Chapter Text
Akikta lowered his hand after the dome sealed shut. "They... left me..." He fell to his knees, defeated.
Yes, he knew he had given them no choice because of his rampage, but the fact that they abandoned him hurt all the same.
Well. That didn't work. Aku commented, noting how the others didn't turn around when he allowed Akikta to scream for them to come back. He really thought that trick would work.
"I can't believe they just left me..." Akikta said, completely distraught.
With the submersion protocol transferred to Marina's laptop, Akikta had zero hope of reconnecting with the outside world. In any other place, he could probably brute strength his way out. But because the dome was underwater, he was basically surrounded by a sea of acid.
Initially, he thought that maybe the water would just dissolve all the ink, and by proxy, Aku, and he'd turn out just fine. But if his blood was anything to go by, then there was a possibility he could actually die...
In conclusion, Akikta was trapped within Atlantis.
He raised his hands weakly, trembling at the mere thought of being left alone again.
They left you, as I said they would. But don't worry. You are not alone, and you never will be. Aku's words were meant to comfort Akikta, but instead, they angered him.
"You." Akikta boomed. "You did this." He stood up, staring at his inky left hand. The urge to rip his arm apart was immense, but alas, whenever he tried to grab it, his right arm slipped right through as if it were water. "YOU DID THIS TO ME." Akikta screamed, slamming his left hand into the roof of the skyscraper repeatedly, which sent tremors throughout the tower.
Calm yourself. Anger will not help us.
"CALM MYSELF? FUCK YOU!" Akikta banged his left hand against the ground again, cracking the floor. "MY FAMILY'S DEAD! MY PEOPLE ARE DEAD! YET, I FINALLY HAD A CHANCE TO BE HAPPY. BUT YOU RUINED IT! AND NOW THEY..." Akikta's anger shifted into despair. "Now they're gone..." He fell to his knees once more, now being on the edge of the skyscraper, from which he had a good view of Atlantis.
Akikta desperately wanted to believe the others would come back for him after everything they'd been through. But if they were willing to leave him in the first place... if Nakji was willing to leave him, who's to say they would even think about coming back?
Akikta looked over the ledge and stared down at the city streets below; Insidious thoughts crept into his mind. He dealt with the pain of parasites, the pain of losing an arm, and the pain of losing family. But to go the rest of his life being alone?
Well, that wasn't a life worth living.
You are not alone. You never will be. Aku repeated, insinuating he and Akikta would be together forever.
"I'd rather die." Before Akikta could act, he felt his body freeze up on himself. He gritted his teeth, struggling to move even an inch.
"I cannot have you turning on us," Akikta, or rather, Aku, said. "Your emotions are haywire. All over the place." Akikta's body bulged with ink muscles, then he started hopping from building to building.
"Do not worry. I know how to restore the peace in our heart."
Peace? What do you know about peace? All you want to do is kill as if we're at war! It was Akikta's turn to speak in the mind, albeit reluctantly.
"You do not understand. So long as there is life that is not us, our own will never be guaranteed. Killing is a necessity." Aku landed back at the Chain of Command arena. "For us to know peace, they must die. They all must die."
What are you... Akikta stopped, recalling memories that weren't his.
By now, Akikta had figured out that whenever he absorbs someone, he also absorbs their memory. It was a lot more complicated than that, but basically, it's what caused all those terrible headaches. It's also what gave him and, by proxy, Aku, innate knowledge of things he didn't know beforehand.
Akikta remembered the time Aku had absorbed all those poor inklings and octolings at the concert—Not to mention the countless salmonids that have been around various areas of the world.
To put it simply, Aku was aware of the billions of species and individuals living all around the world. Every diverse ecosystem. Every unique city. And every special person—Aku was aware of their existence. And he wanted them all dead.
He was starting to make Sal look sane in comparison.
Y-you can't be serious!
"I am." Aku walked to the destroyed throne, stepping over what remained of Sal. "You will understand one day."
Akikta's eight braids extended and moved like tendrils, picking up chunks of the destroyed throne and piecing it back together.
No! I'll never understand because you're DELUSIONAL. Don't you realize there's nothing to kill anymore? We're stuck here because of you!
Aku shook his head. "We still have the salmonid population to deal with. And besides, the Splatoon will be back."
How can you be so sure?
"Their attachment to us is an interesting spectacle. One we can use against them." Aku stepped back after putting the throne back together, gazing at his masterpiece.
The throne looked exactly like it did before, except now it was completely fractured and riddled with cracks like Akikta's mask. Aku had used his ink as glue to keep the glorified chair together—Akikta didn't even know he could change the properties of the ink.
So what? You just plan to sit here until they come back?!
"Yes."
W-what?! Do you know how long we'll be here for?? They might not come back. And even if they do, it might be years before then!
"We have waited for thousands of years to achieve peace." Aku sat on the fractured throne, leaning back and staring out at Atlantis, his new home. "What's a few more?"