Splat Force II: Allegiance; Chapter 13

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! Today I'm back with, I'm sure you can guess the rest, Splat Force II: Allegiance!

In the last chapter, we saw that Drift had been promised the opportunity to try and track down his real parents. That plot will be further developed in this chapter.

This chapter will also have a small subplot that involves a familiar electric Octoling as he finally gets some development after almost a year.

So without further ado, let's get into this!

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(Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R 1 3 : H O M E C O M I N G

Inkopolis Mall had managed to successfully recover from the attack that happened two weeks prior. After all, it wasn't the first time that it had ever been attacked. However, it wasn't as populated as it was back then. It was early morning after all.

Within the mall, many posters had been spreading around. The poster had a photo of Drift on it alongside a small paragraph of text at the bottom.

'If you believe that you're the parent of him please us.'

Underneath the text was a phone number.

"This whole thing is very odd..."

Melissa whispered as she looked at the photo that was stuck against the wall. She and Led were on the second layer at the bottom right corner.

"When I looked in his mind I saw two different mothers. They can't have been the same person. I guess it was only a matter of time until all of this started."

"Yeah."

Led quickly replied, looking down onto the bottom layer of the mall. He glanced back at the Inkling before walking straight forward.

"Wait up!"

She called out as she ran over to his side.

"Why are we even here? It's dangerous to be out in the open!"

"Relax, no one is going to suspect that a criminal would be in their last position. They always suspect otherwise."

He explained, giving a very poor excuse with flawed logic. He knew instantly that Melissa was going to need a better explanation.

"Bolton hid at The Once Great Symbol many times, even after being outed, I'm sure we'll be safe here. I thought psychics like you were meant to know better, I guess I was wrong."

Within all the time that she knew him, Melissa had always felt a strong, negative aura coming from Led. She always wondered why he was always in a mood. Whenever she tried to reach into her mind it never ended well.

"Led, can we talk?"

She suddenly asked.

Led closed his eyes and sighed behind his red mask and stopped walking. He turned around and looked into Melissa's eyes.

"What?"

"I've only known you for almost half a year and you've always been mean to me. Why is that?"

She asked with a frown on her face.

Led gave her what felt like a death stare.

"What kind of question is that?"

He asked sharply.

"I'm only acting the way I should be acting. Everything I do is for the gifted salvation."

"So, you're completely fine with all the brutal deaths, all the murders, all the crimes?"

She asked with a concerned tone of voice. She faced away from Led and stared at the ground.

Led stopped talking and took two long steps forward towards her.

"If it's for the salvation, then yes."

He answered before turning away from her and walking forward towards Fresh Styles.

"Look, if you really wanna see why I'm so pissed all the time, then feel free to look-"

Melissa looked up from the ground and took a glance at Led. He stood still, staring forward, facing a middle-aged couple in Fresh Styles.

"Led, are you-"

Before she could finish, Led turned around and ran away from the store.

"W-Wait!"

Melissa ran after the Octoling as he ran down the stairs, onto the bottom floor and eventually out the building. They both entered an ally way as Led laid against the wall, breathing heavily.

"L-Led, what's wrong?"

"It's them...my parents."

He whispered to her as he tried to both catch his breath and take in what had just happened.

"Your parents?"

Melissa repeated as she kneeled in front of him and tried to give him eye .

Led wasn't looking at her he tried his best to not look at her in the eyes.

"Yeah, the people who threw me away just because I was gifted!"

"Woah, Woah, please calm yourself!"

She said to him, not used to his change in aura. Instead of the moody aura that he always had, his aura was now petrified, upset, confused. It was all over the place.

"Led, your aura is all over the place. I've never seen anything like it! Take in deep breaths, okay?"

The two of them took in breaths, Melissa only doing so to try and influence Led. It lasted nearly a whole minute. After a long hesitation, Led finally looked into Melissa's orange eyes.

"Do you want to talk about this somewhere else?"

Melissa asked him. Led didn't reply with words, he instead gave her a small nod. She reached out to grab his hand to try and pull him up but instead, he stood up himself.

M E A N W H I L E A T R E E F R O A D . . .

Drift sat on the couch in Rex and Alyssa's living room and looked closely at a couple of guests. One having red slight back hair and the other having long, dark green hair, just like the woman in his vision.

"That's not them. Gifted people have white pupils, they don't."

He sighed.

"I see..."

Rex whispered, standing just outside the kitchen door, into the living.

"Feel free to leave now."

The couple smiled at both Drift and Rex before exiting the living room and waking out the front door.

"What number are we on now?"

Drift asked as he held his hand in his hands.

"That was couple number fifty-two."

Rex answered before walking over to the couch and sitting down.

"Hey, we just need more time with this, okay?"

"I know..."

Drift replied quietly.

"I guess I just want things to be back to how they were a few years back, back when I didn't have to worry about who I was."

"I understand that."

Rex responded.

Drift stood up from the couch and walked out of the room and towards the front door.

"I'm just gonna go and get some air, I'll be back tomorrow."

He said as he walked out the door, closing it behind him.

M E A N W H I L E W I T H L E D A N D M E L I S S A . . .

The two of them walked into The Spicy Noodle at northeast Inkopolis.

"How may we help you?"

The cashier asked.

"I'll take a box of noodles, please."

Melissa answered before looking back to Led.

"I-I'm good, I'm with her tho."

He quickly answered.

Within nearly ten seconds, the box was already in her hands. Melissa paid the appropriate amount of money before walking over to the furthest table. Led sat on the left side, Melissa sat on the right.

"Why a noodle store?"

Led asked.

"I understand that we need to talk about this but, why here?"

"Because I'm hungry."

She answered to which Led gave her an emotionless stare.

"I'm surprised that you didn't hear my tummy rumbling, it's been doing it for half an hour!"

"Yeah, but won't we get recognised?"

He asked. The table had turned and now Led was the concerned one.

"Says the one who decided to lurk in the place where we entered the public eye."

She said cheekily.

"Right..."

Led sighed.

"Where should I even start?"

"Anywhere you want."

Melissa told him before slurping some noodles.

Led stared down onto the table, not looking into her eyes again.

"Back when I was fifteen, roughly seven years ago, I had an opportunity to get into Todarodes College. I was ecstatic: it felt great to finally be able to go to a public college instead of a private one. They were the proudest parents ever, Michael and Johanna Levin."

"Levin? It thought your surname was Volteer?"

She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Volteer was just a nickname I came up with. Levin is my actual surname."

He explained.

"Right then."

She whispered, letting Led continue with his story.

"I took a course in Chemistry, something my dad got me into."

He said slowly. He smiled under his mask as he thought back to how proud he was back then. His aura was once again all over the place.

"On the day of my induction day, I found myself alone in a science lab, there was lots of reactive metal around. Suddenly, my body felt weird, it felt fuzzy. I saw sparks of electricity on my right hand, it built up and built up until and shot out, hit the metal. It was then reflected at my face..."

"Oh cod..."

Melissa whispered with a frown on her face.

"Did it leave any mark?"

"Melissa, why do you think I'm wearing this mask?"

He responded abruptly. He sighed before continuing his story.

"I was in the hospital for months, and when I finally got out, I got in my parents care and fell asleep. Next thing I know, I was in a ruined house in Baxter Village..."

"Wait, they just took you to Baxter Village?"

Melissa asked.

"They just left you there?"

"Yeah, they did...They probably thought I was destined to become the next Terrador."

He grunted as he clenched his fist.

"But you aren't the next Terrador, if anything Bolton is probably the next Terrador with all the murders he's done."

She commented.

"No, Bolton is doing all of this for a reason, for the salvation of the gifted. Terrador did what he did just because he was an insecure, homeless freak with gifts who just wanted to feel powerful."

He added on.

"Sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it? Maybe they were right..."

Melissa continued to frown at Led. His aura was mixed between sadness, anger and fear.

"I have an idea and it's not going to be one that you will like."

Led looked up at Melissa and instantly shook his head.

"No, not a chance!"

"Look, maybe you are wrong about them. You spoke about them as if they were once proud. Maybe they gave you away unwillingly. You have to find out if they really care or not."

She told him with a serious tone of voice.

"And why can't you just look into their mind and see for yourself?"

Led asked her with a moody tone of voice.

"Because you won't believe me!"

She exclaimed.

Led looked at her and sighed. He knew that she had a point, no matter what she would say, he would always think the worse of something.

"Fine...let's go."

He said as he stood from his seat and walked out of the restaurant, Melissa running the catch up with him.

L A T E R T H A T D A Y . . .

Both Led and Melissa were approaching a gateway that led into Larvae Town, a private town that was five minutes away from Pulpo City.

"They are behind that gate. How do we get past the guard?"

Led asked.

Melissa raised her left hand.

"Hold my hand."

She muttered to him. Led hesitantly took her hand. Melissa raised her right hand and placed two fingers on her head.

"We are now invisible to the eye. That doesn't mean the guard can't hear us so please stay quiet."

The two of them walked past the guard, through the gate and into the town.

"That was way easier than I thought it was going to be."

Led whispered under his breath.

The two of them walked forward, ing many houses, most of which looked almost identical to the last. Eventually, they reached the end of the road. Led looked to his left and his aura went mixed once more.

"This is it..."

He whispered. Led noticed that his parents' car wasn't there.

"They are still out."

"Do you wanna look inside?"

Melissa asked him.

"Can do."

He replied hesitantly. The two of them walked to the left side of the house, through the back gates and into the garden.

"Haha! I this garden. I used to have mini picnics every summer out here."

Melissa smiled at Led, he felt him become overwhelmed with emotion. The two of them head towards the back door. It was unlocked. They walked through into the kitchen. It was small, the centre was taken up by a table. Led walked to the left and through the door, into the hallway. It was very narrow compared to the kitchen. They walked forward to the front door and turned right and entered a small bedroom.

"Oh my cod..."

Led whispered. The room had dark blue walls and science posters, which included a periodic table. The bed was fairly big for one person. On the pillow laid a small green Loch ness Monster plush toy.

"Nessy!"

Meliissa was weirded out. She had never sensed such joy in Led before.

"Nessy?"

"Nessy was my comfort toy growing up. I used to hug it like this every night."

He explained as he gently hugged the toy.

"I thought they would've taken it all down but...I was wrong."

"Maybe they do still care?"

Melissa said to him.

Led and Melissa walked out of the bedroom and into the living room on the opposite side. It was a dark room, all the blinds were closed. There were two couches, one on the right wall by the window and the other on the bottom wall by the door.

On top of the fireplace rested four photo frames, all of which had a photo of a younger Led. One of them had a small note next to it saying:

'I'm sorry this happened to you, my boy. I wish you'd be with us again.'

Led was shocked by the note. The last thing he'd ever suspected about his parents was true. They really did care. Led walked out of the living room, down the hallway and turned right. There was a small staircase that led to the second floor. Led walked up the stairs, Melissa following behind.

There were two doors on the second floor, one leading to a bigger bathroom and the other leading to his parent's bedroom. Led walked into the bedroom. It was much bigger than his. The walls were white. There were small desks on each corner.

Led opened up a drawer and found a diary that had been resting in the dust. He wiped away the dust and opened up to an entry from five years prior:

'Today marks the second anniversary since I last saw him. Placing him into the village was haunting but, I knew it had to be done. It was only inevitable that they were going to come for him. I just wanted him to be safe. No one will even look at the village, it's been abandoned for cod knows how long, they'll never find him there. If only I could've spent one more minute with him.'

The diary entry ended. Below the text was faded drops of tears.

"Led?"

Melissa called out from behind. Without replaying, Led walked out the room, downstairs the stairs, through the kitchen and out the house.

"Led!"

Melissa ran into the garden and saw him sitting against the fence.

"T-They care..."

Led muttered out loud.

"They care..."

"Led!"

She whispered before walking over to him and sitting down beside him.

"I-I don't understand...How do they care...WHY DO THEY CARE?!"

Led exclaimed out loud.

"Because you're their son!"

Melissa answered softly as she rubbed his back.

"They would never throw you away for nothing."

"They just wanted to protect me. All this time I've been mad at them for the wrong reasons."

He whispered to her.

Melissa shed a tear for him. She had never seen someone more confused and stressed than he was at this very moment.

"Should we stay until they arrive?"

She asked. Led gave her no reply.

Fortunately for them, a car arrived at the house. Two Octolings walked out. The male had dark grey slight back hair, a tidy beard and a short-sleeved Squid Sisters shirt. The woman had long, curly, light brown hair and glasses. She wore a white and brown striped sweater.

"This is it, Led. Go to them!"

She whispered. Led took in a deep breath. He knew exactly what he had to do now.

M E A N W H I L E W I T H D R I F T . . .

Drift walked out of his old bungalow house. He looked up to the sky and sighed. He was getting nowhere with this case of his. He was afraid that he might never be able to find his real parents. That thought alone crushed him. He turned left and walked down the pathway, hands in his pockets.

There weren't many people outside, in fact, everyone was indoors, leaving Drift lost in his thoughts, all alone. He thought back to when things were simpler, to when he was just a teenage kid going through high school, he longed for the days where he was free, where he was confident in who he was. Unfortunately for him, it didn't seem like those days were coming back anytime soon.

After blindly walking forward for a few minutes, he stumbled across a familiar-looking park. It had one pair of small swings, a roundabout and a climbing tower which was attached to a small slide. Although Drift went there a few times when he was younger, the only, more recent memory that he had of the place was when he, Ami and Zane had their first encounter with Bolton two years prior.

Drift thought back to how frightening that night was, he ed him and Zane arguing out of fear and Ami crying with fear. At the time, he thought that he was going to die, only for him to find out later on that Bolton was only ever after Frederick.

He walked past the park and into the small forest next to it. He knew that he would be safe in there for what he was about to do. He looked up at a dangling branch and took in many small breaths before launching his fist forward. To his dismay, nothing happened.

He tried launching it forward again, and again, and again, and again. Within all those attempts, nothing occurred. He grunted to himself, feeling frustrated that his gifts weren't working. He launched his fist forward again, this time out of anger.

A fireball flew out of his fist. Although it missed its target, Drift felt better about it. He looked at his fist, feeling the heat. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the heat. He took in many breathes before opening his eyes and launching his fist forward. Another flame ball flew out, this time, it hit its target.

Drift looked back at his fist and chuckled. He glanced at many other loose branches and launched fireballs at them, some missing, some hitting. Drift was starting to get the hang of it.

After knocking down a few more branches, Drift decided to go for a bigger target, a full-length tree. He aimed both of his fists at the tree before launching fireballs out of them. Both of the fireballs hit the tree. However, before Drift had the chance to celebrate, he noticed that a twig that laid next to the tree had caught fire.

"Oh cod!"

He exclaimed to himself before running over to the twig and stomping on it repeatedly, ending the fire.

Drift sighed to himself. On one hand, he felt proud of himself for learning to gain some control over his gifts, but on the other hand, he nearly started a forest fire. Without saying a word, Drift walked out of the forest, his hands were back in his pocket.

B A C K W I T H L E D A N D M E L I S S A . . .

K N O C K , K N O C K ! ! !

Led waited after knocking on the door, his heart was pounding faster than any lightning strike that he had ever performed. Melissa stood behind him, down the stairs on the front porch.

The door opened, Led's heart skipped a beat as Johanna Levin walked out and saw her son. She didn't say anything, her face said it all. She burst into tears and hugged her son tightly. Led hugged back, he couldn't process everything that was happening at the very moment. Not long later, Michael Levin walked out to the front porch, he too burst into tears and hugged his son. Melissa, who watched from afar shed a few tears, feeling happy for him.

The three of them pulled out of the hug.

"I-I'm so sorry, L-Led."

Johanna whispered.

"M-Mom..."

Led muttered.

"We just wanted you to be safe, W-We didn't want them to take you away!"

Michael told him.

"I-I know, dad."

He whispered.

Johanna took a glance at Melissa, who gave her a small smile.

"Who is this?"

Led glanced at Melissa.

"A friend."

He answered.

Melissa walked forward towards them.

"I'm Melissa."

"I'm glad to meet you!"

Johanna replied with a warm smile.

"We should all head inside."

The four of them walked inside the house. Both Michael and Johanna walked into the living room to give Led and Melissa some space.

"Do any of you need anything?"

Michael asked.

"Yeah, may I use your restroom? The noodles I've had are not sitting well."

Melissa asked with a small chuckle.

"Of course! Upstairs to the right."

Michael told her. After Melissa went upstairs, Led entered the living room with his parents.

"I'm assuming you have your fair share of questions."

"Many. But I'll keep this short. Do you know who sent all that food to me?"

He asked as he sat down on the couch against the window.

"It was us."

Johanna told him.

"We bought a large amount of food. A friend of mine was happy to drive them there for you. Did you ever speak to him?"

Led was stunned. All this time he could've been seeing him, all this time in which he could've learnt the truth but he was always asleep at the time.

"No, I was always asleep when he came by."

He answered. He stood up and walked over to the fireplace to look at the photos.

"Th-Thank you."

"I how horrified we were when he came home one night and told us that you weren't there. That was two years ago, right?"

Johanna asked to which Led nodded.

"Where did you go?"

"I met someone who promised me salvation. I went with him."

He answered as he faced his parents.

"Bolton, right?"

Michael asked him. Led glanced at his father and nodded.

"I've seen on the news two weeks ago. He is not a good influence on you if you're going up against the Splat Force."

"He promised me great things. I thought that I could return home without worrying about people discriminating against me. And even better, I could help out others who had been suffering."

Led tried to explain, blinded by Bolton's words.

"I understand that."

Johanna said.

"But pleading your allegiance to a killer won't bring you salvation. People will only fear you more and more. The Splat Force aren't after you for being gifted, they are after you because you're allegiance is to a world-class threat."

"We don't want you getting yourself killed, Led. He is dangerous."

Michael added.

It was at that moment that Led's thoughts and morals were on the blink of collapse. Bolton promised him salvation, he promised him peace but neither of his parents was wrong. He was teaming up with a killer who has caused death after death but at the same time, being with him will grant him a step closer to salvation. He stared at the ground, puzzled.

"Hey!"

Melissa greeted as she entered the living room.

Led looked up from the ground and turned around to face her.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Melissa was surprised. It was the last question she expected Led to ask.

"Yeah, I'm good."

She answered with a smile. The smile faded after sensing Led's aura. His aura spilt confusion. She shrugged it off and walked over to his parents and faced Led.

"I've been meaning to ask, where did you get the mask?"

Johanna asked.

"On my first day at the village, I looked in one of the houses and found it. Ever since then I've worn it every single day."

He answered with a lower tone of voice.

Johanna approached Led steadily and raised her hands slowly. Led looked at her eyes and gave her a small nod. Johanna grabbed a hold of the mask and gently lowed it.

Johanna, Michael and Melissa were shocked. Below the mask was a large lighting mark across his mouth. The mark was a mixture between grey and purple. Melissa covered her mouth with her palms. Both Michael and Johanna were overwhelmed with emotions upon seeing the mark.

Johnna placed her hand on the mark. Led, who too was overwhelmed with emotions, was slowly tearing up. Eventually, it became too much for him. His face cringed before he turned around and stormed out of the room.

"Led!"

Melissa called out as he left the house.

"I am so sorry about that."

"It's alright. Led has always been a shy one, as you have probably already gathered."

Johnna assured him.

"Please look after him for us, especially when he's being controlled by you know who."

Michael told her.

"I'll try my best."

She replied.

"If in the event you two ever need a place to stay, feel free to come by and stay for however long you need!"

Johanna told her with a caring smile.

"Thank you, Mrs Levin!"

Melissa said before leaving the living room. Both of the Levins waved goodbye to her as she walked out of the building. By now, Led was already halfway down the street. Melissa ran forward to try and catch up with him.

"Led, wait!"

Led stood still as Melissa ran around and stood in front of him. Melissa saw the stress and fear in his eyes. His aura was now a mix between sadness and fear. Melissa walked closer to Led and pulled him in for a hug. Although he didn't hug her back, he did feel a tiny bit better.

"Thanks, Mel."

Led said. Although she couldn't see it, she sensed him smiling behind his mask. Melissa smiled back at him, not just at the nickname that Led had just called her but she also smiled at his spirits being lifted.

"I see you at the base later."

Melissa helped Led out of the town by holding his hand and touching her forehead, making them invisible to the eye. As soon as they left the town and gone a good distance. They went off to do their own thing until their meeting later that night.

L A T E R T H A T N I G H T . . .

Drift laid in his bed, fast asleep. He was back in his apartment. The sun was about to rise very shortly. If anything was going well for Drift, it was the amount of sleep that he was getting. However, the sleep was about to be abruptly interrupted by a dream.

I N T H E D R E A M . . .

Drift was back in that same house that he was in during one of the visions that Melissa gave him. It was the same stone house and he was in the same crib with the same baby girl from the last one. He very faintly heard a voice coming from outside the crib. It sounded like a radio.

"Welcome back to the official Baxter Village radio station with your host, Daniel Cope, where today we will ask one of the most confusing questions coming from your average villager, why the shell do we have sinks? I mean sure it cleans dishes but at the same time it has, now say it with me folks, Water! Water, if we somehow don't know already, is fracking lethal to us! If that's the case then why in Cods name do we have sinks in our houses?!"

The radio slowly cut off but shortly after, it started to play again.

"We'll be right back!"

B A C K I N R E A L I T Y . . .

Drift opened his eyes. He was confused over what he had been dreaming about. He didn't know if the dream was just a dream or a distant memory. He didn't know what it all meant. Drift climbed out of his bed and put on a white shirt and walked out onto his balcony and watched the sunrise.

T O B E C O N T I N U E D . . .

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T H X F O R R E A D I N G ! ! !

Thx for reading this weeks chapter of Splat Force II: Allegiance! I've had a lot of fun diving into Led's character and I hope ya'll had a good time reading about it. Next week will still mildly progress the plot whilst something between Drift and Magnus starts to bloom. So stay tuned for that! Until next time, stay safe out there! ^^

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