A short time passed after Nakji escaped with Akikta, leaving Sal to stare at the abyss from one of many catwalks.
As he waited patiently, two Cohocks beside him grumbled to each other.
The tip of Sal's tongue had healed during the wait, but his bruised ego did not. The fact that an octarian actually hurt him and got away with it caused an itch he couldn't easily scratch.
Sal's stomach growled loudly as he wrapped the collar Akikta had yanked off back around his neck.
Soon after, two Chums came up to Sal, respectfully bowing before handing him a large bowl full of squirming shrimp. It took both of them to hold it, but Sal was able to hold it with one hand. The chums bowed once more before leaving him.
Normally, Sal would cook whatever he planned to eat, but the unscratchable itch paired with the short wait starved him. He could wait no longer.
"Where are they..." He mumbled while greedily devouring handfuls of shrimp at the time. His lip smacks and loud chewing disturbed the peace, with squeals from the shrimp contributing.
Sal stopped eating once he saw a group of Chinooks slowly rise from the darkness. He shoved the bowl of shrimp into one of the cohock's grasp.
While he wasn't looking, the cohock attempted to eat some shrimp, only for the other to slap them out its fin.
Sal's black lips curled into a smile when the chinooks reached his level. "Tell me you found them!" He said eagerly, only for most of the chinooks to nervously divert their gaze from him. The rest looked down, shame in their eyes. "You didn't..." His smile took an awkward shape as it grew a bit wider.
Sal let out a nervous chuckle before waving his hand. "Go." He ordered, and the chinooks flew away.
He'd walk along the catwalk into a different area of the tower, with the two cohocks following close behind. A hand covered his mouth while the other rested on his hip. He almost freaked out, but if the chinooks couldn't find Akikta, that had to mean he moved. Which also meant he was still alive, fortunately for him.
Though, the problem now was catching Akikta while he was still alive. After all, the clock was running out of time for him.
As he walked, a small circular platform descended to his level. It was completely detached from the other catwalks and platforms, hovering like an Octarian UFO. "L-lord..." A scratchy voice called out nervously.
Sal looked up to see Clod, another king salmonid. Clod was unlike the two he had sent out earlier; As far as king salmonids go, he was on the smaller side, being a mere fifteen feet tall. "What?" He answered, annoyed.
"I apologize for the interruption... but we have a situation..." Clod informed, moving up his binocular-like goggles to reveal his green pupilless eyes.
"Oh, what gave you that idea, Clod?" Sal barked, continuing down the catwalk.
Clod's platform followed from the side. "I understand things didn't go well with the human, my lord, but it isn't about that... It's worse."
"What could possibly be worse than this?!"
"Our forces at the Manta Maria have been... vanquished."
Sal stopped in his tracks. "What?"
"Their assault has stopped, and they are not responding to our transmissions."
"None of them? Not even the kings?"
Clod shook his head solemnly while readjusting the brown straps on his waist. "Scouts have already spotted the ship heading this way."
The sudden information caused Sal to jolt out of shock. He was aware at least some members of the New Squidbeak Splatoon knew of his existence, but he thought them to be a cautious bunch. Coming straight here immediately after a salmonid attack? Were they crazy... or did they have something he didn't know about?
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Survivors of Alterna: Best for Last
FanfictionAkikta, the last living remnant of humanity, outsmarted death; he's all that's left, which wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the state of Earth. Like the rest of Alterna's residents, he had a dream to see the world above. But once he escaped Alte...