Splat Force II: Allegiance; Chapter 16

(Thx for the feature. To be honest, I did not expect this! ^^)

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! Today I am back with another chapter of Splat Force II: Allegiance!

Seeing the response to last weeks chapter put a massive smile on my face. I am truly glad that all that planning and excitement for me to finally publish it got paid off well!

One question remains, however. And that question is: how is any of this possible? In order for us to find the truth, we must go back into the past, to a devastating time.

This chapter can be described as filler, however, if you want to fully understand last weeks cliffhanger then this chapter is essential.

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

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(Previous Chapter)(Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R 1 6 : T H E T R U E S T O R Y

1 8 Y E A R S A G O . . .

"Henry, how many were killed?"

A dark, green-haired Inkling asked. His voice was filled with dread as he looked upon a newly ruined village.

"Lot's of us and them were in the village when it happened. Hundreds are most likely dead..."

Henry answered, his voice showing more dread. He looked back and saw the man's face.

"A-Are you alright, Commander Evans?"

"Y-Yeah I am..."

Frederick Evans answered before walking away from Henry and down the small slope of a hill.

"I'm going to find Commander Allen, afterwards, we'll clean off the area."

The squad ran towards the other , they each started to help other up. Meanwhile, Rex Allen stood still at one of the entrances, looking at the destroyed village feeling nothing but pain that this is what everything had to come to. It was then he heard footsteps coming from his left. He looked up to see the spiky green-haired Inkling, who wore the same gear as him, only his was shaded green like his hair.

"You know, Fred, I was planning to find you but I guess the opposite happened, as per usual..."

Rex said to the other Commander, trying to form a small smile.

Frederick looked at his brother in arms and gave him a concerned look.

"It's good to see you, Rex..."

"I'm glad to see you too, Fred..."

Rex replied whilst panting. Frederick walked over to him and patted him on the back.

"What even happened?"

"I told Henry to bring this conflict to an end, I told him to do this..."

Frederick answered, he knew what he had done, he sounded colder than usual.

"Well look what happened here..."

Rex replied, he was aware of how harsh Frederick had been lately, especially with some of the Rookies, and one of the Majors'. He knew that Fred would've wanted the fight to be over but he didn't expect this to be the solution.

"Fred, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine..."

Frederick replied instantly after Rex asked. It became apparent to Rex that everything was indeed not fine.

"Look, how about you just go and see if anyone is still alive. There are bound to be men of ours that survived that. If there are any gifted people, you know what to do."

"Alright, Fred..."

Rex said, he didn't exactly know how to feel about Frederick's cold tone, he knew something was wrong. But he didn't ask him about it, because he knew how sensitive he could be.

As Rex went on ahead, Frederick stayed behind to take in all the destruction that he and the Splat Force had caused. He knew that his hate for the gifted was strong but he never thought that he would end up murdering near hundreds.

As the young, but tired Splat Force Commander walked down the small pathway, he heard crying coming from one of the houses. He turned to his right and walked into the house that the crying was coming from. He didn't go through the front door, instead, he went through the blown up hole in the wall.

Upon entering, he is greeted by the dead body of an Inkling with dark hair and green highlights. He got on one knee and looked at her with guilt, her deceased eyes were staring back at him. The sight alone disturbed him, however, it wasn't going to be the only disturbing thing that he would find in that house.

He looked above the body and saw a crib that had been knocked over. There were two babies on the floor, an Inkling and an Octoling. He noticed how the colours of the young Octoling girl matched the mother, he suspected the same was for the young Inkling boy.

Frederick stood back up, took one step over the body and got back on one knee in front of the babies. He let out a heavy sigh as he realized that the actions had caused the loss of someone's parents. Yes, the parents were most likely gifted. Yes, they could've one day attacked Inkopolis. But the question that was in his head was: was it worth it?

A Splat Force Rookie with slit back, purple hair ran into the ruined house.

"There you are, Commander Evans, I've been looking for-"

He paused near the end of his sentence after noticing the two babies and their dead mother.

"Oh my cod..."

"Who is this?"

Frederick asked quietly.

"Peter Watson, Commander Evans."

The Rookie answered as he walked closer to the babies.

"What's gonna happen to them?"

Frederick didn't answer immediately. He picked up the small Inkling boy and stroked its forehead, calming him down. The baby opened his eyes and looked at Frederick, who gave it a small smile. The Inkling baby giggled before falling asleep.

"We can't just leave them here to die on their own, their mother is dead and chances are their father is too."

He answered as he slowly held the baby boy in his arms.

"We have to give them a new home."

"Wait, Commander Evans, are you saying that we have to take them in?"

Peter asked.

"As our own?"

"If you don't want to keep her then at least put her up for adoption."

Frederick said.

Peter looked down at the baby Octoling girl who tried to reach out and hug him with a massive smile on her face. Wanting the girl to be happy, Peter allowed himself to be hugged by the small baby.

"I'll give her to an adoption centre."

Frederick grabbed a small blanket from the crib and wrapped it around the boy, as did Peter with the girl. Frederick walked out of the house, holding the child in his right hand.

He grabbed a walkie talkie from his pocket with his left hand and began to communicate with the available Rookies and Majors.

"Alright men, when you are all finished looking around the area, meet me at the entrance. Commander Allen booked us a ride in trucks."

He said. He put the walkie talkie back into his pocket and looked at the baby once more, who was now fast asleep in his arms.

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

They arrived back at the base two hours after the truck trip had begun. They were all surprised as to how quick it was. The time was quarter past three in the afternoon. Most of the Splat Force went into the Splat Force shed and into the base below. All except Frederick and Peter, who had unfinished business to attend to.

Frederick said as he began to walk away from the shed, Peter shortly followed.

"W-Where are we going?"

He asked as he ran up to get closer.

"We are going to give these kids a home, now: they can't stay in the Splat Force shed."

Frederick answered.

"Are you able to take a bus there or do you need a ride?"

"I think I can manage a bus."

Peter answered.

"Also, what are you going to do with yours?"

Frederick didn't answer Peters question. Not long after, they walked through the gates of Bluegill town. Frederick got out his car keys from his zipper pockets and unlocked the car. He sat down on the seat, placed the baby on his knees and put the seatbelt over him.

"Good luck finding a place for her, Rookie."

He said as he started the car and drove away.

1 0 M I N U T E S L A T E R . . .

After a soft and gentle car trip, Frederick arrived at his bungalow house on Siamese Road. He climbed out of the car carefully. He held the baby in his arms as it slowly started to wake up. He climbed up the three small, cyan stairs and opened the front door.

"Abbie?"

He called out as he walked through the small hallway and turned right.

"Hey, you're home!"

Abbie called out from the kitchen.

"We need to talk."

He said as he entered the kitchen and showed Abbie the baby.

Her mouth dropped. The room was silent as they both looked at the baby.

"That's a baby Inkling..."

She whispered before looking up at the love of her life.

"H-How did you g-get this?"

Frederick placed the small baby on the kitchen table

"After the battle at the village, almost everything was decimated. We all searched to see if there were any survivors and I came across two babies crying. I knew I couldn't leave him, so I took him to find a new home."

"And that new home is..."

She whispered. Frederick slowly nodded.

"You said there was another child, you didn't just leave that child did you?!"

"No, one of the Rookies took her to an adoption centre. She is safe."

He answered.

Abbie turned away from Frederick and placed both hands on the top of her head and breathed out heavily.

"Freddie, I told you that this would happen, Rex even told you this would happen!"

She exclaimed in an annoyed tone of voice.

"I know!"

Frederick exclaimed. Realizing that he snapped at her, he tried to calm himself down.

"I'm sorry...Would you please be able to look after him?"

Abbie slowly teared up seeing how stressed he was. She too longed for the days where Frederick was a happy man.

"Of course..."

She said. The couple shared a soft hug. Both of them were startled after how heated everything had suddenly become. The baby Inkling started to cry after being fully woken up by them raising their voices.

"I'll handle him, you go back to the base."

They embrace the last seconds of the moment before Frederick left the house and started his journey back to the base.

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

"Alright folks I recommend calling it a day soon since it has been a pretty hard day for us all. I'll see you all in the morning."

Rex announced to the Splat Force as he and Frederick walked into the elevator. The elevator door closed, leaving the two of them on their own.

"Fred, whilst I was getting Alyssa some clothes, Abbie called me and told me that you two had a...disagreement about something. Is everything alright between you two?"

"Wouldn't she have told you?"

Frederick asked.

"No, she didn't. She just told me about a small heated conversation and asked if you were okay. After that, she hung up."

Rex replied.

"Are you two okay, you can talk to me, Fred."

Frederick let out a heavy sigh.

"It all started after the mission at the village. When I sent you off to go and look around to find anyone, I heard crying coming from one of the houses. Inside was a dead Inkling with two kids beside her. I knew I couldn't just leave them there. I took the boy with me back home to Abbie, Peter Watson said that he took the girl to an adoption centre."

He explained as the elevator door opened into the shed. The two Commanders walked out of the shed and into the outside world.

"I see..."

Rex whispered as he stroked his chin.

"Fred, I need you to promise me something, okay?"

"What?"

He asked.

Rex quickly stood in front of him, causing them both to stop walking.

"I want you to promise me that you won't go mental when you are at that swamp village. The last thing we want is another situation like today. Abbie would wish the same thing."

He asked him.

"I'll try my best."

Frederick replied, making Rex feel better.

"But, I can't guarantee something bad won't happen."

"I understand."

He said, feeling glad that his friend would at least be making some sort of attempt.

"Thank you, Fred."

Rex gave Frederick a small pat on the back as the two of them started to walk again.

5 M O N T H S L A T E R . . .

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

Frederick and Abbie were outside of Rex's house on Reef Road. By now, the Gifted Wars had ended and peace was now brought to Inkopolis. Abbie held the young baby in her arms. Rex opened up the front door and was pleasantly surprised to see who it was.

"Fred! Abbie! How nice to see you!"

He greeted with a smile on his face.

"And hello to you too, young Drift."

"I was wondering if we could speak to...whatever her name was."

Frederick asked. It was always common for him to keep forgetting Alyssa's name.

"Alyssa? You want to speak with Alyssa?"

Rex asked.

"Yeah, Alyssa, that's it."

He responded as her name quickly came back to him.

"Alyssa! Fred wants to speak with you!"

Rex called out after walking to the bottom of the stairs. Shortly afterwards, he walked back to the front door.

"She'll be a minute. Oh, you don't have to call her Cosmo: you are outside of the Splat Force."

Rex walked back into the living room as Alyssa quickly walked down the stairs.

"H-Hey, Frederick. How are you?"

She asked. Despite being comfortable with talking to Rex, she still wasn't comfortable speaking with other people, let alone Frederick and Abbie.

"We're doing alright."

Abbie said with a soft voice and a gentle smile.

"We came here because we need a favour."

Frederick told her.

"Oh?"

Alyssa asked, wanting to know what they needed.

"When you were at Baxter Village, did you know anyone who could take away gifts?"

He asked. He was soon to realize how bad of a question that was.

"Uh, no. If there was someone then chances are most would've given up their gifts, although Terrador would've killed that person on sight."

Alyssa answered.

"However, I do someone who can change appearances at will. As far as I'm aware they can only change natural hair colours, eyes, eyebrows. I'm sorry if that's not the information you two needed but, that's all I have I'm afraid..."

The couple looked at each other and then looked at their child. Young Drift was sleeping comfortably. Neither of them wanted a hard life for the young boy and they thought that separating him from his old life would be best. They both looked back at the blue-haired Octoling

"Do you know where he or she is?"

Frederick asked.

T H E N E X T D A Y . . .

Bohan Village had a similar feel to Baxter Village, but with a few minor differences to make it stick out like a sore thumb. Instead of a water fountain in the middle, there was a wishing well. The size of the village was smaller lengthwise but height-wise it was almost the same, if not only slightly smaller. The houses were made out of dark wood and stone. There was a small stone pathway leading into the village, the side of it was a line of well-placed trees.

"So, is this the place?"

Abbie asked as she and Frederick walked down the pathway. Abbie was holding baby Drift in her arms.

"Well, she did say something about a line of trees by a pathway and she also mentioned a wishing well so I'm guessing this is it."

Frederick replied, going back to what Alyssa had told them.

Unlike the Gifted Wars in which Frederick had to wear his Splat Force to a village, now he didn't have to. He instead wore a grey trench coat and a sideways black and green sun visor. Abbie wore a dark green hoodie and had a white squid hairclip.

"That was a horrendous walk tho. We had to park three hours away. It's like walking up a steep hill!"

Abbie complained as her legs got wobbly from walking too much.

Frederick chuckled at her comment.

"If only you knew how long it took me to get there. We didn't even drive there, we couldn't even if we wanted to, unless of course, we wanted to alert any bad guys into thinking we were bad. We had to walk the way, for weeks."

He replied.

"Don't worry, we had small breaking days, hence why it took longer than it should have."

The couple finally walked into the town. Even after the Gifted Wars, the town was still a thriving place to live at. Children were running around, playing with each other and there were adults at market stands looking and acting jolly.

"Well, what now?"

Abbie asked as baby Drift slowly started to wake up. Shortly afterwards, he started to cry after being woken up due to how noisy it was.

Shhhhhh! It's okay!"

"Our first step should be asking someone to lead us there."

He said as he walked over to a purple, haired Octoling. His hair was wrapped in a ponytail and he had a faded scar on his face.

"Excuse me, I'm very sorry to bother you, but we are visitors from Inkopolis and we are looking for someone who could change the appearance of someone. Someone who would change the colour of someone's natural hair, eyebrows, eyes."

The Octoling gave Frederick a comforting smile.

"I know someone who can help, follow me!"

He responded as he led the way, Frederick and Abbie followed behind him. Abbie was stroking Drift softly, trying to get him to stop crying. The Octoling led them to a small building at the bottom left-hand side of the village.

"I do warn you, this is a small school and there will be a bit of noise."

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

Seconds after the Octoling knocked on the door, it flew open as a large group of kids dashed out of the building, ing the other kids. The noise made Drift cry harder, cashing Abbie to work harder with calming him down.

"Come in!"

A blond-haired Inkling called out from across the room.

"These Inkling's are travellers from Inkopolis City, they want to see you."

The Octoling informed.

"I see. Go along, John, I'll take good care of them."

She said. Just as the Octoling had left them, Frederick and Abbie walked closer to her. The Inkling was quick to notice Drift crying.

"Oh dear, he is quite a loud one."

"Yeah, babies don't like loud noises."

Abbie whispered as she gently patted Drift's back.

"What's your name."

"My name is Angie."

She answered.

"Judging by the fact that you came here exclusively to see me, you want me to sort out your baby, is that right?"

"Yeah. I found him after the fight at Baxter Village. His mother was dead, chances are his father is dead as well. I wanted to give him a home and a new life. The last thing I want is for him to be connected with that old life."

Frederick explained as Abbie carefully placed Drift on the table in front of Angie.

Angie unwrapped the brown blankets. She placed her hand on Drift's tummy.

"Shhhhhhh!"

She whispered softly. Seconds later, Drift was back to sleep, the crying had stopped.

"There is a catch to this spell: it only works up until a certain point. That point is when he discovers his gifts; which can happen anytime from age fourteen onward. Once that happens, the spell will break and the more times he uses the gifts, the more he will turn into his true form. By the time it's fully gone, this white line will become a permanent mark on his hair."

Frederick and Abbie watched as Angie drew a white line over Drift's hair. They were shocked to see the line fade. Shortly afterwards, his hair changed from red to green, just like Frederick. The same happened with his eyebrows and, although he didn't see it happen, Drift's eyes had also turned green. In addition, his pupils went from white to black

"Do you know when he was born?"

Abbie asked.

Angie placed her hand on Drift's chest and felt his heartbeat as her eyes closed. After almost thirty seconds of silence, Angie opened up her eyes.

"January the eighth, last year was when he took his first breath"

She answered.

"H-How do you know that?"

Frederick asked.

"Part of my gifts is that I can sense when people were first born and when a person had died. I can't bring people back from the dead and I can't kill people. The most I can do is change an appearance, only mildly."

Angie answered before getting back to the main topic at hand.

"My work is done. Like I said, once his gifts activate the spell will break."

"I understand."

Frederick responded.

"Thank you for this."

Abbie wrapped Drift back in the warm brown blankets and hugged him tightly, singing a soft lullaby as she and Frederick walked out of the building, and out of the village.

4 Y E A R S L A T E R . . .

It was the evening, the sky was slowly turning orange, but it was still bright. Abbie sat on the second cyan step outside of the house's front door. She watched Drift playing with a young pink-haired Inkling. He was five now and he was now comfortable in a loving family.

Whilst playing, Drift fell over and hurt his knee, causing him to start crying. Abbie rushed over to her son. His friend rubbed his back to make him feel better.

"It's okay! Mommy will kiss it better!"

She whispered as she kissed where the pain was, making Drift feel better. In return, Drift cuddled her.

At the front door, Frederick watched as Abbie ed in on the fun, making Drift and his friend happier. He smiled at them, it was the happiest and most genuine smile that he had given in his entire life.

Then, a thought came into his head, a thought that took the smile off his face. He turned around and walked into the house, through the small hallway and into his and Abbie's bedroom. He walked over to his drawer by the right-hand side of the bed.

He opened up the bottom drawer. Inside was an adoption certificate. He walked out of the room, entered the kitchen and grabbed a small key. He walked back into the bedroom and closed the drawer and then locking it.

He walked back into the kitchen, opened a drawer and grabbed a sheet of paper and an envelope. He quickly returned to his bedroom and started to write on the sheet of paper.

'Dear Drift,'

Frederick stopped writing, unsure of what to write down. After nearly a minute, he started to write from his heart rather than what his head wanted him to write.

'I know that you are too young to understand what any of this means, which is why I'm saving it until you're old enough to know. I want you to promise me that whatever happens, you'll always be my boy.

-Dad'

After he wrote what he wanted to write, he folded up the sheet of paper and placed it inside the envelope, alongside the key to the bottom drawer. Mixed emotions were circling inside of his head but in his heart, he knew that he would tell him one day, or so he thought.

"Freddie, are you okay?"

Abbie asked from outside the bedroom.

Frederick turned around and looked at his wife and smiled at her.

"I am, thanks."

He answered.

How is Drift doing?"

"Drift is having loads of fun with that Ami kid. I think they are gonna have a similar bond that you and Rex have."

She answered with a massive smile.

"And that's saying a lot because, well...You two are Frederick and Rex."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Frederick asked obliviously as he walked out of the room.

"Nothing!"

Abbie answered cheekily. The two parents walked out of the front door and sat on the steps.

Young Drift and Ami ran over to them and sat down with them. Ami leaned her head on Drift and giggled. Drift looked up at the sky feeling happy and excited. If only he knew about the tragic future that he was going to endure...

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! Although it's a short one, I did have a good time with this one. The next chapter will go back to the present and we will see the aftermath of Drift's discovery. So stay tuned for that! Until next time, stay safe out there! ^^

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