frederick stopped walking and turned to the team.

"You've got five minutes to rest yourselves. After that, no more rest."

He told them as he laid back against a small log.

"Use this time wisely."

The team took this moment to relax themselves. Some needed rest, others needed food, and some needed to relieve themselves. As the Commander rested to catch his breath, the Majors that were with him were placed in charge of the group temporarily.

Henry kept on watch of one side of the Rookies whilst to other Major kept watch on his side. Henry was approached by one of the Rookies.

"Hey, I just wanted to ask you something, but I don't know if it's the right time."

"We're about to enter a battle where any of us could die, so if you need to ask something, now would be a good time."

Henry told him.

"I-I just wanted to know how you do it, how do you consistently pull off such risky stunts during battles and still make it out alive?"

He asked.

Henry slowly nodded as he thought about the question.

"I think... I just don't think about death. If I die, so be it, but I want to die doing something useful. That's why I do what I do."

"Oh... that makes sense."

The Rookie responded. It didn't help him all that much, but at least he got some sort of answer out of him.

Meanwhile, Frederick rested his eyes. The back of his head was placed against the log. He needed this small rest, he needed all that he could get at that moment. Eventually, those few minutes had gone by.

Henry returned to his Commander.

"The team are just waiting on you now."

He informed.

Frederick opened his eyes and got onto his feet. He nodded at Henry, patting him on the right shoulder.

"Thank you."

He said as he walked to the team. All eyes were back on him once again.

"I hope you're all refreshed because that was your last stop. There is no turning back now, am I clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

The call back was quiet, making Frederick roll his eyes and sigh.

"Am I clear?!"

He repeated louder.

"SIR, YES SIR!"

The Force shouted back, this time louder than how they did last time.

With the small break now being behind them, all that was left now was the rest of the journey.

"Let's go!"

Frederick told them all. He turned and walked forward. The rest of the team followed.

P R E S E N T  D A Y . . .

After a long run, and after encountering nothing but trees and leaves for the past hour, he finally reached the end of the woods. The trip from Inkopolis to the ruins wasn't that far.

Drift sneakily approached the giant ruins, his hair and Splat Force gear, making sure to blend into the dark spots. The sky was dark enough now for there to be more cover.

He eventually got to the entrance to the castle, and without a second thought, he walked through the courtyard, holding his Splatterscope in his hands.

"BOLTON!"

He shouted out, hoping to get his attention, only to get nothing in response. He walked into the ruins, looking down at each end of the hallway. Ultimately, however, He chose to go forward and entered the throne room.

1 6  Y E A R S  A G O . . .

After seeing only green for so long, the team were finally arriving at their long-awaited destination. The team now walked on a pathway that led to the village. The trees all lined up like a wall around the village with four entrances.

"Stay behind me, it's too risky to go alone."

Frederick whispered to the team. He went off the pathway and went into the woods to stay hidden.

Once they were all hidden either inside bushes or behind trees, Frederick reached into his pocket and got out a communication device.

"We're here."

He whispered into it.

It only took a couple of small seconds for there to be a response.

"Commander Evans, we are hiding on the other side, Commander Allen is ready when you are."

He answered.

He put away the device and slowly stood up, facing his team.

"When Commander Allen makes his move, that's when we rush in."

The team all waited patiently for something to happen. The suspense was killing them. Eventually, a Splat Bomb landed in the middle of the village. Before the villagers had enough time to react to the bomb before they had to even notice it...

B O O M ! ! !

"NOW!"

Frederick shouted out as he charged into the village, followed by the Splat Force. As the team made their way into the village, they were greeted by residents of the village, all of whom tried to comfort them. Frederick wasn't having any of it.

"I'm gonna give you one chance, and one chance only. Surrender now."

"Why should we?!"

A villager yelled right before raising her arms. Tight vines ripped out of the ground and started to wrap themselves around the teams' legs.

Frederick grunted as he too felt the tight vines circling his legs. He struggled to get out of it's grip. The vines slowly rose higher and higher. Just as it was about to reach his waist, he barely managed to reach for a Splat Bomb on his utility belt. Once activated, he chucked it at her.

B O O M ! ! !

It blew up in her face, instantly taking her out. With her now out of the picture, the vines became weak and easy to fight through. The team all cut through the vines. Once they were free, the real fight began.

B A N G ,  B A N G ,  B A N G ! ! !

B A N G ,  B A N G ,  B A N G ! ! !

B A N G ,  B A N G ,  B A N G ! ! !

The team charged further into the village, shooting at the now hostile villagers. Those who fought the team gave it their all as they tried to protect their home from the invaders.

Although most fought back, many of the villagers were hiding in their homes, scared to be shut down and either killed or taken away. Hiding didn't help much for a few. Several Ink tanks were slowly entering the village. They were used to both fight back against the bigger threats and take down buildings if necessary.

Frederick ran over to one of the houses and tried to kick down the door, but it was locked.

"Over here!"

He shouted to one of the tank drivers. The tank slowly turned to the roof of the house and opened fire.

B O O M ! ! !

The wall of the house was blown down. Frederick walked in through the wall to see a young Inkling woman helplessly on the floor, the blast injured her. Frederick showed no emotion on his face whatsoever, the woman started to beg for mercy, not that it meant anything to Frederick. He pointed his N-Zap to her chest.

B A N G ,  B A N G ,  B A N G ! ! !

After taking care of business in the house, he ran out and dashed over to the nearest field, just outside of the village, but not in the forest. He managed to gun down several other Gifted villagers on the way there.

As he arrived, he called to Henry Spence, who had managed to fight off a water-controlling Octoling.

"Henry, you know what to do!"

Frederick called out before throwing a device at him. Henry caught it and ran off to the village with it.

Frederick ran back to the fight in the village, however, on the way back he was suddenly blown back by a blast of fire. He got up and turned around to see what it was. It came from an Octoling with red hair in a ponytail, his teeth and fists was clenched together. He let out a roar before charging over and unleashing balls of fire upon the Commander. Frederick managed to dodge them, but only barely, aimed his N-Zap at the fiery opponent and fought back.

B A N G ,  B A N G ,  B A N G ! ! !

As expected by Frederick, the bullets were instantly evaporated by the Octoling's flames, however, just as the final shot was fired, Frederick lunged a Splat Bomb at him. The Octoling tried to stop the incoming blast by shielding himself.

B O O M ! ! !

Although he successfully managed to avoid death, the shield was not strong enough to stop the impact of the blast. He was sent flying back to the middle of the pathway. Frederick approached the Octoling, who got up and barely managed to get a good look at the Commander through his blurry vision. Frederick super jumped in the air, ing him as he went back into his Inkling form just in time to kick him in the back.

S L A M ! ! !

The kick sent him flying forward, landing against a broken stone wall, knocking out the Octoling and ending the fight. Frederick took one last look at his attacker before running off and continuing to carry out the battle.

Meanwhile, Henry was standing at the entrance of the village, looking at his device.

"Alright then..."

He said to himself as he bolted down the pathway spamming the button non-stop.

Each direction he looked whilst running, he saw death and destruction from both ends. He had to stop running as one of the troops was blown back by a blue beam. Upon being clear to run again, he sprinted forward, eventually making it to the end.

"All done boss!"

He said through his communicator. Running over to take out some more gifted villagers.

"Just like the training practice, right Reymond?"

One Rookie said snarkily before being caught off-guard by a very high-pitched screech entering his ears.

"Jeff? Jeff?!"

The other of the two Rookies called out before getting clawed down by a gifted villager with sharp claws as fingers. Another Rookie tried to run up to her, however, he was about to receive a demise that he didn't see coming...

S L A S H ! ! !

A sharp boomerang flew towards the Rookie and decapitated him. The weapon flew back into the hands of a young Octoling man with long blue hair. The Boomerang Man and The Claw Lady stared at each other lovingly before running away to take down more Splat Force .

"Where's Commander Allen?"

Henry asked through his coms.

"He and his team are facing escapees outside of the village."

Frederick answered right before knocking someone with Ice gifts down.

Each side was winning and losing, the Splat Force were losing a lot of their soldiers during the battle, but their loss count was nowhere near as much as the Gifted villagers. However, the body count would soon catastrophically rise for both sides.

Several missiles flew into the area, all locked on to where Henry was running, they each flew to their assigned locations.

B O O M , B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

B O O M , B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

B O O M , B O O M ,  B O O M ! ! !

Several explosions devoured the whole village, wiping out Splat Force soldiers and villagers alike. Everything went quiet, no more gunfire, no more screaming, it was all quiet. As the dust settled, everything came into view. Buildings were destroyed and lives were lost. Luckily, a lot of people from both sides cleared out the way of the missiles before they struck.

Frederick stared at the now blown-away village in shock. He looked around to see who was the closest to him, eventually landing back on Henry.

"Henry, how many lives were just lost?"

"I... I don't know, Commander."

Henry replied. Everyone from both sides of the battle was in complete and utter shock at what had just happened. All the fighting had stopped as both sides of the fight tried to process it.

"I'm going to find Commander Allen. Begin cleaning off the area."

Frederick ordered before running off into the ruined village.

P R E S E N T  D A Y . . .

Drift looked around the throne room. It was dark and empty. No one was home, or so he thought. The door leading into this room shut behind him, giving Drift a small scare.

"Who's there?!"

He shouted out, looking around the room, readying and aiming his Splatterscope.

Drift had no replies from anyone, Drift managed to calm down once more, thinking he was all on his own. Suddenly, the throne room door opened, and in came Jason.

"Hello? Have we met before?"

Drift looked to the door, giving Jason a confused look.

"N-No...? Who are you?"

Jason stood still, hands by his side as he whispered.

"A distraction."

S L A M ! ! !

Fron the shadows of the room, Led managed to sneak up on Drift and sucker-punched the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. He looked to Jason.

"Take him downstairs. I'll let Bolton know."

All of a sudden, Drift's phone began ringing. Led grabbed it and looked at the screen. It was Ami. Led answered the call and placed the phone by his right ear.

"Your friend can't pick up right now."

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 Chapter 19 of Splat Force: The Gifted. So, now we know what happened. Next week is the big one, this is because next week is the series finale. How will it all end for the new force? Find out next week! Stay Fresh! ^^

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

#CuratorReview