Survivors of Alterna: Final Run

Chapter 26: Boris, The Destroyer

The various sounds of salmonid hordes rushed through the halls of the Superiority Complex, quickly filling Akikta's ears and almost outright muffling the blaring alarms. He suspected they'd be surrounded in less than a few minutes.

"Carp, what are we gonna do?!" Callie yelped, clearly panicked.

Marina was quick to take charge. "Quick, up here!" She called out before shifting into an octopus-like form. A second later, she blasted upward toward Clod's UFO, landing on the platform and transforming back into her humanoid form before beckoning for everyone else to follow.

Everyone but Nakji and Ricky followed Marina's lead and shifted into their respective forms before launching after her.

Nakji gave Akikta a concerned look, which he eased with a simple thumbs up. Although she wasn't fully assured, Nakji left, following the rest of the group.

Akikta took a few moments to observe Marie's blood vial, swishing it around a couple of times. Up until now, he had never seen the actual blood of any evolved cephalopods. Whenever they were hurt badly, a thickish substance excreted from their body. Said substance matched whatever their ink color was, but it wasn't as thick as their ink. Because of that reason alone, he had always assumed it was their blood, but this proved him wrong.

Their blood was red, just like any other animal's. But that begged the question—If this was their blood, what was that thickish substance? A mix of ink and blood? Why would they even need something like that?

Akikta shook his head—knowing he didn't have the time nor the patience to figure that out right now. He stuffed the blood vial in his jacket pocket, then approached Ricky and picked him up as if he were a cat. Dang, he's a little heavier than I expected.

With some effort, he held Ricky close to his chest. "I'd hold on tight if I were you. I'm still new at this." Akikta didn't have to tell him twice, as Ricky immediately latched onto both of his arms with his fins.

Akikta looked up at the UFO, then down at his legs, which were still covered in black ink. "Alright, here goes nothing." He closed his eyes and crouched low to the ground. Like a coiled spring, he leaped into the air with great force, leaving behind a small dent in the ground.

Akikta jumped high, but felt himself slow faster than he anticipated. Shit! Not enough force! Feeling he wouldn't make it, he threw Ricky onto the platform without hesitation.

Unexpectedly, someone grabbed his right hand before he fell back down, holding it with a fierce grip. It was Marie!

Instead of pulling him up immediately, she glared at him with a strange look. He couldn't tell if she was acknowledging he came back for her, taking in his human features up close, or angry he got her into this situation in the first place. Most likely the latter.

"R-right. I owe you a big apology." He stuttered, hoping Marie was merciful enough not to drop him.

After a few seconds too long, Marie smirked. "Don't worry, I won't drop ya." She grabbed Akikta with both hands and pulled him onto the platform with a small huff. "You can apologize to me all you want after we're outta here." She said with a heavy emphasis on 'can.' That, paired with the cold glare she was giving him, told him the "can" was actually a "will."

Akikta had already planned to get on his knees and apologize to her like he had done with the others, but her gaze reinforced his decision.

To shake off the jitters he got from Marie's stare, Akikta focused on Marina, who, at this point, was the team leader. "So, what now?"

Marina placed her hands on the platform. "Now, I get us out of here."

Akikta paused, then looked around. "There's no controls."