Survivors of Alterna: Final Run

Chapter 31: The Grand Golden Twin Serpent of Wise

After downloading O.R.C.A onto Marina's laptop, Akikta handed the radio over to Ricky. He kept it covered the whole time so as not to draw suspicion.

After that was done, Rick and Marina helped Ricky build a makeshift Snatcher vehicle, similar to the one Akikta had seen Ricky piloting back in the Splatlands.

The salmonid brothers bid each other farewell before Ricky took off with the covered radio neatly secured around his waist. He disappeared between a few cracked houses, only for a light rumbling to follow.

It didn't take long for Boris to hover into view, scanning the area below. The large beast looked left and right, causing Akikta and the others to take cover behind the luxury suite walls. Akikta peeked his head to see Boris dive towards a portion of the Residential Zone, moving away from the group.

"It worked!" Callie cheered, a bit too loudly. Marie quickly shushed her cousin, placing a hand over her mouth.

"Yeah, of course it did. Salmonids are dumb." Marie insulted, earning a side-eye glare from Rick. "N-no offense..."

Eight held her hand out. "Come on! We don't have time to waste." She pointed to Clod's UFO, which Akikta missed when he surveyed the room.

The group piled onto the platform, and Marina took the reins. After everyone was settled in, they flew across the Residential Zone towards the Chain of Command tower. As they traversed, Marina kept the UFO close to the buildings' roofs to reduce the risk of being spotted.

A few minutes passed before they reached the Chain of Command tower. Even though Akikta's been inside the tower once already, he never took in its size. Now that they were up close, he could see it was utterly massive. It had to be twice—no, three times the size of all the other towers.

Akikta had no idea where to start with how to get inside. Taking the front entrance was obviously a no-go, but the tower had a million different entrances, so choosing the best one would be impossible. Luckily, Rick was gesturing for them to head to a specific one.

The entrance was a tiny window leading into who knew where. Rick pried it open with his fins before turning to the group. "The Chain of Command is crawling with heathen loyalists, but I know a shortcut that'll take us straight to the central terminal. However..." Rick turned back to the window, giving Eight time to translate what he said to everyone else.

Akikta noticed the somber expression on Rick's face. "You don't look too thrilled about taking this shortcut."

"Not at all," Rick confirmed.

Akikta looked through the window and noticed the room on the other side was shrouded in a thick fog. He could hardly see anything on the inside.

"This shortcut will have us pass through the Golden Quarters. It's the home of those dreaded scourge sisters."

"Scourge sisters?"

"One of our chieftains. We used to call them The Grand Golden Twin Serpent of Wise."

"Damn. That's a mouthful." Akikta said, then blinked upon realizing Rick described this entity with singular and plural nouns. "Wait, are these sisters we're talking about or a single person?"

"Both." Rick clarified, though it only confused Akikta even more. Sensing his confusion, Rick continued. "They are joined together, sharing one body, but possessing two heads."

"Oh, yeah, that's not creepy at all."

Marie suddenly interjected after Eight translated. "Wait, are you talking about Atla and Koka?"

"Hm, yes, that is their new name," Rick said, turning to Akikta. "She's the one who favored the usurper."

Akikta clicked his tongue. "Ah, so it's her fault we're all in this mess?"