Redemption: A Splat Force Story; Chapter 5

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! I hope you are all doing great today! To make your day better, or worse depending on how you handle injury detail and violence, here is another Chapter of Redemption: A Splat Force Story!

Last week's Chapter ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, featuring the return of someone from the first group. My question to you all is: did you all really think I'd do that to her? Sure, I've had habits of killing off major characters in the past but did you really think I'd kill them off that early? Let alone in the first Chapter?

Joking aside, I think that character's "death" made the story quite divisive in the gossip area, and to be honest, that was the exact reaction I wanted.

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

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

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(Previous Chapter)(Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R  5 : P O I N T O F K N O W R E T U R N

3 N I G H T S A G O . . .

Melissa laid on the sand, out cold. She had been gone for a whole day. Her eyes were sealed shut. All she felt was a cold, gentle breeze rush through her. At last, she finally woke up. She gasped for air and immediately grunted from the burning pain in her chest.

She sat up slowly, still holding onto her chest, panting. Simply sitting up cost her an unusual amount of energy. She looked down at the bullet hole in her clothes and wondered how she was possibly able to survive such an attack.

It took it her all but after one minute, she stood up. Melissa walked around the large rock that she hid behind before she was hit. Her eyes widened and her feet trembled as she saw the aftermath of the carnage that unfolded.

The entire team had been wiped out. The clothes of the Red Nightmare still floated by the shore, Laser had a massive hole in his face, as did Weapon Forger. Boomerang-Man and Claw-Girl's sliced-up body parts were scattered across the beach. Muscle-Man's cut-up body was scattered by the trees. Sparkler's torso and head faced the sky whilst lying in a pool of her own blood.

The last, and worst of the lot, was Magnet, his head was completely gone. His clothes were stained with his blood and worst of all, his eyes rested on top of his dead body, staring directly at Melissa.

Disgusted by the sight, Melissa vomited right next to his body non-stop for almost a minute. After finishing, she wiped the vomit stains off her mouth and the runny snot off her nose.

Melissa began to wonder whether or not anyone would come and get her, or if they thought she was dead and wouldn't bother. Then more questions came up about the Acid Squids and the Shark Kingdom. Who would take care of them? As fate would have it, she heard echoes.

"Shut the fuck up or I'll blow that smug face of yours into smithereens!"

Led shouted in the distance.

Melissa instantly recognized his voice.

"Led?"

She whispered. On one hand, she was happy that he was close to her. On the other hand, she was horrified that Led might end up like her, or even worse. The shouting continued.

"GO ON THEN! ZAP ME, BITCH BOY!"

"OH I WILL, YOU COCKY PIECE OF SQUIT!"

"GO ON!"

"I CAN'T BECAUSE WE HAVE A FUCKING MISSION TO COMPLETE!"

"Can you two just cut it out!"

"STOP SHOUTING AT ME THEN!"

"WHAT?! YOU'RE SHOUTING AT ME RIGHT NOW!"

"GUYS! Stop it right now!"

"I'LL STOP ONCE THIS SMALL ASSHOLE STOPS BEING A BITCH TO EVERYONE!"

"BITCH! OH THAT DOES IT!"

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

The three gunshots silenced the screaming among the two fighters. They also frightened Melissa. Horrible thoughts went through her head at that moment. Had Led been shot? Was he dead?

She began to rush over to where she heard all the shouting and gunfire come from. Along the way, she progressively became dizzier and dizzier. Her vision became blurry and her legs trembled. She tripped over and fell into a bush before ing out.

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

Having no idea how long she was out exactly, she knew that it must've been a while since it was now morning. She climbed back out of the bush and began limping towards where the sounds from last night came from. All she could hear were random names being shouted out, names with hardly any significance.

She caught up to the team just as they had begun to move out. Melissa let out a strong sigh of relief upon seeing Led still standing and breathing. That was one worry off her shoulders. In addition, she was quick to notice that Bruce was also there with the team.

"Bruce too?"

She whispered to herself. Melissa began to think of all the possible outcomes on why the General would allow Bruce into the mission, considering his species.

However, the more she brainstormed, the bigger the gap between her and the team became. She considered the possibility that they had come to rescue Sargent Gunn. Very quickly, she followed behind them, making sure to stay hidden for the time being to not be seen as a threat by the others.

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

Throughout the journey, she followed the team, making sure to stay clear of them. Unfortunately, just like the rest of the team, she had to get through hours and hours on end of Bee shouting random names. She hated it.

Eventually both she and the team reached the camp. By the time she arrived, the attack had already started. Mr. Fisk had killed the Acid Squid on the left, with Led and Diane taking out the two on the right. Melissa arrived just in time to see Led commit the murder. She was stunned.

As Led, Diane and Bee went forward, Mr. Fisk stayed behind with Shauna and Carson as he took out a few Acid Squids using his shotgun from a large range. The blood and brain splatters and the body horrors committed by them almost made Melissa throw up.

As soon as the entrance was clear for her, Melissa jumped down and crossed over to the left side of the village, still hiding within the bushes and trees. She caught up to the team in the middle and silently watched as Diane was lit ablaze and stupidly put herself out by dunking her head in the Acid Barrel.

At the same time, Bruce had gone from hut to hut, devouring all of the Acid Squids inside. He leaped out of the last hut and ed the team in the middle, ripping up some of the Acid Squids and gobbling them out. Melissa watched as the team progressed, moving around in the bushes at the same speed that they were moving.

Throughout the massacre, she had managed to keep it together and not throw up, or at least that was until Mr. Fisk's sandwich trick. He shot a remote explosive into the sandwich and as soon as the Acid Squid had gobbled it up.

B O O M ! ! !

His chest blew up and guts poured out the Acid Squid like a waterfall, alongside the ocean of blood that popped out of him. That sight alone was the final straw for Melissa. She gagged and vomited into the bush.

As Melissa pulled herself back together, she was instantly jumped by the distant sound of the watch tower getting obliterated by Carson. Shortly afterward, the team reached the cabin and stood outside whilst speaking to those inside. She had no idea what they were saying but judging from their almost calm demeanor, she knew that they had just found the good Sargent.

Not long after, everyone walked into the camp alongside Sargent Gunn and three Acid Squids who weren't hostile.

"Wilden, jullie allemaal!"

One of the Acid Squids yelled as she and her comrades looked around the broken camp.

"I am so sorry about their actions!"

Sargent Gunn told her.

"They had no idea you weren't hostile."

As all the apologies began to roll in, Melissa limped over to the cabin, holding onto her chest as the burning pain came back. Once inside, she accidentally knocked something over due to her uneasiness, alerting everyone. As everyone stormed in, a light was flashed at her, revealing herself to the team, more specifically to Led.

P R E S E N T D A Y . . .

Only Led, Melissa and Mr. Fisk were in the cabin. Melissa had her top clothes off, both shirt and bra. Mr. Fisk moved both of her breasts apart from each other so he could go in and try to get the bullet out of her chest. Led stayed by her, holding her hand.

"How are you still alive?"

He asked. Judging by his voice, Melissa knew that he was still in shock.

"I-I don't know. One second I was out on the ground, seeing bright lights, and the next second I was back in reality, it was weird."

She answered, trying to think back to that night.

"I looked around when I got up and...All those bodies."

"I heard the entire team was wiped."

Led responded.

"Y-Yeah...I saw all those people die and for what? I-It feels like everywhere I go there are just bodies and I-I-"

She uttered. Their lifeless bodies flashed in her mind, making her eyes watery.

"It's horrific..."

Knowing his past experience with bodies, considering his body count, Led felt Melissa's pain.

"I wish I didn't turn down that first offer. I wish I had gone instead..."

"But you would've died?!"

Melissa replied, raising her voice in concern for her friend.

"And? At least you would've been okay."

He said in response, showing a lack of concern for his own life.

"Unlike me, you didn't deserve to be thrown out into that massacre. You're good at heart, you actually care for those around you. I'm not any of those things..."

His word's made Melissa frown.

"D-Don't say that, Led. It's not-"

"True? I killed my own parents, Mel!"

He muttered, raising his voice slightly.

"I've taken over a thousand innocent lives last year, for what? If I had come out here instead of you, at least I would've gotten what I deserve..."

The pair of them remained silent, with Led now looking away from Melissa, feeling afraid to look her in the eye, afraid of what she would say. Their silence allowed Mr. Fisk, who had kept silent to let the pair speak, to focus better.

After successfully pulling out the bullet, he cleaned up her chest, wiping the blood off the side of her breasts before patching up the hole in her chest.

"Make sure not to mess with that. At the earliest, it should take a few weeks to about a month to heal, at the latest, a year or two, well that's assuming you make it out the mission alive."

Mr. Fisk informed before going into details of her possible reason for survival.

"You're lucky to even be alive right now. If you were just a couple of inches to your right, it would've your heart and you'd be dead. How you survived such an attack is something even I don't know about, maybe it got caught in something and that's what stopped it? I'm not too sure."

"What happens to me now?"

Melissa asked, sitting on Mr. Fisk's comment on making out of the mission alive.

"Well, judging by the fact that you still have a bomb in your head, and also that you're stuck on the island, you basically have no choice but to stick with us. We'll make sure to look after you so we don't break this guy again."

Mr. Fisk explained before pointing to Led mid-sentence, making his eyes roll.

"I'm hoping that the General had put you back on the system again."

Mr. Fisk checked his smart watch and opened up the team page. He was correct, Melissa's headshot was on the system again. He activated, and just as quickly deactivated the bomb to test if her bomb still worked, which it did, scaring the daylights out of both Led and Melissa.

"Sorry about that scare, just had to see if it worked."

He assured the pair of them.

"When you're ready, the team outside and we'll get going."

Mr. Fisk walked out of the cabin through the front entrance, leaving the pair of them alone. Led helped Melissa back onto her feet and carefully escorted her to the front entrance. Unknown to them, Bee had been standing at the back entrance during their entire conversation. They had heard everything, even the details regarding Led's family. Their eyes were wide and they had a grin on their face now that they had more material to use against Led. They quickly ran to the rest of the team before both Led and Melissa walked out.

"Everything sorted, Vince?"

Sargent Gunn asked as the team all gathered in the middle.

"Yup, she's gonna be okay, we just need to look out for her."

He replied.

"We're low on numbers but I think we could handle things. Do you know if anyone in the village had knowledge regarding the Sharks?"

"Well, almost everyone is dead, thanks to you lot!"

He replied, shooting back at Mr. Fisk and his team. He stopped speaking as a thought came to his mind.

"The bunker! I know others are alive down there!"

Alongside what remained of the Acid Squid camp, both Mr. Fisk and Sargent Gunn were taken to the back of the village, leaving the team on their own. At the back was a small manhole. They each went into their respective swim forms, dropping down into a singular, rectangular room going straight forward with four cells to the right.

The Acid Squids whispered into Sargent Gunn's ear, telling him if they knew anything. The first three weren't successful, but the fourth was.

"Oh! That one knows something!"

Sargent Gunn alerted, pointing to the Acid Squid man inside. One of the Acid Squids began mumbling as he opened up the door, allowing them access to the room.

"Deze man was de laatste van zijn squadron. Hij vocht aan de frontlinies, maar was de enige die naar huis terugkeerde."

The Acid Squid informed the pair of them.

Just like his friend, Mr. Fisk knew the Acid Squid language. He knew it better than Sargent Gunn.

"Wait, the front lines? Only one to return home? Why the fuck is he locked up then?! He needs to get out there and fight!"

"Hij werd opgesloten voor seksuele manipulatie van de jongeren."

The same Acid Squid explained. The explanation given awoken rage within Mr. Fisk, who stormed towards the Acid Squid, pinned against the wall, lined up the shotgun to his chin, and without hesitation...

B A N G ! ! !

The shot was so strong that his face exploded, opening up like a door. Mr. Fisk grunted from the blood that splattered on his face, quickly wiping off the Acid before any serious damage could be done.

"Vince!"

Sargent Gunn yelled. Before he could run over to get him, Mr. Fisk exited the room.

He looked directly into the eyes of the Acid Squid, who was intimated by his sudden snapping.

"Next time you have a child manipulator in your ranks, do the whole world a favor and execute him immediately!"

He shouted, intimidating both the Acid Squids and Sargent Gunn before storming out, disappointed in their seeming lack of discipline for criminals.

Back with the group, everyone circled Diane's dead body. Shauna looked frightened over the disfigurement of her face. Carson stared emotionlessly. Led squinted one of his eyes and Melissa frowned upon getting to see her, and Bruce stared down at her, not saying anything.

"I'm sorry for your loss..."

Melissa whispered before being taken aback by Bee scoffing.

"To be honest, none of us really liked her, she was a slut."

They committed.

"Besides, at least we got you, though I'll be honest you don't seem like much."

"Honestly Mel, it's best if you just ignore them."

Led whispered in her ear.

Bee overlooked Led's whispering and knew that he was on about them.

"What was that?"

Before Bee had the chance to make things heated, Mr. Fisk and Sargent Gunn ed the rest of the team, with the former having cooled down.

"Listen, everyone, we have to go now, we can't waste any more time here, understood? What happened with Flamethrower really sucks, and-"

Mr. Fisk announced before getting interrupted by Bruce kicking the barrel into the water, tearing apart what remained of Diane's body. Mr. Fisk looked at the barrel and then slowly back and Bruce. He was tired, very tired.

"Okay, let's go!"

As the whole team began to walk out of the village, one of the Acid Squids followed behind.

"Wacht! ik weet waar je heen moet!"

She called out to the group. Mr. Fisk raised his head, offering her the chance to speak.

"Een paar kilometer verderop is een dorp. Je kunt het vinden nadat je de weg hebt gevonden. het is echter gevaarlijk!"

"A village we can get to by finding a road...Well, that's something."

Mr. Fisk whispered under his breath.

"What do you think, Jacob? You know these people?"

"Well, Alida was the one who healed me and kept me safe. I think she's safe to come with us, for now."

He answered.

"Alida..."

Mr. Fisk muttered to himself before sighing. To his dismay, he now knew the name of one of the enemies, one who he had originally planned on cutting ties with. However, he knew Jacob Gunn too well to just turn him down like that.

"Alright, she can tag along, but I can't promise you that she won't be punished if she crosses us."

"I know that. Thank you, Vince!"

Sargent Gunn praised, happy to have Alida show the Acid Squids in a brighter light than what was previously shone.

"Let's move out, now!"

As the team began to walk away from the campsite, Bee caught up to Mr. Fisk.

"So, what about-"

"Oh don't you start!"

He yelled, stopping them before any other random names got shouted out.

M E A N W H I L E A T T H E S H A R K K I N G D O M . . .

Two Orcas entered the throne room. They stood in the center and looked up to their king.

"We bring warning."

One Orca said before explaining.

"Acid Squid are coming to Shark Kingdom. They were seen on horizon."

King Salazar sat there, stroking his chin as he hummed to himself.

"How many?"

"We not know. The number increase every time we look."

The second Orca answered whilst shaking their head.

"If they come close you fight back."

The King ordered, leaning forward.

"Yes, your majesty!"

Both of the Orcas replied before leaving the King hum aggressively to himself, alone.

B A C K W I T H T H E T E A M . . .

By now, the team was far from the camp, with Alida leading the way with Sargent Gunn and Mr. Fisk behind her. The rest of the team followed behind.

"And so my gifts can be a random selection of things, you never know what could be in store for my enemies!"

Bee explained to Melissa. By now, she had already learned about Shauna's gifts, as well as Bee's. Led needed no introduction to her. All that was left was Carson, who seemed uneasy when called out.

"So big hands, want to tell us about your gifts?"

"Uh..."

He muttered.

"Oh come on! We explained all of ours, it's only fair if you do the same!"

They replied. Carson froze. The rest of the team gave him some space to tell the story, including Bee who did the same so he could talk. Noticing this, the two leaders, plus their Acid Squid comrade stopped and turned to Carson. All eyes were on him.

Feeling defeated and knowing that the only way out was through telling them all, Carson sighed.

"My gifts were like a rubber band, well it made me like a rubber band. I used to be able to stretch out any part of my body whether it be an arm, a leg, my torso, and even my dick. It was really weird."

He explained whilst going into unnecessary long details.

"Weird, I heard about a case like that during Bolton's reign."

Sargent Gunn thought out loud.

"I had only got my gifts last year, not long after my diagnosis, so I didn't have long with them, hell I wouldn't have had much time if I never got cured."

He continued, raising more questions within the team, some were questions too personal to ask.

"How old are you?"

Melissa asked.

"I'm twenty-three, well just turned twenty-three around fifteen days ago, I think."

He answered.

"I was twenty-one when they activated."

"Weird, that's an unusually long wait than what some of the others had theirs activated."

Mr. Fisk commented. Of course, he knew that fourteen was the minimum age, but from what he knew, most of the gifted had theirs activated during their late teens.

"Elongate, by any chance did you go to Pulpo City sometime in June of last year?"

The good Sargent asked to attempt to put Carson together with another piece of a puzzle.

Carson's eyes grew wider as he thought back to that night.

"Y-Yes..."

1 Y E A R A G O . . .

It had been eight months since the beginning of Bolton's reign. Pulpo City, the once small, yet peaceful brick city, had been decimated. Every building had been taken down, every life within the city had been taken and bodies were littered across the roads. It was a ghost town.

Carson ran past the old Curry Dojo and into the car park to try and escape the two R.A.I.C soldiers that ran after him. At the car park entrance, he slipped on a burnt brick and fell forward, smashing his face on the road and breaking his nose.

The two soldiers had caught up to him, aiming their weapons at him.

"Stay down, kid! Let's not escalate things further!"

By then, Carson was inexperienced and could not shapeshift at will, it only came under matters of stress. Unfortunately, for the soldiers, it was a matter of stress.

Carson's torso began to elongate and stretch all around the soldier's body. Unfortunately for the soldier, Carson went too far up and began to strangle him. Not even ten seconds later, the guard's face had gone purple and he was gasping for air.

"I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY!"

Carson cried over and over again, but he couldn't stop. Eventually, the grip got too tight and the soldier's head couldn't take it anymore...

P O P ! ! !

The entire head popped like a balloon, covering Carson's face with strains of blood. Parts of the soldier's mushy brain was splattered into his hair. The other soldier stared at the fallen body and Carson in fear. Knowing no other option, he open fired.

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

He landed each blow on Carson, hitting him in the forehead but strangely enough, the bullet didn't pierce his skin or cause any injury. Instead, it folded his head back for a few seconds before being flung back towards the guard, hitting him multiple times in the head, and killing him.

Feeling light-headed after the experience with the bullets, Carson looked at the two horrific bodies that laid before him.

"I-I-I-I'm s-sorry!"

He screamed at them, obviously not getting a reply back. Not knowing what else to do, he ran away.

P R E S E N T D A Y . . .

"So yeah...That's essentially what happened."

Carson said, finishing his short story.

Everyone on the other team was at a loss for words. Sargent Gunn and Melissa were concerned, Mr. Fisk, Bee, and Led were disgusted by the story, Shauna was tearing up, and Bruce had no idea what he had just said.

"Okay dude, what the fuck?"

Bee uttered, breaking the silence.

"Those were good men."

Sargent Gunn said whilst slightly shaking his head, knowing that the men were just following orders.

Carson gently scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I just got-"

Whilst Carson spoke, Mr. Fisk looked up at the trees to see what appeared to be an Inkling, or an Octoling looking down, aiming a firearm at Alida.

"Get down!"

B A N G ! ! !

Everyone managed to get down almost in time, but Alida's arm git struck. She cried out in pain. Bee fired one of their quills at the figure but ended up hitting the branch. The branch was lit ablaze. Before they could get burnt, the figure jumped off and landed on the ground before the team.

Z A P ! ! !

Led moved forward and zapped the floor before him as a warning.

"WAIT! STOP!"

The figure called out. They were now in the daylight. It was an Inkling with a scarred face and Octoling eyelashes. The scar looked as if it came from an explosion. The voice sounded like a mix between being feminine and masculine. They wore a black, plated suit for protection. Despite them having the posture of a male, they had feminine features on their body. Once everything had settled, the figure looked directly at Led and smirked, taking two small steps forward.

"Led Volteer!"

"Oh for fuck sake, LEVIN!"

Led shouted back. Unfortunately, the dead naming made Bee laugh out loud.

"Woah! I thought you told me that Volteer was your surname!"

The figure responded, confusing Led.

Led squinted his eyes and tilted his head sideways.

"No?! I don't even know who you are!"

"Ah, I figured you'd forget me, just like everyone else!"

The figure mumbled.

Led rolled his eyes to the back of his hand and groaned.

"Can you just tell us who you are and why we should care?!"

The figure raised their hands and slowly took a couple of steps forward.

"You and I were colleagues a few years ago, we both worked for Bolton as we tried to take down Frederick Evans. ?"

They asked. Led thought back to that time and quickly went over everyone around him during that time, narrowing it down to one individual.

"Bolton promised to train me to my fullest, something you said as well, mind you! Instead, I got blown up and stranded out here!"

It finally hit him. Led took a couple of short steps forward, his eyes still squinted as he stopped moving before the very individual who he thought had died long ago...

"Jason?"

The individual quickly nodded with a massive grin on his face.

"It's good to see you again, Led! I'm gonna be honest, I missed your cynical attitude!"

Led was at a loss for words, something the rest of the team didn't feel because frankly, they had no idea that Jason Renner even existed until that moment. Then again, could you blame them?

S L A M ! ! !

After finding the words to say, Led punched Jason in his face, getting a collective gasp from Shauna and Melissa and also getting a grunt from Mr. Fisk, Sargent Gunn, and Bee.

"WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

"Argh, dude! I've been out here the whole time!"

He said in an attempt to defend himself.

"After getting blown up by that kid, Bolton sent me here and left me to die by the Acid Squids, hence why I just tried to kill her!"

"She's an ally! She's from the Sulfuric Camp! All the others are from the Nitric Camp!"

Sargent Gunn explained, quickly stepping to her rescue.

"Oh...Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, actually!"

Jason replied as he stood up. He turned back to Led.

"Look, I know you probably hate me for doing fuck all the past couple of years-"

"Please, you were doing fuck all when we worked together! All you did was transform into Bolton and die, or at least I thought you died, but apparently not!"

Led quickly shot back, making Jason feel shameful.

"I know! I'm aware! It's only a thought that's been lingering in my mind whilst trying to survive in this place for the past four years, which, after last year, has become incredibly difficult, so thank you!"

Jason said in frustration. He took a second to breathe before changing the topic to something that could finally make him useful.

"I overheard what you all said about trying to find a bus, or at least that's what I think that thing said."

Alida hummed sadly over Jason calling her a thing.

"Sorry, I've been on the run from too many of you lot."

He said before moving on to his next point.

"I know the exact place. It's north from here."

"Well duh, we were heading in that direction, asshole!"

Bee remarked.

"Which might be an indication that we could trust you."

"Thank you! I know where it is because it's directly straightforward from my day counter."

Jason said before pointing back to a tree with over a thousand lines, engraved into it after each day. The whole team approached to have a quick look with Mr. Fisk and Led standing at the front.

"Day of being trapped."

Bruce said loudly, reading off what was written from the tree.

"Line, line, line, line, line, line, line, line-"

As he kept saying that same word, the whole team turned to him, already annoyed. Mr. Fisk nudged Led on his right.

"Do I have your permission to kill him?"

He whispered.

"No!"

Led answered aggressively but quietly.

Mr. Fisk rolled his eyes. Bruce kept going at it.

"Well, can you please shut him up? If he keeps going, you'd be dead from fucking old age!"

"Line, line, line, line, line-"

Bruce said out loud before finally getting stopped by Led.

"Bruce! Read in your head, okay?"

He told him, trying to be nice to him for Melissa. The Hammerhead Shark nodded before going at it again, only this time he whispered. He only said it three times before it was heard.

"That's not in your head, you fu-"

"Bruce, just turn it down a little because everyone else is getting agitated, okay?"

Melissa spoke calmly whilst stroking his right fin, finally silencing the Shark.

"How do you-"

Led whispered to Melissa before stopping himself right there so he could bring the conversation back to Jason.

"Do you wanna come along and make yourself useful?"

"Yes! I've been waiting for my moment to shine!"

He said whilst punching the air in excitement

"I would be weary about it though, that place is crawling with Acid Squids, the bad kind. Keith usually drives past there at night, which should begin in about a couple of hours. It's a big island so we'll arrive back in time."

"And who the fuck is Keith?"

Led asked, thinking that he had to add another person to the list of those who had forgotten.

"No, no! You've never met him! He's a friend of mine."

He assured the troubled Octoling.

"You have friends?!"

Led asked, wondering not just how Jason of all people had friends, but also how he made a friend considering where they were all at.

Jason squinted his eyes, staring at Led. He sighed before walking past him.

"I'll tell you on the way, let's just go!"

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

A lone driver traveled on a slim, leafy road with the only lights being that which came from the bus that he drove. The bus was smaller, with only two seats at the front on each side, one row of seats by the steps, and five seats on the back row. However, it was untidy. Socks lied around alongside bed sheets and dirty shirts.

The driver pulled up to a road blocked by a group of six Acid Squids. As five of them went to check through the windows to look out for engers, another went to his window on the right side of the bus.

"Komt u alleen, chauffeur?"

"Sorry, what was that?"

He asked.

"Ik vroeg of je alleen bent gekomen."

He repeated, not aware of his lack of knowledge of the Acid Squid language.

"Nou, jij ook?"

"I'm sorry, man, I can't understand you!"

The driver exclaimed loudly, trying to get his voice to reach the Acid Squid, but to no use!"

"Ja of nee, kwam je-"

The Acid Squid exclaimed before getting interrupted by a comrade of his screaming and running into view.

"Indringers! Indringers zijn onder-"

Another Acid Squid screamed. Before his sentence could be finished...

B A N G ! ! !

He was shot down by Mr. Fisk, who then charged into the area blasting, alongside Led and Jason. Melissa and Shauna stayed behind.

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

Z A P ! ! !

S L A M ! ! !

With Mr. Fisk's shotgun, Led's electricity, and Carson's fist, the Acid Squids on the left were quickly taken care of, leaving the three on the right.

B A N G ! ! !

Sargent Gunn came out from the shadows and took care of one of them, leaving the second to Bee who shot a quill at him, this time tazering the Acid Squid until his heart stopped and eyes popped. Lastly, there was the one by the driver's window. Bruce snuck up from behind. Before he could even know of him...

C H O M P ! ! !

Bruce took a bite out of him, leaving nothing but blood on the window, with the Acid in the blood starting to melt the glass.

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

The driver jolted and turned to the door to his left and saw that it was Jason knocking and waving.

"Hey Keith! Just thought we could help you out a little!"

He said. Now feeling safe, Keith opened the bus door.

"Give it a few minutes, we still need to do a quick scan of the area, then we'll give you the signal."

The team gathered by the bus. Now that the tension was down, they could have a moment to themselves. Jason remained with Keith. Led went off to do a perimeter scan behind the bus, and Bee followed. Melissa, Bruce, Shauna, and Carson stayed together, with Melissa being there for Bruce, giving Led some space as he requested from the group, though Bee dismissed it.

Mr. Fisk, Sargent Gunn, and Alida sat in a circle, the latter two leaned against the bus whilst Mr. Fisk rummaged through his bag.

"So what's the plan, now?"

The Sargent asked.

"Hopelijk word je naar fosforstad gebracht. Overnacht daar, maar zorg dat je 's ochtends opstaat. De rest is aan jou om iemand in te schakelen om een ​​onderzeeër naar de grote hamerhaaienstad te brengen."

She explained to them.

"Vince, would you be able to call a ride?"

He asked.

By then, Mr. Fisk already had a phone out.

"Already on it, Jacob."

He nodded at his friend before looking at the Acid Squid.

"I take it that Kind Salazar will send all his forces after us, considering that Shark is with us too."

He asked. Alida nodded slowly.

"But that will leave the civilians open for the Acid Squids to come in and finish them. Someone will have to be on the lookout."

Alida ired the Sargent's heart. Yes, the Sharks were their enemy, but his concern for the innocent ones made an impression on her.

"Je bent een goede man, Sergeant Gunn."

Sargent Gunn looked to the sky upon hearing her call him a good man. He smirked.

"Believe me, I'm just a guy who knows what the moral thing to do is, even if it slightly goes against orders. At least I'll be doing something good, right?"

Alida smiled. It wasn't every day that she met someone with a pure heart, let alone an Inkling with a pure heart. Knowing that she couldn't stay any longer, She got up and waved goodbye.

"Vaarwel, mijn nieuwe vriend, en veel geluk!"

"Thank you, Alida, and good luck to you too!"

He replied before the pair of them parted ways, with Alida going into the trees alone.

Further away from the team, Led stood alone, looking out into the vast darkness. He began to think about what he told Melissa earlier about him deserving it.

"So, you happy now that your girlfriend is back?"

Bee asked, getting the reaction that they wanted by making him annoyed.

"I thought I told you to give me space?"

He asked. Very cheekily, Bee took a large step back.

"Not what I meant!"

"Oh sorry! I'm kidding, I don't really care."

They said under their breath, moving closer to Led and standing by his side. They nudged his left arm.

"So what's up with you now, you depressed dickhead? Your girlfriend is back, pull a smile for one!"

Led groaned at Bee's assumption and quickly commented on it.

"Okay, one: she's not my girlfriend, she's just a friend!"

"Really, a friend who you tell all your deepest a darkest secrets about how you have a death wish?"

Bee went on before saying something that made him lose it.

"Or about how you zapped your own parents?"

Led felt his heart skip a beat. How did she know?

"What?!"

"Yeah, I listened in whilst she was getting surgery on her tits, which you were there for by the way! I listened to your darkest confessions. You really are a sick fuck, aren't you?!"

Bee said to him. Led felt the adrenaline rush all around his body, making his hands shiver.

"I bet it made you feel big, didn't it, make you feel tough. I bet you wanted to run outside and scream OH LOOK AT I'M SO TOUGH! You are absolutely pathetic!"

Led glared into their eyes, his fists now clenched, something that Bee took notice of.

"Aww! Did I hurt your ego? What are you gonna do? Huh? Are you gonna strike me down as you did to poor old mommy and daddy?!"

They mocked with a nasty smirk on her face. They turned away from Led and dropped one last comment before walking to their comrades.

"Pathetic..."

Z A P ! ! !

Without hesitation, Led struck at Bee, knocking them onto the ground. She cried out in pain, alerting the others of what was happening. Everyone was watching, even Jason, who had exited the Bus to see what had happened. Bee looked back to see Led glare down at them.

"Do you think I wanted to kill my parents? Did you?!"

He asked enraged. Everyone on the team heard what he said and within seconds Shauna, Carson, Mr. Fisk, and Jason all had a new view on him.

"Do you think I felt good looking at their fried bodies after being forced to murder them?! No! Why the fuck would I ever feel good about anything I did for him?! Do you think I wanted to be Bolton's assassin, no, his slave?! Do you think I'm proud of everything that bastard made me do? No, absolutely not! Every night all I can see is him! Every time I close my eyes, he's there, haunting me until the day that I finally fucking die! And you think that I'm just gonna stand there and take all of the bullsquit that you've thrown at me? All the fucked-up comments about everything I've done? Think again, you little bitch!"

In an act of both rage and fear, more so the latter, Bee jumped up and ran at Led in an attempt to tackle him, their fear causing them to neglect the very thing that could've saved them, their quills.

S L A M ! ! !

Z A P ! ! !

Led their face in with his right hand and whilst their face was knocked to their right, Led managed to strike the back of her neck with lightning. Suddenly, Bee heard a dragged-out beeping sound come from the back of their head. They knew what it was.

They ran and grabbed Led's chest, rocking it back and forth.

"YOU IDIOT! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU-"

B O O M ! ! !

The bomb in Bee's head had been activated, no thanks to the power Led's lightning gave it. Led's face and jacket were covered in Bee's blood, brains, and skin. Their body dropped to the floor, into a puddle.

Everyone on the team was mortified, especially both Melissa, who had known Led for a long time and had seen the worst of him and Mr. Fisk who checked his smart watch for a malfunction.

"General..."

He muttered.

"I saw..."

He murmured. Back at the base, he opened up the box once more, this time to grey out Bee's photo. Next, his fingers hovered over Led's detonation button.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Levin, but you've killed a colleague and for that, I'm gonna have to put you down."

"Do it..."

Led whispered, trying to evoke General Swannack into ending his suffering.

"No, General! We need him! He's too valuable of a member to lose! General?!"

Mr. Fisk yelled out. The General ignored him as his finger moved closer to Led's detonation button.

"General?! General, no!"

It was too late, General Swannack had pressed the button...

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 fifth Chapter of Redemption: A Splat Force Story! Another cliffhanger, huh? What do you guys think? Will Led make it? Also, about THAT SCENE, what if I told you that his appearance is only the SECOND biggest kept secret that I've dished out and that there is one bigger, coming much later in the story? Well, it's true, so stay tuned for that! Until next time, stay safe out there! ^^

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