Parasite

Whatever It Takes

Vian walked through the entrance, focusing on Gab while Etce and Timo flanked him and stopped any inklings from attacking him. They didn't need to, though, seen as everything stopped the second they appeared. Gab narrowed his eyes and stood, looking at nothing but Vian. Vian nearly smiled at him, but couldn't when Gab's look turned into a glare. "You were supposed to protect me... Why weren't you there when I needed you?"
"You can't expect me to be in two places at once, I didn't even know where you were!"
"You would have if you actually cared!" The container collapsed, folding to leave Gab just standing there. The capsule split as he jumped to the floor, the discarded pieces of it leaving the ink to float, then spike out sporadically and constantly.
"Pa-?" Timo stepped back.
"It's--I couldn't--" Vian was interrupted while he looked for the right words.
"You have no excuse!" The squid was already beyond angry, even the surrounding inklings had backed away. "You made a promise--then went against it!"
"It wasn't him!" Etce put an arm in front of Vian to stand in front.
Gab huffed, "We'll see about that, won't we?"
A large drop of ink separated from the sphere, then launched towards them, but burst before it even got to them. They turned to see Fyrus and Jay standing on the wall, Jay aiming the newly formed splatling. The pair didn't get time to use it, though, proven by the net of ink Gab shot at them. It closed around them and they fell off the wall, but not before Gab surrounded the trio with boiling ink. It was so close that if they moved an inch, it would hit them.
"Hey!" Sagaci and Dan landed beside Gab, each using their respective parasite. Sagaci hit his crown, which retracted the ink. Gab didn't seem phased, though, clear by how chains latched onto their parasites and dragged them down.
He turned back to Vian, gesturing around. "Don't you get it? Trapped, this is how I feel. That is how you make me feel, knowing that all your promises and contracts are nothing but lies."
"I never lied to you. You were the one expecting too much!" Etce pulled Vian back again, hissing for him to shut up.
"Was I? What if you were the one promising too much?" The next jet of ink was blocked by two large spikes, which spun around to shove Etce and Timo away from Vian.
"I wasn't the one to promise you that."
"I'm not the one you think you're talking to, you're paying for what only you can be blamed for."
"Then I guess I'm just going to have to beat you to get him back." Vian bent over slightly before shooting straight at Gab, but he was stopped when some ink from Sagaci's chain hit him in the side.
"You really think you can?" The Infected had a high-pitched laugh the brought any attention that was on Vian to him. "You've barely seen what I'm made of."
The surrounding inklings swarmed Timo and Etce and each were thrown out of the crowd soon enough. That gave Vian an idea. "Don't waste your energy on them," He ordered the squids, who had begun to close in on them again. "If you're so strong, why not take all of us? Or are you too much of a coward to do what we all did?"
"I'm not a coward." Gab would've continued to defend himself, but Vian cut him off.
He stepped forward, "Really? Prove it." GG practically growled, then the ink that trapped the others burst, firing at Vian. He ducked under it with a smile. Then the Infected looked at his spikes and grinned, causing Vian to ask, "What? Why are you smiling?"
"You gave me an idea how to even the odds."
"Seriously?" Fyrus exclaimed in annoyance.
That turned Gab's attention to him for a few moments, just before he smiled and decided, "He's perfect."
Jay put a hand in front of Fyrus, "Take that back right now."
"Even better." Droplets of ink rose around the pair, but when it tried to strike at them black ink formed a baller around them. "Awe," Gab looked right at Vian, "You're all cowards, I was never alone." The sphere shattered, allowing for the ink to race at the pair. When the inklings cleared a way in their exit, it left Fyrus towering over Jay with his eyes shining blue.
"What did you do?" Dan questioned.
Gab just rolled his eyes and sighed when black ink came to his hands. "Nothing. I just needed more manpower."
"Vee-Nay!" Timo exclaimed, looking at Etce while pointing to them.
Etce nodded in agreement, "It was Vian who did that before, though!"
"Who do you think gave him the venom?" GG hissed.
Dan had to jump in front of Sagaci when she was nearly hit by Jay, who had been thrown across the space by Fyrus. Fyrus didn't give Dan time to recover, scratching him across the face before throwing him into the wall. Sagaci swiped at Fyrus, but he had already gone to Gab's side when she did. Jay and Sagaci helped Dan to his feet.
"You can't win this." Gab decided with a smile.
Sagaci grabbed Fyrus and dragged him back down to their level, where he managed to fight off all three of them at once.
Vian looked back to Gab, "You two should help them. I'll get him." Timo and Etce didn't hesitate as Vian began to walk forward.
"You're really still going to try?" Gab asked from his spectating spot, where he watched in amusement.
"I don't see a better option."
"There's always another option. Just choose the other one and give up."
"I said better." A large spike swung at Gab, but ink shot through it, slicing it in half.
"Tell me then, what exactly is your 'better option'?"
"Taking you down and bringing the real Gab back."
"Real? I'm real!"
"I could name a thousand ways you're not!"
"Fine, hit me once and see that I'm fake!" Gab and Vian bolted towards each other, and in whirlwind of spikes and ink, they each appeared on different sides. Their respective weapon returned to them as they turned to face each other. In that moment, Vian's parasite cracked up his arm, leaving him exposed where it had been seconds before. It seemed as though it had been catching up with the fact that it had been hit.
Gab scoffed, "Nice miss."
"I could do this all day." Vian decided in return.
"Think that over again," Gab gestured to his damaged parasite, "Can you really afford to?"
"I'll go through whatever it takes."

(No parts over Christmas... probably. I'll try, we're almost done! Enjoy your time until I next speak to you...)