Survivors of Alterna: Best for Last

Chapter 8: The Deepsea Metro

"A...? Akikta? Akikta!" A voice shouted, bringing Akikta out of his pit of unconsciousness.

He blinked a few times, finding himself lying flat on a cold floor. He groaned before lifting up. A terrible soreness coursed through his body as he sat up, mainly affecting his neck and stomach. Akikta rubbed the front of his neck, wincing in pain. "Damn..."

He coughed before examining his clothes. Like before, the ink had magically vanished. Not a trace of it was left.

As he wondered how and why that kept happening, the radio crackled. "Akikta?!" It was Sal. He must've been the voice Akikta heard right before coming to.

"I'm here. I'm here." The teen croaked as he unhooked the radio.

A sigh of relief came from the other end. "Thank the rings. You're alright."

"Yea, sorry...about that. I don't know what happened. We just got attacked and-"

"I know."

"You do?"

"I was checking in on you and saw the whole confrontation. I had been telling you to get out, but maybe your ears aren't all there." Sal stated with an added insult at the end.

Akikta frowned. He hadn't heard Sal at all. Maybe he was too quiet, or their fighting was too loud? "Hey, it's not my fault that-" A small groan interrupted Akikta.

He turned to find Nakji lying on her side with her purple blade a few inches from her. He hurried onto his feet, his quickness hindered by the sore injuries.

After limping to Nakji, he kneeled by her side to examine her. She looked absolutely rugged. Bruises were visible, and her light skin tone was a bit red in certain areas. If Coral had bruised Nakji any worse, she could've been considered roadkill.

Akikta gripped her shoulder. Immediately, his heart sank. Her usually warm skin was eerily cold.

He shook her gently. "Nakji? Nakji, are you ok?" He asked worriedly, receiving no response. Akikta bit the inner walls of his lower lip as his body grew tense.

Coral had caused him great pain with just a few hits. He agonized at the thought of what Nakji had experienced, and whether or not she was able to endure it.

He shook her again and waited with bated breath. This time, her eyes opened, albeit slowly. Her gaze fixated on Akikta. "Aki?" She murmured. Luckily, she wasn't dead. Akikta sighed, relieved.

He'd plop down on the concrete ground, sighing with relief. "She's alive."

"Your friend, I presume?" Sal asked.

Before Akikta could respond, Nakji perked up more. "Who's...that?"

"O-oh, this is the friend I mentioned. The one I'm doing the favor for. Mr. Sal." Akikta answered.

"Please, just call me Sal." Sal reiterated. Nakji made an unapproving face, but Akikta turned the radio so Sal couldn't see.

"Well, looks like that little scuffle you had sent you a bit further from the target," Sal informed.

"Whoa, hey now. Don't just gloss over the fact we got our asses kicked! I thought you said they'd be harmless to me!"

"Nuh-uh. I said your target would be harmless to you. I said nothing about Captain Tenta."

"Well, how was I supposed to- wait, who's Tenta?"

"What do you mean? You literally just fought her." The man responded quickly. Too quickly for him to realize what Akikta's question implied. Akikta raised his mask so Sal could see the stern look on his face.